"Although it was a surprise intended for my mom, it was also a way for me to feel my grandma's love that day," bride Jenna Stearns tells PEOPLE
Credit: Darian Shantay Photo
NEED TO KNOW
- Jenna Stearns married Joshua Caro on Oct. 12 in Temecula, Calif.
- The bride surprised her 90 wedding guests, including her mother, by playing a voicemail left by her late grandmother before she walked down the aisle
- “She was shocked and immediately began to cry, as did I. I even sobbed into my bouquet for a second and I knew it was coming!” Jenna tells PEOPLE
A bride honored her late grandmother during her wedding ceremony with a heartfelt audio surprise.
Jenna Stearns, 29, married Joshua Caro, 30, on Oct. 12 at Danza del Sol Winery in Temecula, Calif. As a surprise to everyone, the bride secretly arranged for an audio of her beloved late grandmother, Bonnie McLaughlin, to play before her parents, Noreen Stearns, 60, and Don Stearns, 61, escorted her down the aisle.
"This felt like the perfect gesture for my mom, who is a sentimental person. I knew the surprise in hearing her mother’s voice, almost as if my grandma was there wishing me well on my wedding day, would be unexpected and very meaningful to her," Jenna tells PEOPLE. "Although it was a surprise intended for my mom, it was also a way for me to feel my grandma's love that day as well."
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McLaughlin unexpectedly died in February 2019 at age 79. Jenna and her mother were "very close" with her and were devastated by her death. Over a year ago, while wedding planning, Jenna was searching for a "personalized" way to incorporate her late grandmother into her big day and came across TikTok creator Olivia Nootens' viral video of her surprising her wedding guests with a voicemail from her late father integrated into the music she walked down the aisle to. Jenna was instantly inspired to replicate the sweet surprise.
"I knew I had a voicemail saved on my phone from my grandma, which she left for me on my birthday back in 2018, that I would love to do the same with," Jenna remembers. "When planning my wedding, I tried to be very intentional with personal details that I included, and this was one of them."
Credit: Darian Shantay Photo
Only the bride's now-husband, her friend Charleson Agustin, and the DJ were in on the surprise. Agustin helped mix the audio, only cutting the "happy birthday" portion. In the message, McLaughlin says, "Hi. To my beautiful granddaughter, this is Grandma Bonnie. I hope you have a great day and sometime maybe I'll talk to you later today, or tomorrow or something. So anyway, I hope you have a great day. Buh-bye."
Like Nootens, Jenna chose an instrumental version of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" to be paired with the audio. The voicemail began playing about 30 seconds into the song, as seen in an Instagram video of the emotional ceremony moment captured by wedding content creator Fiona Thompson of Content By Fi, who warned viewers in the caption to "be prepared to grab your tissues."
Credit: Darian Shantay Photo
As it was time for Jenna to make her grand ceremony entrance, the wedding coordinators opened the doors for her and her parents to walk out. As the trio began to descend the stairs, Jenna intentionally stopped, knowing what was coming.
"I purposely paused to take in the moment and look over at my mom’s reaction. Right as my grandma’s voice began to play out, it stopped my mom in her tracks and pulled her to be present in the moment," Jenna says. "She was shocked and immediately began to cry, as did I. I even sobbed into my bouquet for a second and I knew it was coming!"
She continues, "Immediately from my mom's reaction, I knew how much she appreciated the surprise. I felt proud that I was able to honor my grandma this way."
"Video Games" then continued to play.
Even those among the 90 guests who didn't know McLaughlin personally were touched by the surprise.
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Credit: Darian Shantay Photo
"Many of the guests complimented the audio afterward and mentioned how beautiful and emotional the moment was, even for people who didn't know my grandma personally," Jenna says. "One of the groomsmen told me it also made him tear up because it reminded him of his grandma who had passed."
Naturally, no one was more moved than Noreen.
"My mom mentioned afterwards that when she initially heard my grandma's voice, it caught her off guard and she thought that my grandma was actually there for a moment," Jenna shares. "She felt it was such a meaningful tribute and appreciated the thought that was put into including my grandma in the day. To this day, she continues to talk about how it was one of her favorite parts of the entire day."
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