Newlyweds' first dance leaves family sobbing as they hear late grandma's 'teen voice' singing to them

A wedding first dance turned into a family tribute that no one in the room had expected. In a TikTok video posted by the bride's cousin Caroline Chase (@caroliinechasee), the bride and groom, Ali Arcieri and her husband Rafa, surprised their family with a song sung by Arcieri’s grandmother when she was just 18 years old, as per Newsweek. The emotional clip, shared earlier this month, gained over 791k views and more than 216k likes, leaving the family and the viewers crying.

Chase, 24, explained in the caption, "My cousin’s first dance was to a song sung by my grandma who passed away in December. Safe to say there was not a dry eye in sight. Also, my grandma was 18 when she recorded this song." The grandmother in question, Mary Smith, had a lifelong passion for music. By age 11, she was already performing in New York City and on the radio. At 18, she recorded an album at Nola Recording Studios, which included her rendition of "Little Things Mean a Lot" by Kitty Kallen. While her music career didn’t continue past high school, her family eventually found her record and converted it into a CD to preserve her voice.

After Smith’s passing at the age of 88 in December 2024, the family gathered to listen to her songs. Arcieri and Rafa were already engaged, and that was when Arcieri knew her grandmother’s voice had to be part of her wedding day. "We actually had to send it to a sound engineer because the quality was pretty bad," she told Newsweek. Before the first dance, Arcieri gave a speech honoring her grandparents’ love story, recalling how her grandmother once told a friend after meeting her future husband, "I am going to marry that man." The couple went on to be married for 65 years, raising four children and nine grandchildren together.

The first dance came as a complete surprise to the rest of the family. "At first, we were all surprised since Ali had kept the song choice a secret," Chase said, "But hearing our grandma’s voice made it feel as though she was right there celebrating with us. She truly was the heart and soul of our family." Moments like these play an important role in strengthening family bonds. A study done on family rituals reviewed 50 years of research on family routines and rituals, finding that engaging in meaningful traditions, such as honoring loved ones during major life events, can deepen family cohesion and provide emotional support during times of transition. Even though Mary Smith wasn’t able to attend her grandchildren’s weddings, her voice filled the room in a way that made everyone feel her presence. 

Viewers couldn’t stop sharing how moved they were. @the_cole_bear commented, "You’re here to have fun. Guess what? Now we’re ALL crying." @lamie.jamie_ added, "Little Things Mean a Lot is one of my favorite songs. If I did a traditional wedding, this was going to be our first dance. This is beautiful." @koraaa333 said, "This is why I love weddings. They’re sooo magical in every single way. How special of you to honor your grandmother & in a way, include everyone in that moment with her memory. Congratulations, beautiful." @grace shared, "At a very good family friend’s wedding my grandpa did the father-daughter dance with her because her dad passed away a few years prior. My entire table was a MESS, we could not breathe we were crying so hard."

You can follow Caroline Chase (@caroliinechasee) on TikTok for more daily life content.

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