Don Perez and Shannon Ball met in 2011 on Match.com, and sparks flew almost instantly. The two fell deeply in love, and wed May 2015 in Florida surrounded by their loved ones.
Photo: Don Perez on YouTube
However, someone was missing—Ball’s father. He had passed away in 2006 soon after being diagnosed with colon cancer, and though the bride put on a happy face throughout the planning of the wedding, her groom knew that she wished her father could be there. And so, during their reception, he gave her something she thought she would never have: the father-daughter dance every girl dreams of.
“Shannon was so excited for our wedding day like every bride is, but I could still see in her eyes and hear in her voice that it just wasn’t going to be complete without her dad there,” the groom said in an interview with The Huffington Post. “So I did my best to make him part of it.”
The evening started out as expected, and soon the couple took to the floor for their first dance. The music (“At Last” by Etta James) suddenly cut short, and Perez’s two sons joined in a dance number to Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.”
Photo: Don Perez on YouTube
The bride enjoyed their performance immensely
Photo: Don Perez on YouTube
The groom then sang along to Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” before proceeding to his grand finale. When the first strains of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” began playing, Perez put on a t-shirt with a photo of Ball’s dad printed on the front and the words “May I have this dance?” on the back.
There wasn’t a dry eye left in the room
“When he turned it into the daddy-daughter dance that I had always dreamed about with my dad, I lost it,” the bride told The Huffington Post. “I couldn’t believe what was happening. He was so thoughtful and creative. It shows that he heard how much I wanted my dad to be at our wedding.”
Watch the whole video below
(The groom’s father-daughter dance starts at 3:55. Take out your Kleenex, you’ll need it.)
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