In a stunning viral wedding video, renowned father Al Jones performed exclusively for his daughter and signed the vows. Al Jones’ wedding speech moved his daughter to tears when he signed Heartland’s country blockbuster “I Loved Her First”. The poignant clip, recorded by Always Hope Creative’s Andrew Stevens in 2019, has gone viral on YouTube, with millions of views and hundreds of heartfelt comments.

Al Jones paused before playing his sign language song to reflect on the horrific automobile tragedy that his daughter Ali Kilman had survived just two years before her wedding. Ali escaped the disaster largely unscathed, but owing to her injuries, she was unable to talk; her loved ones pushed her to attempt communicating with them using American Sign Language.

Most families need time to learn a new language, and it takes significantly longer when a traumatic incident is involved. Despite Ali’s “pretty good” American Sign Language abilities, her family was entirely perplexed by her messages, as revealed in her father’s wedding speech. To compensate, Ali retreated from ASL and began interacting with her parents by writing on a whiteboard.

October 2019 will see Ali’s wedding. The bride, who was born in Ashland, Kentucky, sparkled in her white wedding gown and fought back tears as her father described her accident, which left “her jaws wired shut, with tubes down her throat.” He went center stage as Heartland’s touching country classic began, and his tone changed as he informed his daughter, “I’ve been practicing my sign language, Ali.” He then handed her the original whiteboard, which she had used to communicate following the accident.

While her father penned the lyrics to a song he had written specifically for her, Ali Kilman cried hysterically as soon as Al Jones signed the ASL entrance music. As he sees his daughter leave with another man, the father sings, “I knew the love of a father runs deep, and I prayed that she’d find you someday, but it’s still hard to give her away.” Heartland’s poignant country hit from 2006 is an excellent companion.

Al and Ali’s viral clip speaks to both deaf and hard-of-hearing youngsters, as well as their parents. “I teared up while I was filming it,” the videographer said, adding to the realism of what is possibly the most moving and tragic wedding speech accessible on YouTube.