Soldier Surprises Sister at Wedding, Bringing Her to Tears
Newlywed Jessie Smith, of Chincoteague
Island, Va., is quite used to having to
work around her military family’s
schedules. With a brother and now a
husband both actively serving, she’s
become accustomed to the two men not
always being home for important or
special occasions.
Her wedding day on June 29 was no
different.
Smith was grateful to even have her
husband-to-be, who is in the Coast Guard,
home long enough to get married, and
had accepted the fact that her brother,
Ryan Douglas, a soldier in the army, was
unable to attend.
“I was upset that he couldn’t make it but
understood he had a career that he had
obligations to,” Smith, 26, told
GoodMorningAmerica.com.
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Little did she know that two weeks before
the wedding, her brother, whom Smith
hadn’t seen in several years, found out he
could actually make it to the wedding,
but intentionally kept it a secret from her
and most of the family.
“It was probably only 15 minutes before
the wedding started, and the
photographer and I were taking some
bridal portraits inside and trying to avoid
Nick [her fiancé] because I didn’t want
him to see me before the first-look
photos,” Smith explained.
But then her photographer asked her an
odd question, completely catching Smith
off guard.
“The photographer asked me, ‘Is Nick
wearing his uniform?,’ because she saw
someone wearing a uniform outside,” said
Smith. “I said no, and then wondered who
was wearing their uniform. I peeked my
head around and saw my brother and his
wife and sister-in-law and freaked out.”
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Fortunately, Smith’s photographer caught
the tearful moment on camera.
“I was ecstatic but also remembered we
had to avoid Nick so I quickly ushered
them all inside,” Smith said. “I rarely get
to see my brother as we are both busy
working on our careers and education,
and it was amazing to get to have him
there for my special day.”
