Kara was adopted when she was a toddler, but through most of her life, she wanted to know who her bilogical parents were.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on September 29, 2021. It has since been updated.
Kara Miller was only two days old when she was given up for adoption. Luckily, she was taken in by Doug and Dana Ashby and they showered her with love just as if she were their own. Even though she had a great time with the Ashbys, she knew she was adopted and was always keen on finding her biological parents, reports PEOPLE.
When Dana heard about MyHeritage's DNA Quest in 2019, which provides free DNA kits to adopted children who hope to reunite with their biological parents, she approached Kara, because she knew how important it was for her to find her biological parents.
Finally, in February 2021, Kara got a DNA match from a relative who then helped her connect with her biological father. "It was just exciting," Dana said.
Here's a beautiful story of a woman who found her biological dad seven months before he and her adopted dad co-walked her down the aisle at her wedding.https://t.co/virvv07KZz
— Dad 2️⃣.0️⃣ (@dad2summit) September 26, 2021
Kara was beyond excited to finally meet her biological father, but she was over the moon to find out that he felt the same way about their reunion, too. It was on a Friday that Mark got a call from his mother and sister, who told him that his DNA had matched with Kara's.
"I never knew that the day would ever come. I never thought it would," says Mark Wadley, who was 19 when Kara was born. "I've always wondered where she was, how she was, and all that, but I never knew if it would ever happen or not.
"Twenty-five years go by and you kind of... not lose faith, but you think it's going to get harder and harder for it to happen," he adds.
Adopted Woman Asks Both of Her Dads to Walk Her Down the Aisle on Wedding Day: 'It Was Amazing' #PEOPLEtheTVShow pic.twitter.com/6JIPMBxY7O
— People (@people) September 27, 2021
"At the beginning, I said, 'Okay, I'll do a DNA test and confirm it, but my sister and my mother told me we don't need another test, it's 100% her. I told my sister — if that's the case, give her my details. I want to speak with her," he says.
Then, the father and daughter spoke to each other via Facebook for over three hours, before they finally decided to meet in person. "I was very nervous but also very excited. I told her that we must meet and we scheduled a meeting for 2 weeks after. After a few days I felt that I just couldn't wait and asked to meet sooner," he says. "We live 2 hours drive from each other, so we met in a coffee house."
Thanks to Mark, Kara was also able to meet her birth mother, who was just 16 when she gave birth to Kara.
On September 18, 2021, 26-year-old Kara was supposed to get married, but she knew she had to have her biological parents involved, even though she'd only met them about seven months ago. She made sure Mark and Doug, both walked her down the aisle—Mark walked her down the first half, while Doug took over for the remaining distance. "It was amazing," Kara says. "This day has been definitely more perfect than I could've ever asked for. Everything's just been so wonderful."
"This year has been the best year for me of my whole life," she adds. "It's been so wonderful to be able to share that with all of my family."
References:
https://people.com/human-interest/adopted-woman-asks-both-of-her-dads-to-walk-her-down-the-aisle/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images
