Wedding Blog

I had an interesting dilemma facing me with who would take the job of walking me down the aisle. My real father lives in California and I’ve never really had a relationship with him. My stepfather, who I considered the closest thing I ever had to a real father, died when I was 14. My parents divorced when I was very young and my stepfather helped raise me. I called him Dad and never thought more of it.

Once I became engaged, one of the first things that popped into my mind was missing out on the father-daughter events like walking down the aisle, being given away, and having a dance just for us. I had already gone through high school and college graduations, and sorority daddy-daughter days without one. Who would take over this important role for me? Would I end up walking the aisle alone?

I thought about my grandfather, but as soon as I mentioned it to my mom (who knew it was coming already), she broke some bad news to me. My grandpa had already declined because he’s been suffering from dizzy spells and didn’t want to have an attack while halfway down the aisle, thus ruining our big day. I honestly wasn’t worried that it would happen or that if it did it would matter much to me, but mom assured me he would say no, regardless.

I was back at square one.

I asked my mom if she’d be interested and she basically blew me off. That’s just not her thing. She never really liked doing the “senior nights” in high school when you could show off your parents and hates a camera on her, let alone lots of people’s eyes. Again, it was back to the drawing board.

Then I thought, “I have three brothers. One of them could do it!”

(l-r) The Lab brothers: Chris, Phillip, & Brandon

But would it be right to choose just one? I hope so, because I did…

Before I tell you who will have the (hopefully) honor of walking me down the aisle and giving me away, let me tell you a bit about each one.

My oldest brother, Chris, and I at his first Iraq going away party.

Chris is the “manly man-with-a-metro-twist” one. He is a sheriff’s patrolman who has done work with the ICE and SWAT squads and even some undercover NARC work in his county. He just left for his second Iraqi “tour” about a month ago to help train officers.

Brandon with our niece Morgan (who is now almost 3 and one of our flower girls!).

Brandon is kinda the “bad boy” of our family. He has the beard and tattoos and loves the cars and motorcycles. He’s a pure Californian at heart.

Me and Phillip in Savannah on FSIL’s boat. Yes, I was recently a brace-face!

Phillip, my younger brother, is the “ladies man” of the family. He could charm the socks off any woman, young or old. He’s the one who completely understands me. We get in fights almost every time we see each other, but they last all of 5 minutes before we’re good again. Of all my family members, I am absolutely the closest to him. He’s the one I hang out with the most because he’s willing to make trips up with my mom to visit me periodically. This is one of the reasons why Mr. Lab chose him as a groomsman; he knew him so well because we’re so close.

Phillip and I playing tennis at my old college apartments

Phillip, Mama Lab, and I visiting the Dawgs during their “Pic Day”

Although Phillip is already geared up to be a groomsman, I made the decision to give him a call and ask if he’d like to walk me down the aisle as well. Of course, he said yes! And don’t worry, my other brothers have already agreed to be ushers, and their feelings are definitely not hurt (Chris was my escort for homecoming court, and I’m sure there will be another important event in my life that I’ll be able to spotlight Brandon).

I’m glad that I’ll have someone equally as special as a father or grandfather walk me down the aisle and give me away. Mr. Lab thought it was a great idea to ask Phillip to take that role, since he actually did the same for his sister (Mr. Lab lost his father in high school as well). How sweet is this?

Mr. Lab shares a special moment with his sister before walking her down the aisle.

And just for fun, here’s how close Phillip and I are:

Playing “Indian Leg War” the morning after my 21st birthday. It’s a game where you try to flip your opponent over using one leg and is incredibly harder than it looks.

He flipped me over easily. But I got him back with a well-planned fart in the face! Muhahaha!

And to add insult to injury, I slapped him a moment later for saying something “too philosophical too early in the morning”.

Are your siblings taking a larger role in your wedding?