Bride Leaves an Empty Chair for Late Son at Her Wedding, Later Sees Young Man Approaching It — Story of the Day

A grieving mother left an empty chair at her wedding for her late son and was stunned to see a young man walk in to walk her down the aisle.

Melissa Ingalls was getting married and the one thing she wanted the most was to have her son by her side, but that could never be. Gary had passed away at the age of 18 after a motorcycle accident, he was gone.

Gone, Melissa thought, but not forgotten, never forgotten. She had instructed the wedding planner to leave an empty seat in the front row for Gary, in homage to the sweet boy who’d lit up her life.

The empty chair was to have an inscription: “I’m in heaven on your wedding day, Mom. But I will come down to you from heaven. Just leave me one empty chair. You won’t see me, but know, I will be there.”

Melissa blinked back her tears. Gary would be so happy for her! She had become a mother at a very young age but never married, and Gary had always insisted that one day she’d find her Prince Charming.

“Mom,” Gary had said. “One of these days I go to college and leave home and I don’t want you to be lonely! I want you to meet a nice guy!”

Melissa had finally met the ‘nice guy’ but it had been after Gary had passed away. Bob had come to fix the shutters on Melissa’s front porch and ended up falling in love with her.

Bob was a little older, kind, and loving. He’d lost his wife to cancer some years before, and he was just as lonely as Melissa. With Bob, Melissa had learned to smile again, and when he proposed, she accepted.

“I wish Gary could have met you,” she told Bob, “I wish he could be here with us.” Bob had just put his arms around her and held her tight. He knew that there are no words that can soothe that kind of pain.

So on her wedding day, Melissa stood in front of the mirror and blinked back her tears. “Gary, mommy loves you so much,” she whispered. “I’ll never stop missing you, never!”