For his daughter’s wedding, legendary dad Al Jones switched singing for signing in a breathtaking viral wedding video. Al Jones’ wedding speech was like no other, moving his daughter to instant tears as soon as the first word of Heartland’s country hit, “I Loved Her First,” was signed. The heartwarming moment was captured by videographer Andrew Stevens from Always Hope Creative, where it has since amassed millions of YouTube views and countless heartfelt comments since 2019.
Before his sign language song unfolded, Al Jones took a minute to remember the life-changing car accident his daughter, Ali Kilman had endured only two years prior to her wedding day. Ali had survived mostly unscathed, but her injuries left her mute, encouraging her to use her American Sign Language skills in an attempt to communicate with her loved ones.
Learning a new language doesn’t come overnight for most families, especially when clouded by a traumatic experience. Ali was “pretty good” at ASL according to her father’s wedding speech, but her family didn’t have a clue what she was trying to communicate. Ali had to compensate, taking a step back from ASL and using a whiteboard to communicate with her parents through writing instead.
Fast forward to Ali’s wedding day in October 2019. The Ashland, Kentucky-born bride sparkled in her white dress whilst fighting back tears as her dad’s speech recalled her accident, which left “her jaws wired shut, with tubes down her throat.” His tone changed when he told his daughter, “I’ve been practicing my sign language, Ali,” before handing her the original whiteboard she’d used to communicate with after the accident and taking center stage as Heartland’s touching country hit began.
As soon as Al Jones signed ASL to indicate the intro music playing, Ali Kilman fell into her seat in a flood of tears as her dad sang the lyrics of a song in ASL for her special day. He’d even picked the perfect track; Heartland’s 2006 country hit, “I Loved Her First” is composed from a father’s point of view as he lets his daughter fly free with another man: “I knew the love of a father runs deep, and I prayed that she’d find you someday, but it’s still hard to give her away.”
Al and Ali’s viral video hits hard with kids who were raised by deaf parents, as much as with parents who raised deaf or mute children. Even the videographer commented, “I teared up as I was filming it,” making for one of the most wholesome yet heart-wrenching wedding speeches on YouTube.