A thoughtful bride planned a clever way to include her blind father in the transitional first-look moment of her wedding, walking him through a “first touch” of her dress instead.
Shannon Lewis, 31, from Fort Worth, Texas, works as a wedding planner, and so was aware of the significance of first-look moments in the build-up to her big day.
First-look moments capture family members – usually the father of the bride – when they see the bride in her wedding dress for the first time.
Shannon’s father, Gary McAfee, 68, lost his sight when Shannon was a teenager, and in the years that followed, Shannon and her family helped Gary adjust while he learned to use a cane and received a guide dog.
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Gary never looked negatively at his hardships, Shannon said, despite also losing his hearing and requiring cochlear implants.
In the build-up to her wedding day, on June 20, Shannon began thinking back to previous first-looks she had helped plan, as well as another variation, a first touch, where the bride and groom don’t see each other before the ceremony but touch hands, usually around a corner.
Shannon thought a variation on the latter would be the perfect way to include her father, and she also thought back to their times together during her teenage years.
During movie nights, Shannon and family members would still describe scenes to Gary after he lost his sight, and so Shannon decided her father would have a first-touch of her dress, during which she would describe how she looked.
On the day itself, Gary and his wife of 36 years, Kerin, walked into Shannon’s bridal suite, where Kerin said, “We’ll have to describe everything to you.”
Kerin also declared, “He’s been waiting a long time for this,” as Shannon then let her father touch her puffed sleeves, explaining they were off the shoulder, as well as a family bracelet.
Gary then moved down to touch the middle of the dress, which went in, before going out into a ball gown-style that Shannon described.
“It’s super smooth,” Gary said, before feeling the dress all the way to the end and saying, “You have the biggest train.”
Lastly, Gary touched the buttons on the back of the dress and his daughter’s hair, before Shannon informed him that the flower he was wearing was yellow, something Gary had not been aware of before the big day.
The moment was captured in photos by the couple’s photographer, Leah, of Made By Lee – but what made the moment even more special was a supporting video that she also took.
Shannon was sent the video after her big day, and she said it still makes her emotional watching the moment now.
She said: “My dad’s dealt with many hardships – and through everything, he has maintained the most positive, encouraging, determined outlook on everything.
“I’ve never heard him complain about any of it.
“He’s very special and inspiring to not just me, but everyone around him.
“Since I’m a wedding planner myself, I see a lot of unique wedding ideas and takes on traditional wedding moments.
“It’s common to do a first-touch with your spouse and maybe hold hands without seeing each other until the ceremony.
“Since my dad would be walking me down the aisle and wouldn’t be able to see me and I knew I wanted him to have a moment with me to take everything in, even if he couldn’t see me visually.
“So, a first touch was perfect.
“I waited in the bridal suite with my mom and my photographer, while my dad was led in to see me – or greet me – and my mom and I described each part of my dress and bridal look to him, while we guided his hands to feel my dress and hair.
“I think we were all three in tears.
“I loved seeing him try to take in each part of my look and I could tell he was envisioning each thing in his head.”
