Weddings are one of the most important days of anybody’s life.
When you find somebody that you want to spend the rest of your life with, it’s a beautiful accomplishment that’s definitely worth celebrating. Though there’s plenty of stress and planning that goes along with the big day, all of that tension can melt away on the big day and all that’s left are friends and family to celebrate with.
But within families and with regard to the parents, it’s also an important day because it means giving away your sons and daughters to someone else so they can start their own families.
Because of this, many parents try to do something special with their children on their big day.
For the most part, there’s the tradition of the father-daughter dance and the mother-son dance. There are also usually time slots for the parents to speak as well, though in some cases the parents decide to go above and beyond. That was definitely the case for the thoughtful father in this video.
The clip was originally loaded to YouTube by Nicole Cortez in 2012.
As the video begins, the father gets up in front of the crowd and prepares to do a little performance.
To get the crowd going, the dad hits a few smooth moves first including a nice little moonwalk, a spin and a grab in the same style as Michael Jackson!
The crowd applauds and now that he’s loosened up, the music starts playing and he’s ready to begin his song. The song is “I Loved Her First” by Heartland, a country song written specifically about fathers who are having difficulty giving their daughters away to be married.
The only twist is that this father isn’t singing it—he’s signing it!
As it turns out, the man’s daughter is a sign language interpreter.
Although the father never knew how to sign, he spent almost a whole year learning how to do it just so he could surprise his daughter on her wedding day!
Because of all that practice, the dad looks like a complete natural up there on the stage. By the time the chorus hits, the cameraman pans to the daughter and her husband.
Both of them have tears in their eyes because they’re so moved by the performance!
As the dad finished up the rest of the song, the whole crowd bursts into a huge round of applause.
For his part, even the father looks like he’s a little bit emotional. The daughter clearly can’t believe that her dad took all that effort to basically learn a new language just so he could surprise her.
Because the video is so emotional, it has gone massively viral and has since been viewed on YouTube some 27 million times. Though we’ve all been to plenty of weddings with their own adorable quirks and performances, this thoughtful father’s kind gesture is definitely a standout.
Congratulations to these two on their wedding—and to the father on pulling this incredible surprise off! Check out the entire clip below:
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
