@tandkay021/TikTok
When couples decide to write their own wedding vows, the experience can be hit or miss. Many brides and grooms eloquently convey their love for each other in a funny or heartfelt way. Still, others miss the mark, coming off as corny or even cruel during their wedding ceremony.
To even her own surprise, Kirsten Durand, a bride with autism, perfectly nailed her personalized vows on her wedding day. Kirsten was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as an adult, partially because her now-husband, Troy Parker — who previously worked with children with autism — recognized the signs, Newsweek reported.
Although she has difficulty expressing emotion, Kirsten was able to articulate her feelings clearly on her wedding day. And folks on social media can’t get enough of the touching video of her reciting her vows.
A video of Kirsten Durand reciting her wedding vows recently went viral.
On April 12, Kirsten posted a clip of herself reciting personalized wedding vows to her groom on their wedding day. The TikTok video has attracted more than 2.9 million views and over 227,000 likes as of writing. Additionally, hundreds of TikTok users have expressed their love for her heartfelt words.
“Troy, everyone always told me that I was dreaming,” Kirsten started her vows. “That my standards were too high, and that I would need to settle at some point. But I didn’t listen. I knew you were out there. I realize now that I just wasn’t ready for you yet. I tried to describe how much I love you and came up with this.”
She declared that Troy challenges her ‘to view things not only in black and white.’
In her vows, Kirsten told her groom that if she were to put all of her favorite things in one room, “it wouldn’t even come close to how I feel about you.”
“I am my best self because I know you,” she added. “You even me out. You challenge me to view things not only in black and white, yet you bring color to every aspect of my life.”
Kirsten later continued, “I need you on the hard days, and I need you even more on the better ones. I need you to tell me everything is all right. Just as I need you to ground me — and I need a lot of grounding.”
Additionally, Kirsten included two of her special interests, princesses and ‘Titanic.’
As Kirsten continued her vows, she incorporated a couple of her special interests. The bride promised to always be there for her groom and to “always fight for us and to never let you go.”
She elaborated, declaring, “I will not be Rose from the Titanic, and you will not be Jack. There’s room for both of us on the door. And if not, we will take turns in the cold water, and you will probably be first.”
Additionally, Kirsten brought in her love for princesses.
“You bring out of me a type of love that I’ve never known,” she explained. “I saw romantic movies as only unrealistic expectations. I thought happily-ever-afters were only in fairy tales. I know, I dress up as a princess for a living. So it’s kind of ironic. But the more into the stories and characters I was, the more jaded I became. But then I met you.”
She added, “You may not be a prince, and of course, I’m certainly not a princess, but every day I feel like royalty next to you. I’m so excited for the future, as I know whatever life throws our way, we will get through it together. I actually get my happily-ever-after.”
In the comments, TikTok users reacted to Kirsten’s touching vows.
TikTok users shared their adoration for Kirsten and her vows in the comments.
One person declared, “These are the most real and beautiful vows I’ve ever seen I’m sobbing,” while another echoed, “The best vows I have ever heard.”
Another TikTok user commented, “The LOVE here is so palpable❤️❤️❤️.”
“‘We will take turns in the cold water’ was the thing to get me out of everything😭,” someone else wrote.
Still others were inspired by Kirsten because of their own diagnoses. One person shared, “As an autistic girly — thank you for sharing 🥰,” to which Kirsten replied, “I had no idea how many people it would inspire or touch.”
Meanwhile, someone else wrote, “The black and white line got me as someone with bpd.”
Another TikTok user commented, “Sometimes I wonder if this will ever happen for me because I’m autistic, but this is amazingly inspiring and has made me so happy.”
Kirsten said her words came across ‘exactly as intended for the first time’ in her life.
During an interview with Newsweek, Kirsten explained that as someone with autism, expressing her emotions can be difficult. “They can come out wrong — either too blunt or too logical and not emotive enough,” she told the publication.
But this wasn’t the case at her wedding.
“My words were coming across exactly as intended for the first time in my life,” she explained. “This was so special for me, and the fact it was captured on video makes it that much more special … I could openly share my feelings, which are often hard for me to verbalize.”