When we send our loved ones off to serve, we do so knowing it could be months, sometimes years, before we can see them again. It’s a sacrifice they know all too well. India Jones had known that her little brother, Christian, was unlikely to make her wedding. He had been serving in Iraq for more than eight months and sadly had missed their other sister’s wedding.
But, Christian had a surprise planned for his big sister. His deployment had ended a month early. At the wedding, India was watching a special video message recorded by Christian. As she began tearing up, she paused as her little brother said something unexpected.
Christian Jones hugs his wife, left, and his sister, India Jones after surprising India at her wedding rehearsal dinner. Photo courtesy of India Jones
In the video, Christian began telling India why his full military gear wasn’t on. And her jaw dropped. “I am leaving in a couple of hours to go to Kuwait, and from there I’ll leave to come home in time for the wedding,” Christian said in his recording. India burst into tears as she spotted her brother making his way through the rehearsal dinner room.
I thought I was dreaming,” India said. “I couldn’t believe I could hug and touch him.”
The video of the surprise reunion went viral on TikTok, with nearly 200,000 views. In the video, not only was India crying, so was most of her family. Christian’s visit was kept a secret, with only their parents, Christian’s wife and her family.
India, left, hugs her brother, Christian, at her wedding. Photo courtesy of India Jones
As the video showed the emotional family, including his sobbing grandparents, India’s mom is heard joking, “I got paramedics on standby, don’t worry,” she quipped. The following day was the wedding, and the day shone brighter, the bride said, because Christian was there. During the ceremony, he wore a pair of crazy pink glasses and walked their mom down the aisle.
At the ceremony, the joy wasn’t any less. “He surprised me with a special dance with him, and halfway through my older sister came in and finished the dance with us,” India said. And, instead of having to mail a special letter she had written for Christian, she was able to hand him the envelope, labeled “To my brother on my wedding day.”
For India, the reunion made her wedding an unbelievable and unforgettable experience. “We have always been close because I have always wanted to protect him,” she said. “It was the hardest to think that [my] little brother was over there serving his country, and I could not be more proud of him.”
