Grandfather, 100, Fulfills Bride’s Dream by Walking Her Down the Aisle and Dancing (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• At Amanda Wirtz’s wedding on Aug. 31, 2024, her then 100-year-old grandfather, William Robert Gordon, walked her down the aisle

• The pair also shared a sweet father-daughter dance at the reception

• “We both had tears in our eyes and I knew this was a big moment for him even if he didn’t say it,” Wirtz tells PEOPLE about Gordon, who turns 102 in October

A bride’s centenarian grandfather made her wedding day extra special.

Amanda Wirtz, now 28, tied the knot on Aug. 31, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C., when she was 27 years old. Among the 180 wedding guests was the bride’s grandfather, William Robert Gordon, who fulfilled her request for him to walk her down the aisle despite being 100 year olds at the time.

“I asked him to walk me down the aisle shortly after I got engaged in November [2023],” Wirtz tells PEOPLE now. “It was always something I figured he would do as my grandparents were a big part in raising me and I did not have my father involved at the time.”

Having celebrated the milestone birthday in October 2023, Gordon was initially “excited” about his granddaughter’s wedding ask, but “unsure” if he would live long enough to see her big day.

“Due to his age he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make a commitment and stick with it,” Wirtz continues. “He told me he would try and we would have to see how he was doing health-wise.”

Months later, Gordon — who turns 102 on Oct. 9 — kept his promise and was all smiles as he walked arm-in-arm down the aisle with Wirtz.

“I was very proud when I saw him all dressed up and ready to go at the church. We both had tears in our eyes and I knew this was a big moment for him even if he didn’t say it,” Wirtz shares. “He’s a man of few words but he was very happy to have had to privilege to walk me down.”

Photos of the pair’s ceremony have recently gone viral on TikTok, with one of Wirtz’s posts amassing about 640,000 views and 155,000 likes since being posted on July 25.

“The most special moment,” Wirtz captioned the clip. “I have never seen my grandfather cry. When I stepped out of the ‘hidden bride’ suite at the church, he teared up instantly. We walked all the way down the aisle and I have never felt more loved.”

“That man told death it can just wait a damn minute,” the top comment reads.

“Politely, I am insanely jealous,” one TikTok user wrote, with another emotionally moved individual commenting, “Trillion dollars couldn’t compare to how wealthy these souls are.”

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Gordon’s wedding duties didn’t stop there.

At the reception, he took on another fatherly role — the father-daughter dance.

“My grandfather also did my father-daughter dance with me and wore a Scottish tartan bow tie to honor his heritage,” Wirtz tells PEOPLE, explaining that “he was born in Scotland and moved with my grandmother in the ’60s.”

The grandfather-granddaughter duo have always had a “close” relationship, and plan to keep it that way.

“My grandfather and I have always been close,” Wirtz says. “He was more like a father to me and was always there for me alongside my grandmother no matter what was going on. They are truly special.”

In one of her most recent TikTok videos posted on Sept. 13, she added, “My grandparents have given me so much wisdom over the last 28 years, but the biggest thing they told me was take chances, do things even if they scare you!”

Read the original article on People