Mother-in-law gives bride a gift that reflects her efforts to understand her culture

When in-laws come from a different ethnicity or religion, it can be deeply meaningful if they show an effort to learn about their new family member’s culture. This can feel like a true sign of acceptance and love. In one such beautiful moment, an Indian bride received a touching gift from her mother-in-law that reflected deep respect for her customs and traditions. Gurpreet Kaur, known as @itsgups on TikTok, shared the heartwarming gesture, which has since touched the hearts of many.

"They'll never understand your culture," the text overlay read, probably hinting at what people would tell her about her in-laws, who are from a different culture. However, the mother-in-law proved them all wrong when she gifted the woman gold on her wedding day after learning that it is customary in Indian culture. "My mother-in-law: I heard Indian brides are gifted gold by their moms on their wedding day," Kaur shared through the text overlay on her video. The woman gifted the bride a gold bangle and the bride was in tears as she opened the wholesome and thoughtful gift. The mother-in-law even comforted her as she tried on the bangle and got emotional. The caption of the video read, "My English mum."

In an interview with Newsweek, Kaur explained how giving gold on one's wedding day is a big part of her culture as she is of South Asian descent and a Punjabi. She revealed how all the milestones in her life were celebrated by getting gold as a gift. The woman also shared that gold represents wearable investments in her community. "The tradition of a mother giving her daughter gold on her wedding day is seen as an unspoken act of feminism. Gold is financial security, which provides daughters with financial independence and could be used in an emergency," she explained. The bride admitted that she had never expected such a gesture from her English mother-in-law. She and her husband had worked hard to make the wedding culturally inclusive for both families.

"My husband and I worked very hard at making our wedding a fusion celebrating both of our cultures, so we ended up with a three-day wedding with lots of Punjabi pre-wedding celebrations leading up to our wedding day," Kaur revealed. "All calm and collectedness went out the window when on my wedding morning, my mother-in-law came into the bridal suite to give me what I thought was a morning hug and boost, but she presented two black boxes to me whilst trying to hold back tears... I instantly burst into tears." She added, "I only managed to open one box and put on the most beautiful, engraved gold bangle before I fully broke down in tears."

The woman went on, "I was imagining the generations of women that came before me sharing the same precious moment. It all hit me even harder as the unspoken message to me became clear: she thought of me as her own daughter." People took to the comments section of the video to appreciate the beautiful gesture. @septemberends4 wrote, "My father-in-law, a very, very Slavic man, came up to me after my wedding and held my hands saying very slowly, 'Welcome to our family, daughter.' In English and I ugly cried right there and then." @thatsjustemsoutside shared, "This is so sweet. My mother-in-law wore a sundress she gardened in and frowned in all our pictures." @victoriahhhhhhh remarked, "The way you immediately put it on and it just looked so beautiful with the rest of your bracelets."

You can follow Gurpreet Kaur (@itsgups) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.