A bride-to-be cried with happiness on the eve of her wedding when her airman dad who she didn’t think could make her big day flew in to surprise her.
Kayleigh Kirleis, 18, from Jarrell, Texas, had accepted that her dad, Robert, would not be making her wedding, as his service required him to travel between bases in Alaska and Guam.
Robert, a master sergeant with the United States Air Force, had recently taken leave in February to attend the birth of his first grandchild, which only added to Kayleigh’s belief that he would not be able to get leave.
But on March 20, on the eve of her wedding in Pensacola, Florida, Kayleigh was told that her fiancé, Landon, and his mom, Jen, needed to head out for a few hours.
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Kayleigh said she thought the pair were shopping for an outfit for the meal that evening, but secretly they were collecting Robert, who had flown in from Fairbanks, Alaska, from a nearby airport.
Then, as Kayleigh walked into a local steakhouse and Landon, 19, secretly had his camera rolling, the bride-to-be approached the bar and saw a familiar face.
As soon as she realized it was her father, Kayleigh turned to hug Robert, crying on his shoulder with delight that he would be there for her wedding.
There was not a dry eye in the house the following day, as Robert walked his daughter down the aisle on a Pensacola beach.
On the sandy altar, the pair was greeted by a tearful Landon, who is following in his father-in-law’s footsteps by serving with the Navy in Pensacola.
Speaking of the surprise, Kayleigh said: “I was walking into the restaurant and it was cold outside, so that’s why you see me moving the way I am at the beginning of the video.
“Then, when I finally realized he was standing there, it completely caught me off guard.
“I was in complete and total shock. I was so confused about how he even got there.
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“It was an overwhelming experience, but I was so glad he was there.
“My grandparents were sick, so they weren’t able to make it, so it made it a lot better that I still had my dad there.
“My mom was the one that planned it, and the day my dad was going to arrive is when she told my husband about it.
“Showing my grandparents the video made them so happy because they didn’t want my dad to miss it.
“Everyone has been so supportive and kind about the video Jen, my mother-in-law, has posted.
“It was such a bittersweet moment.”
