Typically at a wedding, the groom waits at the alter. Then, the doors open, and the bride walks inside. Sometimes she walks by herself. Sometimes her father or another close friend or family member walks with her.

Usually, there is a song playing while the bride walks down the aisle to meet her groom. That was the case when Elizabeth and Scott Shoesmith got married, but the walk down the aisle was a little bit unusual.

Scott is deaf. He wouldn’t be able to hear the song that was playing while his bride walked down the aisle. Elizabeth decided to do something extra special to make sure he not only saw her walk down the aisle but also understood every word to the song.

Just like at most weddings, Scott was waiting at the alter. Elizabeth stood at the end of the aisle, but she didn’t walk down the aisle to meet her groom right away. Instead, she let the music play.

The song that the couple chose for their wedding was “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. As the song played, Elizabeth signed the words to her groom. While signing the line “one step closer,” she took one step towards her groom and then continued signing. 

Elizabeth didn’t know sign language when she met Scott, but she started learning it after they started dating. She explained, “Even though Scott is deaf, I have never felt more heard in my life. For every joy he has brought into my life over the last two years, I wanted to surprise him with my entrance.”

She was looking directly at Scott when she was signing the lyrics to the song, and she saw his reaction to her surprise. She explained, “The moment I locked eyes with him I never looked away and it was a special moment just between the two of us. He held it together for a few seconds before crying the whole way through the song.”

Scott was so touched by the song that he couldn’t wait until after saying “I do” to kiss his bride.

Elizabeth signed all of the lyrics to “A Thousand Years” to Scott.