Bride honors her late mother by wearing her gown on the wedding day — father fights back tears

Finding the perfect wedding dress is no child’s play, but bride Grace Means did find one for herself months before her wedding. Until it was no longer the perfect one anymore. Two months in, she started feeling unsatisfied with the dress she purchased from David’s Bridal. While she had no qualms about its beauty or quality, Means simply felt something was not right. One day, her eyes met her late mother’s wedding dress hanging in the closet. That is when she realized what was missing. In a viral video, the wedding photographer for Means’ wedding, Dayne Maclin (@maclinphotoandfilm) shared her father’s reaction when he saw her donning the dress, and it’s hard to hold back the tears. 

When she casually tried on the dress, Means did not expect it to fit her “like a glove” without any alterations. “I took it as a sign from God. I was like, ‘This is how I am going to honor her,’ the bride told TODAY.com. Speaking of her former dress, she claimed that while the dress was “absolutely beautiful,” she began having “second thoughts” about it eventually.  “I was like, ‘No, Grace. Your dress is perfect. Don’t be that bride,’” Means recalled. So, when she decided to wear her mother’s wedding gown, Means felt it would be best to surprise her dad on the big day. 

Fast forward to the wedding day in September, her father, Chad Mixon, stood turned away from the dolled-up bride in the viral video. Upon his first glance at his daughter, the emotional dad broke down into tears. Looking sharp in a tidy suit with adorned flowers, Mixon leaned in for a hug from Means and sobbed. “I told you that you had nothing to worry about,” the daughter reassured, also crying happy tears. Her father recognized the dress and asked, “Is that Mom’s dress?” As she nodded, Mixon struggled to hold back his tears. “You look just like her,” the dad shared.  

In the interview, Mixon opened up about the intense surge of emotions he was feeling at the moment. "I tried to hold everything back, but as soon as I turned around and saw the dress, that lump in my throat was instant, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold anything back," he told the outlet. Mixon and his late wife, Carly Barnett Mixon, were married for 25 years and shared a wholesome bond until she passed away in 2022, per the source. “They had a true love, and I am so thankful that that was modeled for me. They had a bond like no other,” recounted Means. 

Though her mother, who was also her “best friend”, could not be at her wedding, Means had her in spirit and hence, wore her gown. Means shared fond memories with her late mother, one of them being trying on her wedding dress one summer so she could take photos for fun. “One summer we were at my Mimi and Poppy's house and my mom was like, ‘Put on my wedding dress and I'll take pictures,’ and it was so much fun because everything with my mom was fun," Means said. The moment came full circle when the bride wore her late mother’s dress on her actual wedding day. 

You can follow @maclinphotoandfilm on Instagram for more videos.