Every girl who dreams of or is planning her wedding is thinking of the first dance during the reception. The father-daughter dance is a tradition – one of those that make guests tear up every single time.
However, not every bride has the chance to do the father-daughter dance. There are some women who have lost their fathers, and who just get sad by thinking how nice it would have felt to share the special moment with their dads.
One of those women is Mikayla Wroten. Her father, David Poling, lost his life about 15 years ago in the line of duty.
“I remember Mom telling us, sitting us down and told us that he wasn’t with us anymore and it was really one of those things like dad’s not gone, he’s just gone for the night and I think it was a couple weeks later that it actually set in that he was gone and he wasn’t coming back,” Mikayla told WSAZ 3.
Probation Officer David Poling had served with the Gallipolis Police Department and previously the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office. He was only 32 when he passed away, leaving behind his wife and two children aged nine and four.
Mikayla, Poling’s eldest daughter, got married ten years after her dad’s passing. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to share the special dance with her father and this was a disappointment for her.
But her dad’s friends didn’t intend to let her miss out on it. So, they gathered and did a little scheming behind her back. But it was all for a good cause.
“We wanted to be able to give her on her wedding day, the little piece of Dave that couldn’t be there, that each of us carry’s with us every day,” Sheriff Matt Champlin, Poling’s best friend, said.
So, during the wedding reception, and just when Mikayla was convinced that she would have to skip the father-daughter dance, her “fathers in blue” took turns dancing with her.
“Even though I do have a great stepdad now in my life, he wasn’t there you know, my dad wasn’t there to dance with me and it was something that was heart touching for me and I remember just looking around and taking it all in,” Mikayla said to WSAZ.
One by one, the officers danced with the bride, giving her the best gift they could on her special day.
Mikayla will never forget her dad, but she certainly does have these men to rely on in her life.
David Poling is an inspiration to his daughter, his best friend, and his son-in-law, who became an officer thanks to him.
“I saw that man impact more people in life and death than most ever will in an entire lifetime and that’s kind of my goal, to affect someone the way he did me,” Dakota, Mikayla’s husband, said.
Head over to the video below to watch the emotional wedding dance for yourself!
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