When she saw it, the bride’s sister, whose daughter is deaf, had to hold back tears.
The smallest acts of kindness can sometimes have the biggest effects in life.
For instance, a recent video of a man officiating his sister’s wedding went viral for the actual gestures he made to his “other” family; he wasn’t giving the thumbs-up sign.
Here is a Game of Thrones-style summary of the families involved so you won’t get lost in the names. Remember that this finishes in tears for a very different cause than the classic “red wedding” episode in the HBO series!
Jamie Kehoe, the bride, is eager to begin kissing.
Randy Latini is the plotting brother of the bride.
Brain Regan, the groom, is eager to begin the after-kissing portion.
Riley’s mother, Christina Pacala, aka The Groom’s Clueless Sister
Riley, The Innocent Flower Girl (she is deaf),
Since every story must begin somewhere, we’ll go back to Christina and her husband, who were both taken aback when they learned Riley, their infant, had failed a hearing test. They were initially concerned that they wouldn’t be able to speak with their daughter, but that was absurd.
They conducted some research and discovered that American Sign Language (ASL) was by far the most effective means of communicating with the deaf.
It turns out that learning to sign was much simpler than they had anticipated.
Riley excelled at it and learned it even more quickly than her parents did. Despite having cochlear implants, Christina commented on Instagram that:
This is not a “solution” to her hearing loss. Riley’s deafness is something we will always be proud of.
The love that Christina’s brother, Brian, and his fiancée, Jamie, had for the cheerful little angel was unaffected by the fact that she was deaf. They also believed she would be the ideal flower girl for their wedding because she was constantly cheerful and active.
In the meantime, Randy, Jamie’s brilliant brother, was hatching a covert scheme that would revolutionize everything.
Riley was one of the people Randy wanted to make Riley feel completely at home in his new extended family. In order to learn ASL, he made contact with a deaf teacher at the school where he works. He then spent the following two months doing so.
Nobody knew he was studying sign language independently.
He joined Brian and Jamie in holy matrimony, and as he spoke and moved his hands simultaneously, it enhanced the astonishment.
Riley is just two years old and wouldn’t have understood the most of what Randy was signing, but Christina was well aware of what was occurring, and it made her cry.
As a bridesmaid, Christina, 34, told TODAY, “I started crying so hard when I realized he wasn’t simply moving his hands; he was signing the word ‘family’.”
He didn’t even inform anyone; he didn’t make a big deal out of it. But to us, it was a major deal. It represents the two families’ recognition of their shared Deaf family member and their commitment to including, loving, and supporting her.
I mean, she is pretty adorable, how could you not love and support her, amiright?, Christina said.
A sentence Randy signed during the wedding is “Families that learn together and grow together.”
See what else he signed to further bind this family together in the video below.
