Who will be your aisle escort?

our experts say:

Congratulations on your engagement. We're sorry to hear that you're getting resistance from your parents about scheduling your wedding so soon. But what's most important is that you feel good about the timing. If both you and your fiance do, that's what matters.

You're absolutely right that the traditional significance of a parent walking the bride down the aisle is to "give her away" to her new husband, a practice most modern first- and second-time brides question and often modify anyway. The fact that you've been married before and you're not going straight from your parents' home to your husband's should be explanation enough for your parents about why you don't want one or either of them to be your escort. Now, let's talk about who could be.

Think about the fact that the entrance you make on your wedding day is symbolic of the place from which you'll be entering your new marriage. If you two already live together, that place might be your joint home. In which case, walking down the aisle together would be appropriate. Of course, you can also walk down the aisle by yourself. Plenty of today's brides choose to do this. You may wish to have your honor attendant precede you down the aisle. If you like, you can also walk with your honor attendant, or with a sibling or even a child -- your own or a relative.

Finally, who says you have to take that long walk down the aisle at all? If you prefer, you and your fiance could both be positioned at the front of the room or come out from the "stage wings" at the starts of your ceremony.

Whatever you decide to do, the trick to making it work is to feel confident -- not guilty -- about your decision. You owe it to yourself to walk down the aisle in whatever way makes you the most comfortable.

We hope this helps,

The Wedding Women

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