Help you down the aisle I must: The day Yoda empowered an autistic flower girl

Related Post Wedding vows for blended families: Kids say, “We do, too!”

Over the years, we've seen lots of really lovely ways to include children in blended family weddings, but we've never featured the vows that were... Read more

The wedding was held in a small country church. The bride was resplendent in a blue 1940s gown, and her three daughters were flower girls in floral circlets and big pretty dresses and… what the wha? Is that Yoda over there on the left, photobombing that lovely family photo?

Offbeat Bride reader Tara recently attended a friend's wedding, and noticed that one of the flower girls had a strange little green Jedi friend escorting her down the aisle, in the form of an awesome backpack.

Curious to know how it came to pass that Yoda crashed the wedding, Ms. Tara asked during the reception, and shared the heartwarming story with us…

T, the flower girl, had spent the morning hiding under the bed.She is autistic, and the prospect of an event with all those people was pretty daunting.

T's aunty finally coaxed her out from under the bed with the promise of a Yoda backpack.

Her aunt took her to the toy shop, and from that moment on Yoda sat on her shoulder and she seemed to feel safe with him there.

When it came time to put on the dress and head to the church T flat refused to go without Yoda on her shoulder.

Her mother, the bride, said to her family “If Yoda helps T get to the church and walk down that aisle with all those people watching, then Yoda is coming!”

And the result was one of the best images of a flower girl that has EVER been taken in the history of weddings:

Oh wait, sorry… this:

It's no battle training on Dagobah, but weddings can (sometimes) be just as stressful and overwhelming. So cheers to the bride for letting Yoda coach this young padawan through her wedding duties!

About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz

@meggyfin @thedashanddine @meggyfin

When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!