Equal and awesome: couples who opted to walk down the aisle together

April 3 2017 | bijouxandbits
Couples who opted to walk down the aisle together
Photo by Kenneth Munoz
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What better way to keep your cool and soothe your nerves than by walking in to your ceremony with your partner (like Jenny and Dean happily did above!)?

Sure, it's awesome to have that surprise moment, but coming in to the ceremony together means you share a processional song and a really sweet moment together, avoid any unnecessary gender roles, and keep yourself on equal footing. Oh, and talk about amazing photo ops together while looking happy AF. For some couples, it's totally the way to go. Here are a few of our favorite couples who opted to walk down the aisle together…

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Daring Tales of Darling Bones

Okay, Katy and Matthew know exactly how to rock a shared processional:

Matthew and I walked down the aisle together to a segment of "Jane Doe" by Converge. We saw our wedding very much as a celebration of the continuation of an already formed partnership of over six years. We wanted that to be reflected in our ceremony. When we got to the end of the aisle we each hugged all of our parents and stepparents to honor their place in our lives. And I high-fived my big brother, because that's what we do.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Ashley Sheridan

Jane and Matt held hands as they entered their Voodoo Doughnuts ceremony together.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Sebas Wesselings

Cat and Babs (see? looking happy AF) entered their ceremony like this:

We walked down the aisle together to "Hot Love" by T. Rex, with our little chihuahua Lola. We chose to walk together to show that our marriage was a continuation and affirmation of our relationship.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Abby Williamson

Below a sea of floating Harry Potter-inspired candles, CJ and Lo took to their ceremony arm-in-arm.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Jessica Watson

Bex and Cort walked each other down the aisle like so:

We walked ourselves down the aisle to our very wonderful liberal rabbi, using alternative Sheva Brachot, breaking two glasses at the end of the ceremony, and having a mix-gendered wedding party where they all wore their own outfits, within some guidelines.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Drew Brashler Photography

Megan and Ian's #classydinosaurwedding didn't just feature dinos. It also had a sweet first look and a waltz down the aisle hand-in-hand.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Alyssa Armstrong

Amy and Jake's rustic forest-y wedding was so beautiful AND they had an awesome processional:

Our friend Lucy played a beautiful rendition of "God Only Knows" on piano for the processional. We opted not to have a wedding party and instead had our immediate families make a special entrance. Then Jake and I escorted each other to the altar, upon which hung a gorgeous floral garland designed by Jake's aunt (who also did my lovely bouquet).

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by Kate Krause

Riley and Anei walked themselves in WITH their whole families. I love this idea so much:

As a queer/trans couple, we felt liberated to create our own ceremony and rituals. We opted to not have a wedding party and had our whole family walk us in instead, to Beyonce's "Halo."

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by David Morris Photography

Here's what Shana and Sean had to say about their processional:

Our wedding party walked up the aisle to "You're All I Need To Get By" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Sean and I walked down the aisle to the reggae song "She's Royal" by Tarrus Riley.

Couples who walked themselves down the aisle
Photo by a friend of the couple

Natalie and Ry chose to walk in together:

We kept our ceremony simple and we chose not to have a wedding party (yep, no bridesmaids or groomsmen here!). It was also standing only, which saved money on chairs, set an informal vibe, and encouraged everyone to gather around us. We wrote the ceremony ourselves, start to finish. We walked ourselves down the aisle (so we weren't being "given away").

Not being given away: how I skipped the aisle-walking drama

For some women, walking down the aisle with their father (or fathers!) can be a really beautiful way to honor the role that relationship has played. For me, despite the…

How will you be entering YOUR ceremony?

Catherine Clark

Catherine Clark is Offbeat Bride's Senior Editor. In her spare time she loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur baby, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.

@enidjcoleslaw @bijouxandbits @bijouxandbits

  2. As a German: It's totally normal for me and actually traditional here that the couple enters together, especially in church. Some pastors won't even allow anything else.
    I've heard people complaining at a wedding that it wasn't "romantic" enough because the father hadn't given her away. I think that's sad. I like the symbolism that the couple is entering the room and the marriage together.
    Also, usually people complain when the couple deviates from tradition, now they complain when they follow tradition 😀
    But I guess the movies change people's expectations.

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  3. In Sweden, as in Germany, it is traditional for the couple to walk in together, though the giving over of the bride has gained popularity in later years after being made popular in Hollywood movies. The Swedish church discourages this practice in light of Swedish history and the symbolism involved:

    ‘It has never been a Swedish tradition for the father of the bride to hand the bride to the groom, but occasionally this is what a couple wishes. It is a wish accepted by the church, but with the noted objection that the giving of the bride symbolizes that the woman is not an independent person, but rather that the father is giving ‘ownership’ of the bride to her future husband.’
    (Translated from the Swedish Church’s website, https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/vigselns-symbolik-och-symboler)

    My husband and I will definitely walk in together at our wedding this fall!

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  4. My husband and I walked down the aisle together (me on the right). I think some of the family members were surprised, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Having been together 7 years already, we were already "married" in every other way except legally.

    Reply

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