When groom Billy Bastin, 26, got the signal to turn around for a “first look” with his bride-to-be, Sally, he got the shock of his life when he saw his brother instead.
Johnny Bastin, 24, was scheduled to be deployed on a Navy submarine, missing the wedding completely, but he was able to head to shore in time for the ceremony.
The newlyweds had originally picked a wedding date based on when they thought that Johnny, a major part of Billy's life, would be available. In March, however, Johnny received notice that he would be deployed.
The close-knit family rallied and tried to keep their spirits up for the bride and groom's sake. Their sister, Lexi, 22, stepped into the line of groomsmen to take Johnny's place.
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Even though he knew Johnny couldn't physically be at his wedding, Billy joked that on his wedding day, he would turn around and his brother would "just be there," the boys' mom Lea Bastin tells TODAY.com.
What Billy didn't know was that she was about to help make his vision come true.
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Billy and Sally Bastin were set to get married in the botanical gardens outside of San Diego, California, on Sept. 28.
Late in the evening of Sept. 26, as Lea was driving to the wedding venue with her husband, Christopher Bastin (a Navy vet himself), she started video chatting with Johnny's long-term girlfriend, Kira Hansen.
The family had received notice of a "supply drop" for Johnny's submarine, which meant "there's no way the boat's coming back anytime soon," says Lea. “I cried for easily a week before the wedding simply because my whole family wasn’t going to be there.”
The news of the supply drop prompted her to call Hansen, who tried to comfort her.
"All of the sudden, [Kira] starts giggling," Lea says, "She goes, 'Except he's here!' And she turned the camera and he was sitting next to her."
Lea still doesn't know how Johnny arranged the trip — "He's not allowed to tell me" — but she is forever grateful to the Navy for making it happen.
"They did him right," she says.
Hatching the idea
Johnny, Kira and Lea immediately began brainstorming ways to surprise Billy with Johnny's arrival.
At first, Lea thought Johnny could potentially step into the lineup of groomsmen during the wedding. But Johnny was adamant that he didn't want to steal focus from the wedding ceremony or the bride.
Luckily, Billy and Sally had planned a pre-wedding ceremony. They were going to have a first look and then share private vows with the wedding officiant, Lea's aunt, a former youth minister who helms a number of their family weddings. They realized that Johnny could step in for Sally for a more unique first look.
Lea knew she would need the bride's blessing before moving forward with the plan, and "she was all for it," Lea says. Sally wanted to see the moment when the brothers reunited, but she also didn't want to spoil her actual first-look moment, so she arranged for her photographer to be there to capture the surprise.
The big reveal
The surprise ended up being more difficult to pull off than Lea anticipated.
Every wedding guest expected Johnny to be at sea, and "we didn't want anyone to scream out Johnny's name" if they spotted him, Lea recalls. So they had to sneak him into the venue.
Then Lexi unexpectedly showed up at the reveal. "When she saw Johnny, she literally burst into tears," Lea says. "She stayed with me to be able to watch the first look."
Once the wedding photographer moved Billy into place, facing him away from the camera, Johnny stepped out of the shadows and waited for his brother to turn around.
When Billy turned around and spotted Johnny, he stood still for a moment in disbelief, and then he immediately doubled over. Johnny waited a moment for Billy to gather himself and then walked forward to embrace his brother.
Lea was filming the whole scene and somehow managed to keep a steady hand. "I just wanted Sally to be able to see it," Lea says, "and so I was doing everything I can to make it perfect — so Sally can see how great her day was."
Johnny was able to stay ashore for 48 hours, enjoying both the wedding ceremony and the reception with his family, before returning to duty. Now he's back at sea, Billy and Sally are on their honeymoon and the family has memories (and video!) to treasure.
"It was everything we could have asked for," says Lea.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
