“Giving the bride away” is a turn of phrase which comes from feudal times when men owned women as goods and chattels. Now we need to change the language. A bride will often choose to have her father ‘present’ her to be married, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes the bride chooses her mother, son or daughter to walk her in. It works beautifully for the bride to have someone who loves her to present her to be married. As the Celebrant, sometimes I will ask the parents of both the bride and groom if they would give their blessings on the marriage. I always ask the couple how they would like this initial party of the ceremony to happen. You have a choice!
Dad’s Don’t Give their Daughters Away!
