Father Walking the Bride Down the Aisle (Bethany Burns)

Title: Father Walking the Bride Down the Aisle

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Becky Dagg was born on September 1, 1972 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was the music director at the Church of the Good Shepard. She lived in Chattanooga for the majority of her life, attended college in Auburn, Alabama at Auburn University. She met her husband, Christian Dagg, when she was attending graduate school for architecture at Harvard University. Christian had grown up in Rutland, Vermont, and received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University. Christian did not come from a very religious family, while Becky’s father was very involved with the Episcopal Church.
Haven Burns was born on October 12, 1970 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was starting his own business at the time. She lived in Chattanooga for the all of her young life, attended college in Knoxville, Tennessee at the University of Tennessee, and then moved around many times from Georgia, Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona, and finally settled back in Tennessee.Â She met her now-husband, Kirk Burns, working at Shaw Carpet Industries in Dalton, Georgia. Kirk lived in Kansas for the majority of his life and attended the University of Kansas before ending up in Georgia. They both shared religious values, attending the Episcopal Church in their youth and beyond.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: On the wedding day, it is common for the bride to come in last into the ceremony and be escorted by her father. The bride’s father walks her down the aisle to the groom, and then hands her away to watch from the audience.
Social Context: For both informants, this piece of folklore was given in response to a question about their family’s involvement in their weddings.

Item:

When the bride’s father walks the bride down the aisle at the beginning of the wedding ceremony, he hands her away to the groom once they reach the front of the venue. If the father is unable to complete this task, another important man in the bride’s life completes this task. It is said to symbolize the bride moving from one stage in her life to another with a new man.

Transcript:

Becky Dagg: “My dad unfortunately passed away a couple of years before my wedding. It was sad because he never got to meet my husband, but I knew he was there with me in spirit. I had my uncle walk me down the aisle to keep the tradition, but I, of course, wish my father could have been there to celebrate.”
Haven Burns: “I will never forget the moment my dad hugged me and we both look teary-eyed into each other’s eyes. He then gave my husband a firm handshake and it was time for me to be married.”

Collector’s Comments:

This question was difficult for Becky to answer, as you could see she really wished that her dad could’ve been at her wedding. This tradition definitely meant a lot to her and to Haven.

Collector’s Name: Bethany Burns

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Dartmouth Folklore Archive