Is it common for a groom to walk the bride down the aisle?

Is it common for a groom to walk the bride down the aisle? - Couple Kissing Beside Trees

I just started rewatching What Dreams May Come and noticed at the beginning where Chris and Annie are getting married, he is walking with her down the aisle in what is apparently a Catholic church. Whether it is actually Catholic or not is not necessarily important, rather that they are obviously attempting to portray a culturally traditional marriage.

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My confusion is that in traditional marriages, isn't the groom supposed to walk in ahead of the bride and wait while the father or someone else walks the bride in to give her away? Forgive me, I haven't attended many weddings. But as I searched for some information on Google, I couldn't find anywhere that mentions the groom walking the bride down the aisle unless its part of a different foreign culture such as Hinduism, which is obviously not the case of WDMC.

I can't think of other specific examples, but it seems like this isn't the only time we've seen this in television or movies. So my question is: is it traditionally common and/or appropriate for the groom and the bride to walk down the aisle together or is this simply a filming technique used to quickly show a marriage without going through all the traditional necessaries?



Best Answer

Movie wise, it is not a common scene. Most short wedding scenes will start with the Bride and Groom at the altar, skipping the walk altogether. Movies with long wedding scenes tend to have the traditional Father Giving Away the Bride, or go with some dialog to explain the change (Single Parent, Orphan/Adopted, Parent dead, Both parents (either straight or gay), or the "I'm not traditional so I want something else").

Modern day weddings are not strict on ritual. It's tradition for the Father to give away the Bride (and pay for the wedding, and a bunch of other things that have to do with Dowry, a subject that's rife with sexist notions), not a "do it this way or be excommunicated/shunned" contractual obligation. Modern weddings have been known to have all combinations of walking down the aisle.

But this is really off topic at this point. A google search for bride and groom walk down aisle together will give you lots of information.




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Is it common for a groom to walk the bride down the aisle? - Back view of barefoot groom holding hand of bride in white dress and walking together on sandy coast
Is it common for a groom to walk the bride down the aisle? - Newlyweds walking in empty restaurant
Is it common for a groom to walk the bride down the aisle? - Smiling bearded groom in white shirt and trousers walking along sandy beach together with joyful bride in wedding dress



Who usually walks the bride down the aisle?

It's the first time guests\u2014and usually even the soon-to-be spouse\u2014will see the wedding dress, and it marks the start of the marriage journey. Traditionally, fathers walk daughters down the aisle. Once the pair reach the altar, she's then presented to her partner to be wed.

Why does the bride walk down the aisle and not the groom?

The History and Meaning of Giving Away the Bride \u201cWell, the tradition comes from an era where women were the property of men,\u201d she says. \u201cFathers walking their daughter down the aisle and giving their daughter, the bride, away represented a transfer of ownership from her father to her new husband.\u201d

Who usually walks down the aisle first?

1. Officiant. Your officiant is generally the first person to walk toward the altar, signifying the ceremony is about to commence.

Can the bride and groom walk down together?

Walk down the aisle together. It's a lovely way to signify that you are taking this journey together as equals. Meet at the altar: A fun twist on walking the aisle together is to walk it separately but at the same time. You could enter at either side of the altar or set up your ceremony space with two aisles.



How to Walk Down the Aisle | Perfect Wedding




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Pixabay, Jonathan Borba, Flora Westbrook, Jonathan Borba