Maine & NH Wedding Photographer // The Most Emotional Toast I Have Ever Witnessed

Every wedding has its emotional moments—the vows, the first look, the father-daughter dance. But this one? This one hit different. I still think about it 8 years later. I just wish I still had their pictures, but nevertheless.

When this couple hired me for their wedding, we started talking about all the usual details—timelines, locations, who would be standing by their side. That’s when they shared something truly special: they had recently adopted a little boy, about 10 years old, who they had been fostering for a years. Just before the wedding, they made it official.

That alone made my heart melt. But then they told me something even more incredible—this kid, their newly adopted son, had asked if he could give his own toast at the reception.

We all assumed it would be exactly what you’d expect from a 10-year-old—some goofy jokes, maybe a TikTok reference, probably some weird little dance move thrown in for good measure. But when the time came, this kid stood up, eyes filled with tears, and gave a speech that left the entire room absolutely wrecked.

He didn’t crack jokes. He didn’t ramble. Instead, with a voice way too steady for a kid his age, he thanked them—for loving him, for giving him a family, for making him more than just a foster kid. He said how happy he was that they chose him, that they wanted him to be theirs forever.

And let me tell you, there wasn’t a dry eye in that venue. The couple, the guests, the servers—literally not one.

Weddings are always about love. But this one was about something even bigger—the kind of love that goes beyond romance, beyond tradition. This was about a family coming together, about a kid who finally felt safe and wanted, about parents who made the most beautiful commitment not just to each other, but to him, too.

That moment? It was everything. And I was so honored to be there to capture it.