Bride Without a Father

I am so sorry for your loss! I lost my dad when I was 12 and now that I am getting married next year it was hard to think about but my mom is going to walk me down the aisle. Her and I are very close and she has always been there for me especially after my dad died!

So sorry for your loss. I unfortunately won't have the opportunity this time around. So I understand your struggles. I'm having my oldest (17 year old) son walk me in his place. They were the BEST of friends and its what he would've wanted. My suggestion is whom makes you most comfortable. Dangle a pendent ,in memory, from your flowers. He will be right there with you.

I am so sorry for your loss. My dad passed away when I was 12. Planning this wedding has been such an emotional time for me. I will be excited and happy one minute and then I will think of my dad and how it would be if he was here and then I am sad and in tears. I am having my brother ( who is my dads only son) walk me down the aisle. I feel like he is the closest person to my dad that I could have give me away. No advice on holding it together since my wedding is not until next month but my brother will be dancing my father/daughter dance with me to "Dance with my father again'' by Luther Vandross while pictures of my dad are on a projector screen, I am 150% sure I am going to cry my eyes out.

For our minimony I walked myself down the aisle because none of my family could be there (stupid Covid). We are having wedding 2.0 this summer and I'm planning to have my brother walk me. I'm also planning to have part of my dad's old sweatshirt cut into the shape of a heart and sewn on the inside of my dress. That way its my something blue and so I feel like he's with me walking down the aisle but it's not visible to anyone but me.

My brother walked me down the aisle, and I wore a locket with my dad's picture in it, so that he could be "with me." My brother replied to "who presents this woman" with "on behalf of those who are here and those who could not be, I do." We had photos of our parents with their parents on their wedding days on the guest book table. I danced with my brother to the song from which my dad got his nickname for me (John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulders (Makes Me Happy)").

You're going to have moments that day where it *hurts* physically. Just remember he wanted you to be happy and he is with you on that day (and every day).

View Quoted Comment Reading this just made me choke up a bit. Thank you for your reply. I've been leaning towards my older brother because he resembles my dad the most in personality.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your reply. Fortunately I do have a beautiful urn necklace I will be wearing and saving a seat for my dad's picture next to my mom. I hope you have a beautiful wedding this summer!!

View Quoted Comment Bridget, your reply just made my eyes tear up. That's such a great idea I've! I've never heard of that song before so I will have to look it up. It's really nice to know someone is feeling the same as I do.. I hope you have a beautiful wedding and you are able to hold it together the best you can.

I’m so sorry about your loss. My dad passed away when I was younger, and I am getting married later this year. I am having my mom walk me down the isle because we are very close. I have a charm with my dads picture in it and I am going to tie it around my bouquet, like he’s still walking me down the isle. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep it together, but that’s natural. I wish you the best of luck with your wedding planning ❤️

I know exactly how you feel and I'm sorry! I lost my dad 3 years ago and I'm getting married in a month. It has been hard. I'm planning for my mom to walk down the aisle with just because we are very close, if my dad was still here I would have them both walk me down the aisle. For the father/ daughter dance, I'm dancing with my brother while a slide show is playing with pictures of me and my dad. Honestly it's up to you on how you want to honor your dad. He will be proud regardless ❤

View Quoted Comment Those are both great ideas! I hope you have a beautiful wedding as well and I'm sorry for your loss! ❤️

I don't have a father because mine was abusive/toxic so we agreed to part ways. My mother is not invited or in my life either for same reasons.

I have no intentions to walk alone because I get nervous in crowds and I know that I would freeze up like a deer in headlights and not be able to walk without an escort. I don't have other male relatives I am close to so it will likely be a friend.

I’m so sorry for your loss. My father passed away in June and I have been struggling with this myself. My uncle was like a father figure to me growing up so I’m thinking of asking him due to my brother being a groomsmen already. I’d say ask whomever you feel the most comfortable with though.

I'm so sorry for your loss. My father died when I was in college, and I always find it really difficult to observe the traditional father-daughter dance at weddings. We ended up doing a Covid elopement, but are hoping to have a "redo" wedding once it is safe to do so. I had been planning to walk down the aisle by myself. I never really liked the idea of a bride being "given away" and that whole tradition stems from the idea of women being property and being transferred (as property) from father to husband, anyway, which is obviously a super outdated notion. Then for the father-daughter dance we were going to do a parent-child dance instead, combining the father-daughter and mother-son dances into one, and having me dance with my mom and my husband dance with his mom.

Some brides do a locket or a bouquet charm with a photo of their dads so that they are with them when they go down the aisle. My mom was diagnosed with cancer just before our original wedding date and its difficult to tell how well her treatment is going, so I'm not even sure if she will be at our wedding celebration when we can finally have it. I've thought about wearing their wedding rings on a chain around my neck for whatever we do as a ceremony in the event they both cannot be there.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm also dealing with this challenge myself. I've seen a lot of beautiful ways to incorporate him into my wedding even if he can't physically be there.
For the father daughter dance, I'm going to dance to The Dance by Garth Brooks and have each of my brothers and the other important men in my life switch off to dance with me.
I will also honor loss of loved ones by including a third empty chair at my sweetheart table, as an implication that they are still there with us.I'm considering adding his birth flower to my bouquet for walking down the aisle. Or hanging a small picture of him from the bouquet. I've also seen pictures of women who have added small great cut outs from thier loved ones old shirts and sewn them into thier dress, which if you'd be okay with that modification, you could also do.

Hello, I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s a roller coaster of feelings you feel when thinking of everything not being 100 happy to plan when you lose a loved one. I didn’t grow up with my dad around and the thought has come to my mind when it came to planning my wedding in the beginning stage but luckily I have an older brother I’m close to and decided that he will take me down the aisle as he’s been my closest friend all these years. If you have a brother I would suggest to talk to him but if not I’d think walking down with mom would be a nice way to honor your dad. After all they both have watched you grow together and if they e been together remember she and him were 1. Who else could be better than the other half of your dad. Good luck and God bless

Both of my parents have passed away but I'm super close to my brother so he is giving me away. If he hadn't done it I would have also considered a different male family member that I'm close too.

View Quoted Comment I’m so sorry for your loss, this is for everyone definitely including the bride I’m getting married next year, I thank you for reading this!