A California bride-to-be is going viral for a heartwarming video in which she asks her stepfather to be her officiant at her wedding.
Shylah May shared the emotional moment in a TikTok video Thursday. It shows her and her fiancé, Trevor Farrow, surprising her stepdad, Ralph Kenyon, with the question hidden inside a special Christmas present.
"It would have been random if we just randomly gave him a gift, so we wanted to do it during Christmas," May explained to "Good Morning America." "We opened up all our gifts and one of his Christmas gifts – we were already recording him so he didn't think anything of it and so the last gift was our asking him to be our officiant."
Kenyon said he was immediately affected when he realized what was happening.
"So I was familiar with the box. I made a joke about that, opened it up and there was a very nice bottle of alcohol in there and I thought that was the gift," the 65-year-old recalled. "I thought it was a little odd. I thought it was for my wife and I [and] she doesn't drink that … and immediately I saw this book and it said my name and officiant and that's when it kind of changed for me and was very emotional."
In just one day, May's video was viewed 1.5 million times.
May told "GMA" she got the idea to ask Kenyon to be the officiant after attending a wedding three months ago where the bride's father had not only walked the bride down the aisle, but also officiated the ceremony. May said she knew then that she wanted to do something similar for her September nuptials.
"It was such a moving, special and emotional experience. I knew right away that I wanted Ralph to do that for me because he's been so involved in my life and has been my father figure," May said. "It would just mean everything."
The 28-year-old even described it as a "full-circle moment," since Kenyon was the first person in her family to meet her fiancé, about nine years ago.
"It's been great from there on out," Kenyon said. "Trevor's been an amazing guy. Couldn't have asked for a better person for Shylah to be involved in so it's been quite a relationship."
May and Kenyon said they've built a close relationship ever since Kenyon first came into May's life, when she was only 6 years old and he married her mother, Connie Kenyon.
"He really stepped in as just like the best dad in the world," May said. "He was my softball coach. At any moment, he could be involved in my life, he was there. He taught me how to drive. He helped me get into college, helping me [with] writing my essays."
So when it came time to choose who would get the honor to marry them, May and Farrow agreed Kenyon would be the "perfect fit."
"When we thought about who we wanted, one, we wanted them to have known us for a very long time so they could speak on our relationship, how it's evolved, what we have to look forward to, and then [also] someone with wisdom, who has been married and knows what it takes to have a successful marriage. So I thought it was a no-brainer," Farrow explained.
Kenyon said, nearly a week later, he is still touched by the thoughtful gesture.
"I'd never given it one thought, never thought I was even eligible or qualified … and obviously [I] have an incredible relationship with Shylah and also incredible relationship with Trevor, so I was so moved. Still am, frankly," he said.
May and Farrow plan to marry in Tuscany, Italy on Sept. 12, where May also plans to have Kenyon walk her down the aisle.
