A chance meeting at a hotel bar in Iowa turned into a once-in-a-lifetime wedding moment, thanks to none other than pop star Camila Cabello. On the night before Kelli Murray's wedding, she happened to cross paths with the 'Havana' singer while relaxing at her hotel.
The bride-to-be mentioned she’d chosen Cabello’s touching ballad 'First Man' for her father-daughter dance, and Camila did not think twice in offering to sing it live the next evening.
Wearing a slinky black dress, Cabello made a surprise appearance at the wedding on Saturday, September 20, joining guests to perform 'First Man' while Kelli danced with her father, Mike. The moment was captured in a now-viral TikTok video shared by Murray’s cousin, who later gushed, “She was such a kind human and helped make pure magic last night.”
"I got to meet Kelli and I got to meet her family and I got to meet her amazing dad, Mike... We kind of planned this and it was kind of a little last minute thing that we put together," Cabello explained during a heartfelt speech before singing.
The bride's cousin introduced the moment online, saying, “Camila Cabello met my cousin at a hotel bar, and showed up at her wedding the next day to sing her father-daughter dance!!!” Another post simply read, “Like, this doesn’t even sound like real life!”
The emotional weight of the song wasn’t lost on anyone. Cabello wrote 'First Man' about her own father, imagining how he might feel on her wedding day, an event that hasn’t yet happened for the singer. She even joked, “I wonder if this will be my father-daughter dance [song],” drawing laughs from the crowd.
"I'm really honored to be a part of this moment for you... Specifically, this father-daughter dance moment because I'm such a daddy's girl," she said. "And I feel like your dad, if you're lucky, is your first love, your first hero. He's the man that sets the stage for the next man in your life."
The moment grew even more touching when Cabello addressed the bride directly. “I’m such a daddy’s girl and I feel like your dad, if you’re lucky, is your first love, your first hero, the man that kind of sets the stage for the next man in your life,” she shared. She added that from just speaking with the bride and her father, “I could tell he loves the hell out of you.”
After finishing her speech with a joyful “To daddy’s girls!” she launched into her emotional performance. At one point during the song, Cabello even worked Kelli’s name into the lyrics, as the bride swayed with her visibly emotional father. The singer later followed up with a comment on TikTok, writing, "I'm honored I was a part of your family's special day, u guys are precious."