At many weddings, the bride traditionally dances with her father, but at Mackenzie VanCuren's nuptials last month, the 26-year-old surprised her mother LeAndra Champnella with a touching dance set to Carrie Underwood's heartwarming "Mama's Song."
"I know that my father gets a lot of special moments. And I wanted to give a special moment to my mom as well," VanCuren told "Good Morning America."
After VanCuren shared a TikTok video of the surprise on Aug. 21, it went viral with over 554,000 views in just three weeks.
Champnella told "GMA" she was completely taken aback at the touching surprise and initially thought when the wedding DJ called her up to the dance floor, that they were referring to VanCuren's godfather, who had been sitting next to her at the wedding venue.
"The first thing that came to my mind [was that] I didn't have good shoes on. So, I was completely surprised. And it was just amazing," Champnella recalled.
"I remember whispering into her ear, 'I'm probably giving the ugly Kim Kardashian cry right now. So I need to cover my face,'" the mom of four continued, adding that the dance showed everyone a glimpse of the true love she and her daughter share. "But then as I looked around, it was actually quite amazing because I don't I think there was one man or woman not crying. I had to stop looking at people and just concentrate on her and I."
Both mother and daughter say the special dance was an unforgettable one.
"I would say we both kind of probably blacked out a little bit, just from nerves and excitement and all the emotions all at once," VanCuren said. "But that song and that moment is something I'll treasure forever ... I'm really happy we got to do that together."
Added Champnella, "It just took the whole wedding and elevated it, but that was our little special thing. That was her little thank you to me, which was bigger than any monetary gift she could have bought me because it's just something I will cherish forever."
VanCuren said she didn't think her video post would reach as many people as it has, but she added she's happy to share and inspire others to surprise their own moms.
"I hope that everyone else can share that moment with their mother if they have the opportunity to do so," she said.
As for Champnella, she said the mother-daughter dance gave her the opportunity to truly enjoy her eldest daughter's wedding.
"If I could tell parents or anyone in a wedding situation [anything], it's just to [enjoy] that moment," Champnella said. "It goes by so fast and it really made me stop, because I was already thinking about, 'Will desserts be out in time? Will dinner be hot? Will the DJ start on time?' And doing that really made me stop in the moment and just enjoy it."
