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See a bride bring her stepson to tears with a special wedding surprise

"I wanted him to know that I love him and I will always be there."
/ Source: TODAY

When Rebekah Seabolt walked down the aisle in June, she joined her life with two special people: her husband, Tyler, and his 9-year-old son, Jude.

“I wasn’t just marrying Tyler, I was marrying into a family,” the bride from Athens, Georgia, told TODAY Parents.

So before the June wedding, Rebekah, 31, ordered a rose gold band for Jude engraved with the words “Forever Family.”

"That's what we are," Rebekah said of the message.

Jude’s emotional reaction to the special gift was captured in a series of pictures taken by Ashah Smith Photography. In the photos, the fourth grader is shown expressing a wide range of joyful emotions before bursting into tears of joy.

“I wanted him to know that I love him and I will always be there," Rebekah explained. "He's just the best kid."

The groom was just as moved as he watched the moment unfold.

“All I could see was Rebekah’s face because I needed to be behind Jude keeping his eyes covered,” Tyler Seabolt said. “She was my mirror for how Jude was responding to the whole thing. I felt immense happiness ... but my main feeling was of pride in my wife and son.”

Tyler added that he has “never known anyone as deeply kind as Rebekah.”

Jude, age 9, gets ready for a surprise on the day his dad, Tyler Seabolt, and stepmom, Rebekah Seabolt, got married.
Jude, age 9, gets ready for a surprise on the day his dad, Tyler Seabolt, and stepmom, Rebekah Seabolt, got married.Ashah Photography
Jude, age 9, with his dad, Tyler Seabolt, and stepmom, Rebekah Seabolt, on their wedding day.
Rebekah Seabolt surprised her stepson, Jude, with a special engraved ring.Ashah Photography
Rebekah and Tyler Seabolt made young Jude very happy when they tied the knot in June 2020.
Jude's reaction to the gift: priceless.Ashah Photography

The images, which were shared on a local event venue’s Facebook page, recently went viral with more than 81,000 shares.

“I have no idea who this bride is but she is undoubtedly one blessed and loved woman by not one but two men whom obviously adore her. That child’s love speaks volumes about the bond she shares with her bonus son,” wrote one person.

Added another, “Dad definitely chose the right one.”

This story has been updated since it was first published at 4:57 p.m. ET on Sept. 9, 2020.

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