Babcock Ranch teacher’s wedding centerpiece goes viral on TikTok

Julia Merz, a beloved kindergarten teacher in Punta Gorda, added a unique touch to her wedding, making her students the stars of the day.

“I’ve had such great relationships with my students this year, I wanted to include them in some way,” said Julia. 

She printed paper cards with the words “Love is…” and asked her students to write or draw what love meant to them. 

Julia’s 88 students had answers that made her laugh but also touched her heart.

“I even wrote their names on each one so I knew who they were. I remember brainstorming these with them; it was just so special,” said Julia. 

Julia and her husband placed the students’ answers in golden frames and used them as centerpieces at the wedding. 

“A lot of people were taking pictures of them, posting them online, asking me a lot about them, and a lot of them were really impressed with the kids and what they were able to come up with,” said Julia. 

Her favorite card read, “Love is forever,” and it sat on her table.

A video of the centerpieces went viral on TikTok, garnering almost six million views and hundreds of thousands of likes within 24 hours. 

“I had people from all walks of life reaching out to me, saying it was coming up on their For You pages,” said Julia.

Julia plans to create a collage of the pictures in her classroom for all her students to see.