In preparation for her special day, Marielle Slagel Keller quickly came to realize that she would have to add 20 pint-sized guests to her list.
The kindergarten teacher, based in Indianapolis, has grown especially close to her students over the last school year.
When it came time for her to tie the knot to her longtime love, Keller knew she wouldn’t be able to walk down the aisle without the children who make teaching worthwhile.
“They’re the kids that mean the most to me. They’re a part of who I am,” Keller, 25, told ABC News.
Not only were the kids invited to the wedding, they participated in it! All 20 of the students acted as flower girls and ring bearers for the beautiful ceremony.
“There were a couple that shielded their eyes when we kissed,” Keller recalled.
Keller’s husband, Mike Keller, confessed that he was initially nervous about having 20 kids in the wedding, but he’s glad the plan went off without a hitch.
"I said, ‘This is lovely,’ but in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, 'There’s a 25 percent chance this will go according to plan," Mike Keller, 26, told ABC News. "I thought, ‘This is going to be interesting: a herd of 6-year-olds coming down the aisle in this very important moment.'"
"But she really had a passion for it on this special day, and I’m glad she went with it. It ended up being perfect," he added.
Right after the ceremony, Keller surprised her students with cupcakes, much to their delight.
“The first thing we did right afterward was to go to the cupcake ceremony. I’m immediately sidelined by the entire pack of children running to give her a huge hug,” Mike Keller said. “You could tell they really love her. They were so excited.”
The bride said having her students with her for one of the most important days of her life “was everything” to her.
“I’m really close to their families, too,” she explained to ABC News. “They supported me throughout this wedding planning process, so it wouldn’t have been right to not have them be there the day of."
"To have those kids walk down the aisle for me was really special. There were a lot of tears,” she added.
According to ABC News, school started back up this week for the kids, and Keller can’t wait to see all their smiling faces.