Groom Asks Bride's Mom To Do A Mother-Son Dance At Their Wedding Since Her Only Son Passed Away
The dance they shared held immeasurable meaning for the bride, the groom, and their family.
blnewton022 / TikTok Weddings are both a declaration and a celebration of the love a couple shares. Getting married while surrounded by family and friends is a potent way to bear witness to that particular bond.
As a ritual, weddings also serve to merge together both sides of the families involved. They’re an acknowledgment of a shared future and a recognition of the past. And for one bride and groom, their wedding offered an opportunity to hold space for lost loved ones through one tangible act.
The groom asked his bride’s mom to join him in a mother-son dance since her only son had passed away.
Brittany Newton made a post on TikTok capturing the poignant moment between her husband and her mother.
The video started as the groom approached his mother-in-law, wiping tears from his eyes. He held his hand out to his bride’s mother, and as she accepted, he led her onto the dance floor. In text overlaid on the post, Newton explained, “My only brother passed away at a young age so my mom never got her mother-son dance. Until tonight. I was the last of three girls to get married.”
The groom and the mother-of-the-bride swayed together, both of them clearly moved by the meaning behind their dance. Newton’s mother took a moment to rest her head on her son-in-law’s shoulder, as though overwhelmed by the sheer sentimentality of sharing the dance.
As the groom spun his mother-in-law in a circle, she was met by one of her other sons-in-law, who held out his arms, embracing her in a dance.
Before joining him, Newton’s mom buried her face in her hands, seeming to laugh and cry, all at once. The two danced together until he twirled her into the arms of her third son-in-law, with whom she finished the mother-son dance.
In the caption, the bride declared, 'She deserved this dance more than anything,' showing how moved she was to watch her mom dance with her new husband.
Among the hashtags that Newton included on the post were #missyoubrent and #youshouldbehere.
Her post highlighted the poignant reality felt by family members who have suffered the loss of someone they love. After someone dies, life continues its relentless push forward. Time doesn’t stop, even when we wish it would. Newton, along with her mom, her dad, and her sisters, will always feel the absence of their brother, their son. Yet it’s clear that they carry him with them, through both grief and joy.
Newton received over 2,000 comments on the post, showing just how deeply the dance resonated with people across the internet. Many of those people commented on how thoughtful of a gesture it was. Others described their own emotional reactions to the dance, disclosing the tears they shed while watching.
Photo: Emma Bauso / Pexels
One woman commented, “Y’all picked the right men for your momma… I love healthy mother-in-law relationships.”
Her statement illustrated an important aspect of getting married, which is that people don’t only marry their partners, they also marry into a family structure. While the relationship someone has with their in-laws often proves to be fraught, Newton’s post demonstrated how supportive and nurturing that relationship can be, if given a chance.
Another person spoke about the way that memory is held, proclaiming, “I know her baby boy is right there next to her.”
Grief has no timeline. Not all wounds heal. Yet the dance shared by this mother-of-the-bride and her three sons-in-law shows that even though sorrow remains, there is beauty and wonder to be had.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers family, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.