Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh

How to honor a passed parent

My FI's father passed recently and I would like to honor him at our ceremony and reception.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Re: How to honor a passed parent

  • cgyvhucgyvhu member
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Sorry about your FI's father.  There are lots of ways to do this, but I would say incorporating 1-2 is good. While you want to honor the person who can't be there, you also want to keep the joyful mood of the wedding.  

    Some nice things I've seen:
    - leaving an open chair with a rose (or the person's favorite flower) on it during the ceremony.
    - A note in the program (sometimes with a picture) honoring the deceased person
    - Moment of silence during the ceremony
    - Carrying/wearing a memento from the person
    - playing the person's favorite song at the reception

    I hope you find a good way to honor FI's father.
  • edited December 2011
    My mother passed away this year and I am planning on having a small table at the reception with a picture, some candles, and a poem one of my bridesmaids has to honor a lost parent at a wedding. During the ceremony we will pray for her at the intentions. I also plan on wearing her engagement ring and having some sort of token of remembrance on my bouquet. Maybe Something along these lines for you FI father? I still have to figure out how my dad will be introduced at the ceremony. It makes me sad to think of him coming in alone with the obvious absence of my mom, but I also don't want to put a patch over something that can't be fixed.
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  • arf3420arf3420 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm so sorry.  My FI also just lost his father this summer, and mine passed away several years ago, so we're planning to do something to honor both of them.  I'll be putting a note at the end of the ceremony program.  I'm also thinking of having a small table at the reception (just a small table in the lobby/entrance area near the guestbook table) with a a couple of pictures in pretty frames and a few candles.  I'm going to use pictures of both our sets of parents on their wedding day, then also a cute pic of me as a kid with my dad, and then one of my FI as a kid with his dad. 
    I do also like mdphd's idea of open seats with a flower if that would work for you!  We're having our ceremony in a church, so I don't think that would work with pews.  But if you have individual seats it would be nice.  It also depends on the situation though... my mom would be okay with it, but my FI's mom is still in rough shape and cries on a daily basis.  I wouldn't want her to see that at the wedding and lose it... we definitley want to still keep it a happy day!! :-)
  • teryan2321teryan2321 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
     My father passed away and my fiance's mother is passed. We have a note in the program, under pictures of us with them,  that the bridesmaids are carrying their bouquets in honor of the groom's mother, and the groomsmen's boutineers (however you spell it) is in honor of my father. We are also considering having a dance for all children and parents/loved ones in lieu of having a father/daughter dance and mother/son dance.
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