down the aisle alone

missglitter89 · April 2015

Has anyone gone down the aisle by themselves? What was the experience?

Sorry if this seems like a weird thing to ask

levioosa · April 2015

A lot of posters have done this. If you don't have anyone you would like to walk you down the aisle, or if you simply just don't care for the tradition, it's perfectly fine to walk yourself down the aisle, or walk down with your FI.

missglitter89 · April 2015

levioosa said:
A lot of posters have done this. If you don't have anyone you would like to walk you down the aisle, or if you simply just don't care for the tradition, it's perfectly fine to walk yourself down the aisle, or walk down with your FI.

I know its ok to go alone. That isn't what my question was. I want to know people's experiences doing this.

cjpr615 · April 2015

I haven't yet had this wedding, but I plan to either walk alone or with FI. Back in the day, when I was married (for like 5 minutes) at 19 y.o., I held onto my Dad's arm for dear life and watelling him we should turn around and walk the other way.

If I were a bit steadier on my feet (I'm now disabled), I would like to walk alone to meet my FI at the end of the aisle. Symbolically I would see it as I am giving myself to the marriage versus someone giving me away.

What are your pros and cons for walking alone?

missglitter89 · April 2015

I don't plan on walking it with my dad. My reason for asking was that I couldn't decide if I wanted to go alone or have someone else with me. But I will probably go alone.

I don't know that I have any pros or cons. I just know that I don't want to do the tradition of walking with my dad.

CMGragain · April 2015

Why don't you have your FI walk you down the aisle? Or your Mom? It doesn't have to be your father.

missglitter89 · April 2015

@CMGragain I know it doesn't have to be him. I don't know about the FI though, it seems like it might be odd. Did you do this? or know anyone who did? I'd like to hear how that went.

I thought about my mom and possibly my grandpa.

CMGragain · April 2015

My sister walked down the aisle with her FI - both times she was married. It was fine. I chose my uncle to walk me. Our father died very young.

missglitter89 · April 2015

Thanks @CMGragain I'll have to keep the FI walk in mind.

artbyallie · April 2015

A friend of ours walked down the aisle with his bride. Both of her parents had passed. Their pastor spoke about the church being the bride of Christ and that He would be coming back for her and then told the groom to go get his bride.

You don't need the fanfare and explanation, of course. He can simply go get you or just stay with you and walk when you do.

ohannabelle · April 2015

missglitter89 said:

levioosa said:
A lot of posters have done this. If you don't have anyone you would like to walk you down the aisle, or if you simply just don't care for the tradition, it's perfectly fine to walk yourself down the aisle, or walk down with your FI.
I know its ok to go alone. That isn't what my question was. I want to know people's experiences doing this.

I did. My experience was...uhm...walking. One foot in front of the other, forward motion. Started at the back of the church, stopped at the altar.

That's about it. I honestly don't think there was any experience to walking alone vs. with someone that's significant or worth relating.

hellohkb · April 2015

I know a few people who walked down by themselves. I don't think it makes a difference and they didn't seem to regret it at all.

CMGragain · April 2015

How high are your shoes? If you are wearing 4" heels, it might be nice to have an escort to steady you. Other than that, walking alone is not a problem.

artbyallie · April 2015

CMGragain said:
How high are your shoes? If you are wearing 4" heels, it might be nice to have an escort to steady you. Other than that, walking alone is not a problem.

To add to this, if you have to go up any steps, I learned the hard way that an escort is a hindrance rather than a help. H and I had to step up to get to the officiant after Dad gave me away and between the bouquet and H, I had no hands free to pick up the front of my dress and nearly tripped on it on the way! So our wedding video shows me almost faceplanting in front of everyone, lol.

JennyColada · April 2015

I originally really wanted to walk down with then-Fi. To me, it's pretty symbolic of taking this journey together. Last minute I found out that my dad actually really wanted to walk me, and I felt rude taking that away from him, so we shifted things a bit.

missglitter89 · April 2015

@CMGragain I don't have my shoes yet but I know I don't want higher than 3 inches; which I wear a lot so I won't have a problem with the shoes.

ahyatt87 · April 2015

I walked the first half with my dad and the last half with my now DH. It was nice because as two adults DH and I were the ones making the decision to commit our lives to each other, but it was important to my dad and I wanted to respect that as well.

madisonchristi · April 2015

My Mom got married a couple of years ago, and walked down the aisle by herself. It was fine, but I know my Grandfather (her Father) was pretty hurt/confused as to why she didn't want him to walk her down.

I had thought about walking alone myself, but instead my 5 year old son will be walking with me.

JasperandOpal · April 2015

I walked alone and it was perfect. I think a big part of making the decision comes down to your personality and your needs when you are nervous- I don't get nervous in group/audience situations so I knew that walking alone wouldn't be intimidating to me. I also can hike in heels so I didn't need any physical support.

On a surface level, I wanted people on both sides of the aisle to be able to see my dress. Going a bit deeper, I feel like the tradition of having the father walk the bride and give the bride away doesn't mesh with my beliefs or how I was raised. My parents played equally important roles in my life and, if the aisle was wider, I may have considered having both of them walk me down the aisle. Instead when the music I was going to walk down the aisle to came on, my parents walked first, together, and then I walked after them. They waited for me at the end of the aisle and I got to hug them both before I walked up the couple steps to where my now DH was waiting. It felt exactly right to me.

When I told my father I was not going to have him walk me down the aisle, I do think it stung him a little. He had recently walked my older sister down the aisle and I think he assumed that he would walk me too but I explained all my reasons and he understood.

Finally, walking down the aisle is one teensy part of the wedding so, really, it doesn't matter how you do it. It is as important or unimportant as you want it to be. My walk lasted a few minutes at most and made up less than 1% of the whole wedding/reception. I don't regret walking alone but I don't think I would have regretted it had I decided to be escorted or decided to do cartwheels (ok, maybe I would have regretted cartwheels- my dress didn't allow for that kind of mobility so I imagine there would have been some ripped fabric involved).

down the aisle alone

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