My father won't walk me down the isle due to religious beliefs

In some ways your dad is right. FH and I are walking together which is an expression of equality. And we think it's cool

I happen to agree with your dad. I hate the whole idea of being given away, and will remove all statements of that from my wedding. My dad would be crushed if he didn't get to walk me down the aisle, so I am letting him because he is an amazing father. But if my dad didn't want to I would be walking myself down

You mom could always do it too.

Of course you're not "property" to be given away and when there is a wedding, it just comes natural to walk down the aisle with your dad. My dad is Catholic and I grew up Catholic but since my late 20's, I've become a Christian (pentecostal). I am getting married in a church but not a Catholic church and my dad wasn't too happy about this. We made some compromises and in the end he will be walking me down the aisle "to show that this is my daughter and I'm taking her to start a new chapter in her life." That's how I look at it. I agree with you respecting your dad's wishes and I think it's a good idea to ask your brother or your mom - just share your feelings about being nervous and I'm sure they'll be by your side.

My mom is walking me down, because she raised me. And when the officiate asks "Who gives this woman to this man?" my mom is going to say "She gives herself with my blessing and the blessing of her family." I am no ones property lol

I would just have your brother do it. Just because you have to respect your father's wishes doesn't mean you have to give up being walked down the aisle

I grew up as a JW and my uncle won't attend my wedding if it's done by a Christian pastor. So I feel you there. It's hard to deal with the different views and still honor yours. If your brother doesn't feel comfortable and I guess that an uncle or other relative would embarrass your dad too.

I thought about having my oldest son walk me, he's 16. I think he's going to be a groomsmen though and my youngest is the ring bearer.. and my brother is walking my Mom since my Dad passed away. So I'm walking myself. I have the option of maybe a different Uncle but I think in the end I'm going to skip the giving away part all together. I have nothing against it, just seems to be a pain in the butt right now. So bypassing might be the best option.

@marissa in love…. I am stealing what your mom is saying. I hope you don't mind. I LOVE THAT!!!

So many things I could respond with:

1. Catholics ARE Christian. In fact, Catholics were the first Christian denomination. That's why the rest of the Christian faiths are called Protestants.

2. It is an aisle you will be walking down. An isle is short for island.

3. I think it is totally fine if you walk by yourself.

I think it is fine if you walk solo....but I also think if this is not something you truly WANT to do, you should choose someone else. I don't know how it would be embarrassing if Dad feels that strongly about it, then it should not be embarrassing to him.

My son is walking with me. Not to "give me away" as property...but as a way of showing the "world" and my beloved, that they all accept him as my husband, with their blessings. He is representing all of my children, as my oldest. And IF we have anything in the ceremony about "who gives the bride away"...it will be similar to what Marisa-In-Love's mother said.

I walked my DD down the aisle and it was a HUGE honor for me. =)

I guess it just depends on your view. I don't see it as I am someones property by having my dad "give me away" I just see it as I was his little girl, now I am someones wife.

I think you should do what you are most comfortable with - if you don't want to walk down by yourself then have your brother. I don't think you'd be embarassing him, but definitely let him know that your brother is going to do it instead.

I wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle so I'd have someone to hang onto when I tripped. It wasn't a "property" thing for either of us and besides my dad had already walked me down the aisle once before :-)

It's unfortunate the JW's won't let a father support his daughter. That's divisive and NOT at all helpful considering the mess that society is. You'd think they would be more pro-family. Off my soapbox.

Good luck!

I understand your pain. My mother's side of the family is Jehova's witness and my FH's family is catholic. My FH's family really wanted us to get married in a Catholic church, becuase my mom's family is Jehova's witness they would be unable to attend the ceremony. Jehova's witnesses are not allowed into other churches. We both had to make the sacrifice and now we are just getting married in the garden at our venue. It's unfortunate how religious believes put a damper on our weddings. I also wanted my aunt to read from the bible during the ceremony, but was told she was not allowed. Jehova's witnesses also think it's her husbands job to read from the bible and not the wifes. So now she will not read. As for your situation, I would ask your brother to put his feelings aside for the one day and that it would not be an embarrassment to your father but an act out of respect for him. I LOVE the idea of your FH meeting you half way. It could symbolize how couples compromise and meet half way to make relationships work. I think it would be super cute.

I am choosing to walk down the "aisle" alone. My father will be present at the wedding however I am doing things so untraditional that I want to step to my own beat.

I also agree that walking with your brother might be slightly insulting to your father, everyone is entitled to their beliefs.

I also disagree with the "property" and "giving away of the bride" custom, however, I want my father to walk me down the aisle as a show of his love and support. He isn't giving me away, he's walking with me. I think you should do what YOU want to do - if you want someone to walk with you, then I think it's fine for your brother to do it. If not him, ask another family member (doesn't have to be a man) or walk with your groom!

Islands are really long...I wouldn't want to walk down one as a bride unless it was tiny...aisle***

Would he be willing to walk you down halfway or something & then have your brother walk you the rest of the way? Is it just the "giving away" part he can't do?

I have three fathers: my birth father, my adoptive father, and my stepfather. I let them all know that I will be walking myself down the aisle, because in all the turmoil (mother divorced twice for very good reasons, not all of us handled it well) God was my constant Father who never left me and was always raising me to be the woman I am today. And they respect that! The important thing is to get down the aisle, and if anyone asks, you could just tell them that God is giving you away, and that will not offend your Christian pastor and shouldn't offend your JW father.

My dad walked me down, I never thought of myself as his property to give away. It was just something that we've always talked about even when I was really little. If he was gone, I would have walked myself down the aisle - it just wouldn't have been the same with anyone else, my brother included.

My father is not a part of my life (because he's a big *explicative*), so I will most likely be walking down the aisle solo. I've thought about asking my mom (because she raised me as was both mom and dad) or my brother, but then I don't know that I want to because neither of them are the most supportive people in my life (not just wedding wise, but in general). Really, there's nothing wrong with walking yourself down the aisle. But if you want your brother to walk you down the aisle because your father's religious beliefs won't allow him to do it himself, I think that should be fine as well.

My father had a major drug problem during my teens/20s. He's now clean and sober close to 10 years and I am so proud of him. That being said, it was my mother on whom the task of raising me fell, so I'm having them both walk me arm in arm down the aisle.