The Start of A Sweet Tradition
In 1994, Mississippi couple Sherry and Craig Blackledge, adoptive parents to a little boy, adopted an 18-month-old girl named Brooke. It was then that Sherry decided to write a simple but sweet letter she would give to Brooke, on her wedding day. Now, more than 20 years later, right before Brooke walked down the aisle to marry boyfriend Tyler Zugg, she finally read the letter.
“Being [that Brooke is] adopted, I wanted her to know how much I loved her. And I thought it would be extremely precious when she opened it up and read it on her wedding day,” Sherry said.
Bride Brooke Zugg with her brother, Brian, and their adoptive parents, Sherry and Craig Blackledge, at Brooke’s wedding in Natchez, Mississippi. (Photo: YouTube/the Film P
“My mom had never mentioned the letter at all until the moment she gave it to me! Talk about being surprised!” Brooke shared. Sherry even had the letter printed on a piece of fabric from her own wedding dress, which she wore decades earlier.
Brooke Zugg and her mother, Sherry Blackledge, as they read the letter Sherry wrote 20 years ago for her daughter’s wedding day. (Photo: YouTube/the Film Poets)
“I lost it and began sobbing at this point, especially when I saw my daddy crying. There isn’t a word for the emotion I was feeling at this point. If someone could come up with a word that encompassed excited, humbled, speechless, joyful, shocked and genuinely loved, then that would be the word to use.”
Brooke Zugg had an emotional wedding day after her mother gave her a letter she had written 20 years ago. (Photo: YouTube/the Film Poets)
The letter reads:
December 15, 1994
Our Dear Little Baby Brooke,
As I write this you are sleeping soundly in your baby bed. You are 18 months old.
We just want you to know how very much love and happiness you have brought to us. You have made us a truly great family. A little precious baby girl to me and Daddy and a baby sister to Brian.
Before me and Daddy were married we always said we wanted a little boy and a little girl. When we were dating, we said if we had a little girl she would be a little Brooke. You are our little Baby Brooke.
Brooke, we just want you to know that you are very special to us and that God picked you extra special and he sent you to Mommy, Daddy and Brian.
We love you
Mommy and Daddy
Brooke Zugg and her husband, Tyler Zugg, at their wedding in March. (Photo: YouTube/the Film Poets)
The newlyweds are expecting their first child in January, and Brooke has decided to start a letter-writing tradition. Brooke told the Huffington Post, “My mom’s letter has sparked the idea to go ahead and begin writing our baby letters to give him or her on their wedding day.”
Thanks for sharing this, Yahoo Parenting!
What a sweet tradition was started! Such love, joy and abundance!
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Such a eloquent tribute to LOVE! The gift that is free but means more than any other gift!