Nashville Wedding Venues

Guest Post:

The father walking his daughter down the aisle and entrusting her to the care of her future husband is a time-honoured tradition, a tradition which symbolizes a father giving his most valuable treasure to another man who will love, respect and honor her for all the years to come. However, this tradition isn’t as religiously followed nowadays as more and more women are marrying at a later age. In addition, there are instances where a woman has a father and a stepfather, or has a father who passed away.

Today, there are traditions that are being created. These traditions take into account the fact that families today have changed, and that the bride and groom would want to demonstrate their individuality. In the end, it doesn’t matter who walks the bride down the aisle. The important thing is that the bride is happy. Listed below are a few of the new practices that adhere to wedding walk etiquette:

If the bride’s father is deceased, or was not a part of the bride’s life for a long period of time, she may wish to invite her stepfather, brother, uncle, or family friend to walk her down the aisle instead. If the bride has always felt closer to her mother, she can choose to have her mother give her away.

According to Jewish wedding tradition, both the father and mother walk the bride down the aisle; a tradition that honours the love that they’d given their child and the effort they placed into their daughter’s upbringing. More and more brides from all religions are taking a cue from this tradition and are choosing to have both parents give them away; as this tradition expresses their appreciation for both parents and the love and caring they’ve given her throughout her life.

If both the father and the stepfather were strong influences on her life, the bride may choose to have both walk her down the aisle. Alternatively, the father may walk the bride halfway down the aisle and the stepfather will walk the bride the rest of the way, and vice versa. This way, the bride expresses her love and her appreciation for both fathers.  This works well at a Nashville wedding chapel like Wightman Chapel which has a long aisle, or Springhaven Mansion where there is ample distance for the walk-in.

If the bride is at an older age, she may feel a bit foolish having her father walk her down the aisle.  Nowadays, a bride walking down the aisle alone isn’t an uncommon sight, as this shows that she is independent in her decision to become one with the man of her dreams.

If the bride was previously married and had children from that union, she may choose to have her son or daughter walk her down the aisle; not to symbolically give her away, but to illustrate how the children are still an important part of the bride’s new life.

Some brides choose to walk down the aisle with their groom. This isn’t uncommon, especially if the couple feels that they have created a life together, independent from their families. The bride and groom may walk down the aisle together to show how much they’re committed to each other. Another option is to have the groom meet the bride halfway down the aisle, to signify their union on middle ground, instead of the bride walking towards her new husband.

In the end, what really matters is what the bride’s decision is; whether to do a traditional wedding walk with her father, or something less traditional. The wedding walk itself is an extremely significant moment for the bride; an indication of the changes that her life will undergo as a wife. The bride should choose a wedding walk that suits her and her personality most.

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