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When Kelsey and Michael Kulick went to share their wedding vows during their wedding ceremony in November, the bride surprised her husband-to-be and his parents when she signed her wedding vows at the same time as saying them, as reported in Yahoo Life.
Michael’s mom and dad are both deaf, and he grew up conversing with them in American Sign Language (ASL). Kelsey, however, only started to learn how to sign when she came into Michael’s life in 2018. While she isn’t fluent, she translated her vows into ASL so that her hearing-impaired in-laws could appreciate the promises she was making to their son.
“I wanted to sign my vows out of respect for Michael and his parents. While we did have an interpreter for the ceremony, I wanted my vows to be coming directly from me, not only by word of mouth but also through ASL so that all were able to understand and know what I was saying.”
Although Kelsey, from Alabama, initially mentioned signing her vows to Michael when they first got engaged, she dropped the subject so he’d forget, allowing her to surprise him on their Big Day.
In the lead up to their nuptials Kelsey tried using the internet to help her translate her vows word-for-word. The task proved too tricky so she called on Michael’s aunt, whose husband is also deaf, to help her on her mission.
“I asked her to record herself signing my vows and send it to me so I could use it to practice. She happily did so, and I used that video to practice over and over for weeks.”
The end result was shared in a now-viral TikTok video, with the groom visibly moved by his bride’s efforts.
Kelsey’s parents were naturally touched by their new daughter-in-law’s efforts, and they “still talk about how they loved that moment and they’re thankful that I made an effort,” Kelsey shared.
Now Kelsey is determined to carry on improving her sign language so she can communicate with her parents-in-law, and is even looking to make sure she passes the skill on to any future children so they can develop a beautiful relationship with their grandparents.
And today we celebrate...