Tearful Groom Hears Stepdaughter Call Him ‘Dad’ for First Time at Wedding

NEED TO KNOW

• Marcos Padilla became a father figure to Zoë Avile after entering her life in 2017

• At Marcos’ wedding to Zoë’s mom, Jessica, in September 2025, Zoë surprised him with an emotional audio recording calling him “Dad” for the first time

• The heartfelt moment left the family and the wedding guests in tears

As if weddings aren’t emotional enough, a groom shed extra tears of happiness thanks to a special message from his stepdaughter.

As Marcos Padilla, 33, stood at the altar waiting for his bride, Jessica, 30, and her daughter, Zoë Avile, to walk down the aisle on Sept. 12, 2025, a surprise audio recording played, per Happily. Padilla has been a father figure to Zoë since she was 2 years old, and she picked the perfect moment to call him “Dad” for the first time.

“Hey, Dad. When I first met you, I always looked up to you like you were my dad. As I got older, I was scared to call you my dad. But I no longer am, because you are my dad,” Zoë said in the recording. “Thank you for loving me, Zay and my mom. I will never forget everything you’ve done for me. I love you so much.”

She added, “And by the way, Mommy looks very pretty.”

Reactions to the touching surprise were recorded by the wedding videographer, Will Vuitton of Vuitton Visuals. Tears of joy ran down Marcos’ face as his groomsmen smiled behind him. Back down the aisle, Zoë cried as she tossed flower petals for her mother, who told Happily, “This moment meant so much to her.”

“She has always told me how much she wanted to call him ‘Dad’ but always felt a bit scared,” Jessica told the outlet. “She always mentioned how much she would love to be a Padilla, and she respects him so much. For our wedding, we wanted to surprise him with a meaningful message, so I shared the idea with Zoë, and she immediately loved it.”

When Zoë played the message for her mother before the wedding, they were both “overwhelmed with emotion.”

“I asked her if this is really how she felt and she replied, ‘Yes, Mom. I’ve always wanted to call him Dad,’ ” Jessica said.

Marcos, who is from Philadelphia, stepped into Zoë’s life in 2017, per Happily. Over the years, the pair developed “a very special bond.” Whether it was big or small, Marcos was there for every moment in Zoë’s childhood.

When Zoë called Marcos “dad” for the first time at the wedding, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“So many people shared how emotional that moment was, and almost everyone at our wedding was in tears,” Jessica told Happily. “Even on social media, we’ve received an overwhelming amount of love, with so many people commenting on how beautiful it is to see a man step up and be a father in a little girl’s life.”

Read the original article on People