A loving bride paid a touching tribute to her groom’s ex-girlfriend and four-year-old son by dedicating them special vows during her wedding ceremony.
Katie Musser, 24, tied the knot with her partner Jeremy Wade, 23, earlier this year. The bride, of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, met Jeremy in 2013, three weeks before his son Landon was born.
Casey Bender, 25, Landon’s mother, and Katie, didn’t always get along. But over the years, after taking time to get to know each other and learning how to communicate, they have become close friends, so much so that Katie couldn’t imagine not including Casey and Landon in her ceremony.
Family: Katie Musser (second from left), 24, tied the knot with her partner Jeremy Wade (left), 23, earlier this year and paid a special tribute to Jeremy’s ex-girlfriend Casey Bender (third from left), Casey’s husband Tyler Bender (right), and Casey and Jeremy’s son Landon (front)
Touching: Before taking traditional wedding vows with her groom, the bride turned to Casey, who was watching from the audience, and pledged to be the best co-parent she can be
Stepson: The officiant then asked Landon to come up, which he did, clad in a dapper black tuxedo matching Jeremy’s. He gave Katie a tight hug after listening to her vows
Also included was Tyler Bender, Casey’s husband, who is close to Landon and has also become a parental figure in the little boy’s life.
Before taking traditional wedding vows with her groom, the bride turned to Casey, who was watching from the audience, and pledged to be the best co-parent she can be.
‘First I want to thank you for accepting me as your friend and allowing me to be a part of Landon’s life,’ Katie, donning a long, white gown and a matching veil, told Casey. ‘I promise to be an amazing mother to your son. I will guide, teach and love him every single day.’
The bride, who was visibly moved, promised to ‘respect, work, listen and communicate together as co-parents’ in her tribute to Casey.
‘I will love you guys no matter what comes our way. We are one family always,’ she added.
Duo: Casey (right) and Katie (left) didn’t always get along. But over the years, after taking time to get to know each other and learning how to communicate, they have become close friends
Love: Katie’s words appeared to warm Landon’s heart, as the little boy showed by leaning in to hug her tightly twice and give his stepmom a kiss
Message: Katie turned to Casey, who was watching among the audience, to deliver her heartfelt vows and express her happiness that all her loved ones now form ‘one big family’
The officiant then asked Landon to come up, which he did, clad in a dapper black tuxedo matching Jeremy’s.
‘Landon, I love you more than you will ever know,’ Katie told her stepson while many in the audience sniffled. ‘I’ve had the privilege of knowing you since the beginning. I love watching you grow and I will for the rest of my life. I’m so happy that I now officially get to be your bonus mom.’
Katie promised Landon to protect, stand by, and listen to him.
‘I promise to love Daddy with all my heart,’ she added. ‘I promise to be a best friend to Mommy and Daddy Tyler. We will be one big family that I promise you’ll have for the rest of your life.’
Her words appeared to warm the little boy’s heart, as he showed by leaning in to hug her tightly twice and give his stepmom a kiss.
Casey, who can be seen in photos and video of the wedding sharing Katie and Jeremy’s happiness, felt extremely moved by the homage, which took her by surprise.
‘I was completely blindsided in the most wonderful way,’ she told ABC News. ‘Looking back, it doesn’t surprise me because that’s the kind of pure person Katie is. She wants everyone to know that you can do this. It can be easy and you can love the co-parent of your child.’
Couple: Jeremy and Katie met just three weeks before Jeremy’s son was born; Katie was shocked when she found out about Landon’s birth three weeks after the fact
Support: Casey and Katie are now supportive of each other and have developed a close bond
Lets’ party! Jeremy shared a dance with the mother of his son during the wedding reception
Katie explained in a candid Facebook post that she and Casey have come a long way since the beginning of their relationship, when they strongly disliked each other.
The bride had been texting with Jeremy for about six weeks when he told her he had a child. Katie asked how old the child was, and was shocked when Jeremy said Landon was three weeks old, meaning he was born three weeks after Jeremy met Katie.
‘I sat in my apartment in utter shock. A million questions going through my mind. I had known him for six weeks? And his son was three weeks? Why didn’t he tell me?’ she wrote.
Katie at the time stayed calm and replied saying the birth of Landon’s son was an exciting event, but on the inside she kept panicking while questions raced through her mind.
‘It was rough. Jeremy was different after Landon. There was a constant battle and fight. And yup, Landon’s mom (Casey) and I hated each other,’ Katie recounted. ‘So many stories, rumors, and judgments, but what would you expect? That’s all we ever saw. That’s the norm. You don’t like the ‘other person.’
Together: Katie has grown to love not only Jeremy, but also Landon, and called herself the little boy’s ‘bonus mother’ during the ceremony
Emotional: The bride and groom shared a passionate kiss in front of a very moved audience
Looking on: Casey and her husband watched among the spectators while the pair tied the knot
Mother-son: Landon arrived holding hands with his mother Casey to celebrate the wedding
The bride eventually reached her breaking point when she woke up and told herself ‘I truly hate who I have become.’ She ended up reaching out to Casey before Landon’s first birthday.
‘I spoke nothing but truth to her. It was not easy. You can’t trust someone in a second,’ Katie wrote. ‘Eventually we started having “mommy dates” and talked about everything from ourselves, Landon, and even old relationships.’
Their common love for Landon, she added, enabled the two women to bond. ‘I may not have been there for his first step, potty training, or his first dentist [appointment], but Casey respected me like I was. She still treated me like his mom. It never was an act (although I thought it was at times). She was true,’ Katie wrote.
Jeremy and Tyler, Casey’s husband, found it harder to become friends. Still, Jeremy sent Tyler a message one day, thanking him ‘for raising Landon and being the dad he wasn’t’, Katie recounted.
That day, Jeremy offered Tyler to go out for a drink, which Tyler ‘respected’, although the drink didn’t happen.
The situation might change, though, because as the night of Katie and Jeremy’s wedding day was coming to a close, Tyler told Jeremy while saying goodbye that they should go grab that drink together.
‘That hit Jeremy hard later,’ Katie added. ‘We finally made it and Jeremy told me that it would’ve never got to that point if Casey or I didn’t fight as hard as we did.’
The bride hopes her story inspires other co-parents to communicate and support one another.
‘Everyone facing custody problems, acceptance, understanding, relationship problems, etc. We get it. Not everyone gets the luxury of having a relationship like we formed,’ she wrote.
‘But it’s possible to get along, communicate, and give the same rules / love / respect on both sides for your child / children. Go against the norm. BE that CHANGE.’