Bride noticed one touching detail in every groomsman’s attire — the groom’s tribute to her late grandmother made her cry
A personal detail at a wedding can honor a loved one and keep their memory close throughout the celebration. For Los Angeles bride Rachel Sanon, a heartfelt plan her soon-to-be husband worked on with her mother honored a very important person in her life. As PEOPLE reported on November 28, 2025, Rachel, 29, had flown to Cabo San Lucas for her wedding with her fiancé, Eli Sanon, thinking she already knew every detail of the day ahead. But Eli shared something special he had been keeping close when they landed.
@rachelpetrasanon I cry every time #weddingday #groomsman #bridalparty ♬ scott street x i know the end - 𝘿𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙑𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙨🎧
Eli had planned that the groomsmen would not be wearing traditional boutonnieres. Instead, each man would adorn one of her late grandmother’s vintage brooches while they walked down the aisle. "I immediately started crying," Rachel recalled. The idea itself was beautiful, but its impact didn’t fully settle until their first look. There, standing in front of her, Eli wore one of the brooches she recognized instantly. Later, as she saw each groomsman wearing a different piece from the collection, the meaning deepened. "It was one of the most beautiful moments of the entire day," she stated.
The gesture was pure Eli, thoughtful, stylish, and rooted in symbolism. Rachel describes Eli as someone who "loves fashion, art, and jewelry," a man who appreciates the language of aesthetics. So when he remembered her mother mentioning her grandmother’s brooch collection, he saw an opportunity to bring something deeply personal for the bride. A month before the wedding, he quietly reached out to Rachel’s mom, and she shared the collection. Eli selected pieces to carry with them to Cabo, and once they arrived, he showed them to the groomsmen. "They all loved looking through the collection and choosing the one that spoke to them," Rachel said.
The result was a wedding party dressed in coordinated black suits, each one with an accessory that held more history than any boutonniere ever could. But for Rachel, this was more than a creative styling choice because it was about her grandmother. "She was my role model, my first style icon," Rachel explained. Seeing those brooches, pieces she had admired since childhood, woven into her wedding day made her feel that her grandmother was there with her. "It meant so much to my mom as well—to see her mother celebrated and honored," she said.
As the clip of the groomsmen posing with the brooches was shared by Rachel on TikTok under the handle @rachelpetrasanon on October 26, 2025, people couldn’t resist talking about it. Since then, more than a million viewers have watched and shared their thoughts. @bekahwhatthehekah commented, “I just imagine them sitting with her brooches and trying them on, picking out their favorites, and which one they’re going to wear.” @shyhop_studio simply declared, “The greenest of flags.” "This is so special," @unphasedlife remarked.
The video that amassed more than 256.7K likes was captioned, "I cry every time." Rachel hadn’t expected the moment to resonate so widely. “It reminded me of one of the beautiful things about social media: how it allows strangers to share in something heartfelt and feel close to a story that isn’t their own.”
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