Bride left in uncontrollable tears over father's special wedding gift

Wedding gifts are typically well thought out and personal to a couple, but few are on the level of this doting dad's, which left his daughter in tears.

Nicole Cortez's dad gave her the present of a lifetime when she got married ahead of the traditional father of the bride speech.

Nicole's father surprised her during his father of the bride speech at her wedding at the Reef in Long Beach, California, back in May 2012.

Before he spoke about his daughter, Nicole's dad delivered a rendition of 'I Loved Her First' by Heartland.

However, this wasn't any old performance, as Nicole is a sign language interpreter, and her father decided he would pay tribute to that by signing the song.

"At my wedding reception my dad surprises my new husband and I by signing a beautiful song," she said. "I am a sign language interpreter so this meant the world to me.

"He said it took him the entire year I was engaged to learn how to sign this song."

Cortez, who is not deaf, was visibly emotional as her father performed, so much so that she couldn't contain herself.

But she wasn't the only one touched by the performance, so too was her new husband, who was tearing up as well.

YouTube/Nicole Cortez Figg via Storyful

Needless to say, social media users were touched by the heartfelt performance.

One viewer wrote: "Your dad is a blessing from Heaven. This is absolutely beautiful, no words can describe [sic]. You can see the love he has for his daughter and her husband. God Bless you and your family."

"You know he's a good husband when he saw his wife tearing and it got him tearing," observed a second.

"This is so beautiful. She so lucky to have a loving father," added a third, while a fourth wrote: "This is just way too precious! Even the groom was crying... so beautiful & touching! [sic]"

The video was so popular that it's garnered a whopping 29 million views on YouTube and undoubtedly upped the standard for many dads to boot.

As reported by Weston College, different countries around their world have their own versions of sign language, and in the UK, it's the fourth most spoken language.

Sign language, like spoken languages, even comes with its own 'accents'.

It also uses more than just signs to communicate and gestures are often an important part of it, as Courtez's dad expertly displayed at her wedding with his bed symbol.

Can you speak any sign language?

If you're interested in learning, more information can be found here.

Topics: Real Life

Emma Guinness

@guinness_emma