This Groom Honored His Sister With a Butterfly Release at His Wedding

Groom-to-be Max lost his sister in a tragic car accident a few years prior to his wedding, so he knew he wanted to honor her at his nuptials.

Max along with his bride, Lydia, thought a butterfly release would be the perfect way to celebrate her during the ceremony—there is a common belief that lost loved ones come back to visit us as butterflies—but they weren't prepared for what would happen after.

As Max's parents released the butterflies during the ceremony, not all of them flew away. Instead, they clung to the newlyweds, the groom's parents, and other guests in attendance.

"As they released the butterflies, they wouldn’t fly off," wrote Jessica Manns, the couple's wedding photographer, in a Facebook post first spotted by the Huffington Post. "They clung all over them and even stayed on their bodies the entire ceremony and well afterwards into cocktail hour."

Manns captured the stunning moment on camera, and after sharing the photos on Facebook last month, the moment quickly went viral.

A butterfly even landed on the groom's father and stayed there throughout the ceremony. "This same butterfly on his finger stayed there the entire ceremony and then flew onto the bride’s bouquet after the recessional," she wrote in the post.

The butterflies also landed on the groom's mother as she watched her son marry his bride.

"This is probably the most emotional thing I’ve witnessed at a wedding," Manns also shared on Facebook. As the newlyweds exited the wedding ceremony as husband and wife, two butterflies even clung to the bride's dress.

Later on during the reception, another butterfly even found its way inside and rested on the bride's shoulder. "Unreal," said Manns as she explained how the butterfly stayed there for the rest of the speeches.

When Max and Lydia planned this tribute, they had no idea how powerful it would be. Their weddings photos are truly one-of-a-kind and it is safe to say the groom's sister was definitely watching over the couple as they said "I do."