Bride Has 98-Year-Old Grandmother Be Her Flower Girl at Wedding: 'Everyone Was Crying' (Exclusive)

• Katie Lopus got married to Jon "J.C." Ball on Sept. 7, 2024, at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, Montana

• The bride's 98-year-old grandmother, Frances Lopus, was the flower girl

• "There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Literally everyone was crying," Katie tells PEOPLE of her wedding ceremony

A bride's 98-year-old grandmother had a very special role at her wedding.

Before Katie Lopus, 33, walked down the aisle to marry Jon "J.C." Ball, 35, her grandmother, Frances Lopus, happily created a path of petals for her. She was the flower girl at their outdoor wedding ceremony on Sept. 7, 2024, at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, Montana.

"A flower girl spreads petals and sets the stage for love, growth and commitment, which my grandma has done for me my whole life," Katie tells PEOPLE. "This is a true analogy and symbol of what she’s been to me and my whole family — and the deliverer of smiles and joy."

A video montage including photographs taken by Sydney Tobin Photo and footage by wedding content creator Nikki Crow of KeepCandid was recently shared by the bride on TikTok. In the clips, Frances happily scatters locally-grown white rose petals from her walker.

"cue the tears 🥹 I dreamed of this moment for years and it was one of my favorite parts of the day 🪻🪷💕," Katie wrote in the caption.

"There wasn’t a dry eye in the house," the bride tells PEOPLE of the moment. "Literally everyone was crying."

After the wedding, her grandmother told her that being her flower girl made her feel like she was "in seventh heaven."

"When I was walking down the aisle, I kept thinking to myself, I hope I’m doing this right and throwing enough petals!” she added.

Wedding guests noted that Frances was "beaming" and had a "big grin across her face," grateful to be a part of the ceremony. They also said it was "special" to witness such a meaningful moment.

Katie says that making Frances her flower girl was an easy decision because the role was "truly symbolic" of the role she's had during her entire life.

"The role of a flower girl is to bring joy to the ceremony, and my grandma has brought joy to me my whole life, as well as my fiancé, ever since she met him four years ago," she says.

Related: Woman Surprises Sister with a Gift That Makes Her Cry at Her Engagement Party: 'Absolutely in Shock' (Exclusive)

What wasn't as easy was the cross-country trip Frances had to take in order to attend the wedding. Frances lives in Florida and the wedding was in Montana, but luckily she was more than willing to travel for the big day.

Katie asked her grandmother in early 2024 to be her flower girl.

"She opened a box of rose petals with a notecard saying, ‘Will you be my flower girl?’ " Katie recalls. "She immediately broke into the biggest smile, and started laughing. She replied, 'Are you kidding? Oh, that's cute, I’d be happy to be your flower girl.' "

Frances then went into action by throwing the couple an engagement party in Naples, Florida. She invited all of her friends, who are also in their 90s and were "the life of the party."

"She's lived almost a century and seen so much, but she doesn’t let the dark moments overshadow the bright, and that’s what has helped her live to be 98-years-young," Katie says. "She’s a shining light and you’ll never catch her missing a game of bridge, sipping mocktails and dinner dates with her different groups of girlfriends."

Katie and "Grammy" have been best friends for as long as she can remember.

"As I was becoming a woman, she was having a rebirth of her own, in a new chapter without my grandfather, so it felt like we went through girlhood together," she says. "Her journey through womanhood has helped shape mine. We have a relationship where we always tell the truth, share our wisdoms, and while we are family, we’re best friends."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She continues: "She’s always been my mentor and has taught me my core values of family first, the importance of friendships, having a positive mindset and independence. What’s so special as women is that we are all just girls, and we’re all this age for the first time."

Last month, Fox News reported that a North Texas woman became the world's oldest flower girl at 94 years old — but Frances has her beat, being less than two years shy of a century.

Read the original article on People