Ceremony wording for "brings the bride"

becky659

Our wedding is in 10 days!
I was reading over the final version of our ceremony and I keep coming back to this one part of it that bugs me:
"Who gives this bride to be married"

Ugh. My parents aren't really "giving me"... I'm sure many people have changed it to "Brings," but that still kind of feels like my parents "bringing" me to the dentist as a kid!

So I was thinking,
"Who accompanies *myname* to be married?"

Is that a complete, weird departure from the norm?

OBX2011

In case you didn't know, the meaning behind "who gives this bride" is when the couple leaves their families to start a new life together.  It's not really meant to be interpreted as you are a piece of property that your father is just giving away. 

You could use "who supports this couple in their new marriage"

aragx6

I'm not sure who is performing your ceremony, but we're not having our officiant say anything at all. My mom will walk me down the aisle, we'll hug and she'll go sit down.

becky659

I like that! We're having a conformation call to the pastor tonight and I'll ask him if he would mind us both standing up there with our parents.
I bet my FI would really like that too!
I'd also like to honor his parents because they're been so supportive and wonderful.

Summer2011Bride

At our wedding, the officiant asked, "Who blesses this marriage?" and at that point, my parents said, "We do."

becky659

The in-laws loved the idea of having both sets of parents "bless" the marriage before sitting down, so I think we'll do that!
Thanks for that idea

NOLAbridealmost

I've always heard "Who presents this woman to be married" and I've only ever heard either "Her mother and I do" (if Dad escorts) "We do" (if both escort or one parent escorts) or "her family does." 

DramaGeek

Ours was "who supports Groom and Bride...." and my dad answered "their parents do."

Lisa50

Just delete the entire line.

cwill6212

We skipped this part entirely, since I walked down the aisle alone.

naomikb

"Presents" would work. "Who presents ..."?

In our wedding we skipped it all together. I walked up with my dad, he shook hands with my H, then I took H's arm.  The music ended and the pastor welcomed the guests.

jemmini6

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_ceremony-wording-for-brings-the-bride?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:a6c58f46-f2ae-485e-a580-74548a69609cPost:b8c06cb4-7f69-443b-bb96-396a3de1ecb7">Re: Ceremony wording for "brings the bride"</a>:
[QUOTE]I've always heard "Who presents this woman to be married" and I've only ever heard either "Her mother and I do" (if Dad escorts) "We do" (if both escort or one parent escorts) or "her family does." 
Posted by NOLAbridealmost[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what we did.

Alex3Mom

I totally eliminated that from my vows, but the best I've ever heard if you must do it is the father who answered, "She gives herself in marriage with the blessing of her mother and me."

harpsdesire

I am leaning towards, "Who blesses this marriage?"  with all 4 parents saying, "We do."