Dad Stops, Pulls Stepdad Into Wedding Procession To Give Daughter Away Together

Stepparents play such a huge role in the lives of children, but when certain major life milestones come up — like walking a bride down the aisle — the job usually defaults to the biological parent. One father realized just how hard it would be to feel left out of his daughter’s special day, and made a beautiful gesture to her stepfather on the day of her wedding. He stopped the procession to grab his hand so they could walk her down the aisle together.

Photographer Delia Blackburn told USA Today that she was warned by biological father Todd Bachman, “I’m going to do something special. Be ready.” He then stopped the wedding procession to grab the hand of daughter Brittany Peck’s stepdad, Todd Cendrosky, so they could walk Peck down the aisle together. You can see by the faces in the photos that everyone was touched and emotional. The images on Blackburn’s Facebook page went viral within hours.

“For me to thank him for all the years of helping raise OUR daughter wouldn’t be enough. There is no better way to thank somebody than to assist me walking her down the aisle,” Bachman told USA Today.

What better gift could a father give his daughter on her wedding day? Acknowledging that there was another father figure supporting her, and allowing her to share that once-in-a-lifetime moment with him as well is a gesture that is bursting with love. Bachman told Cendrosky, “You worked as hard as I have. You’ll help us walk our daughter down the aisle.” Stepdad Cendrosky says of the moment, “I got weak in the knees and lost it. Nothing better in my life, the most impactful moment in my life.”

Who knows what their relationship had been like leading up to that moment. It doesn’t matter. This is a lesson to all blended families — when you put your children first and allow them to accept all the love around them — everyone wins.