I went to a wedding where the couple walked down the aisle together instead of the bride being given away by her father. What are my options at a Catholic wedding in this regard?
Both the bride and the groom equally and freely enter into marriage, and the entrance procession should reflect that. So the Catholic wedding rite calls for a procession to the altar in which “the ministers go first, followed by the priest, and then the bride and the bridegroom.” It goes on to say that “they may be escorted by at least their parents and the two witnesses.” (The Rite of Marriage #20) But the Church’s liturgy almost always accommodates social customs. That’s why you usually see the customary bride coming down the aisle escorted by her father, and the priest already at the altar with the groom. (That custom, by the way, reflects the archaic social concept of the bride as “property,” the ownership of which is being passed from father to husband.) Options for the wedding procession include just about anything that will get everyone involved down the aisle in a reasonably dignified manner.
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