Father Of The Bride Erik Schouten Surprises Daughter Madeline With Heartfelt Wedding Reception Performance Of Heartland’s “I Loved Her First”

On her summer wedding day in 2021, Madeline Galbreath’s father surprised the bride at her own reception, singing a heartfelt rendition of Heartland’s modern country classic, “I Loved Her First” in front of a room packed with guests. The moment then stunned the internet, going viral with over 6.5 million views to date.

Father of the bride, Erik Schouten, was evidently nervous as he took to the piano at the wedding reception. The Pennsylvanian rolled out the story of how daughter Madeline and her husband-to-be Brogan had personally asked him to sing at their wedding — except this conversation happened around two years prior, and the couple still had no idea what dad was going to pull out of the bag!

Erik didn’t reveal his secret song to anyone except his wife Jackie before taking to the stage. Guests had been guessing, predicting Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” which Erik caught wind of and, to settle his nerves, performed the 1975 hit as an icebreaker to the rest of his set. He invited the whole room into his sing-along rendition as he voiced the chords, and the moment is 100% wholesome to witness.

For an icebreaker, this cover was unexpectedly confident compared to what was to follow, as Erik introduced his secret song with a shaky voice and, for a moment, struggled to get his piano chords in place. He slipped some dad jokes into his intro, muttering, “I can get through it,” while hitting some bum notes and joking, “I could use some encouragement here,” as the video cuts to a shot of a nervous and teary-eyed Madeline.

Erik is a businessman, not a professional musician, making this clip even more touching with the knowledge that he took the time to perfect his hobby for his daughter’s wedding night. This rendition isn’t flawless, but the overflowing sentiment behind Erik’s voice is bound to keep any Music Man reader on the verge of tears as he sings to an emotional Madeline.

Heartland’s “I Loved Her First” has soundtracked countless viral wedding clips, one of the most famous and emotional being Al Jones’ sign language rendition at his daughter Ali Kilman’s wedding. Ali had lost her ability to speak after a traumatic accident left her jaw wired shut, prompting her to learn American Sign Language, and her dad to surprise her by learning ASL just in time for her wedding. Check out the clip above!

Since its release in 2006, “I Loved Her First” has become a go-to track for father of the bride dances and performances, unraveling the inner whirlwind of a father’s thoughts as he lets his daughter start her life with the new man she loves most: “I was enough for her not long ago / I was her number one, she told me so / And she still means the world to me, just so you know / So be careful when you hold my girl.”

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