Bride Asks Autistic Brother To Officiate Wedding After He Learned to Speak
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A wedding ceremony near Woodstock, Vermont, took on an extra-special meaning for one man—and it wasn't the groom.
In a TikTok video, Paul Cella shared a clip of his son, Max, 29, who was nonverbal as a child, officiating his sister Tess's wedding. Max's heartfelt and humorous speech has since gone viral with over 255,000 likes.
Cella, 67, told Newsweek about his son's neurodiversity and the journey he has been on to play this special role in his sister's wedding.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you all for joining us," Max began in the video. "I'm Tess' brother … welcome to our special day."
A photo from Paul Cella's TikTok video of his son, Max, center, officiating his sister's wedding.
A photo from Paul Cella's TikTok video of his son, Max, center, officiating his sister's wedding.
@liberalpaul/TikTok
Max's speech was a blend of personal anecdotes and earnest advice. He shared insights into his relationship with the bride: "I've known Tess since we were children. We have two things in common. We both like Avatar the Last Airbender and Adventure Time … Tess is a good sister, except in high school, when she was kind of a sour puss."
The emotional core of Max's address came with his definition of marriage and rules for a happy life: "Being married means both of you must remain in love forever," he said. "Here are the rules for their happy life: Never quarrel, not even once … stay in shape and also be happy the entire time."
Cella shared the backstory of the remarkable moment. Max's older brother had recently married using a friend as an officiant, which inspired Tess and her husband to ask Max to officiate their wedding.
Cella explained his son's incredible journey: "Although Max was nonverbal as a child, over the years he's gained a vocabulary and public speaking style, which he has honed in his weekly social-media posts," Cella said. So, the family was confident in Max's ability to deliver.
"We all knew he'd be able to pull it off," Cella said. While the speech was built from Max's own words, his parents helped him "organize" his thoughts. Cella noted some abrupt transitions, like Max jumping "from talking about chicken tenders to artificial intelligence," which required some gentle guidance to keep him on track.
But the final result was kept under wraps until the big moment: "The substance of the speech was kept secret from everyone," Cella said. "We were confident he'd recite the speech, but we had no idea … that he would deliver it with such gusto."
For Max's parents, the moment was a profound affirmation of their work as a family.
"Every parent of a child with autism wonders what he might be able to accomplish, but Max has surprised us at every turn," Cella said. "Who knew he'd be an internet celebrity? … Max is literally the glue that has held his family together."
Beyond Max's impassioned speech, the wedding itself was also wonderful. Cella said that a forecast for three days of rain held off for clear skies—and, at one point, even the sun came out for the couple's exchange of vows.
"We viewed the entire event as a great gift," Cella concluded.
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