A letter to my father

I need to write a letter to my father about the wedding. He needs to know how disappointed I am feeling in his lack of response or involvement in th wedding and I need to let him know that Mom will be giving me away. Here's a first draft...

Dear Daddy,
Every little girl dreams of her wedding day. A big white fairytale dress, pretty flowers, and a long walk down a short aisle to join the prince of her dreams. I'm no different than every other little girl. In my dreams, I saw the princess walking down to meet her prince at the altar surrounded by family and friends there to support and celebrate my union with my prince. I used to dream that my grandfather was walking me down to give me away. We had such a special relationship when I was growing up that this felt like the right way to honor that relationship. When he passed away almost 7 years ago, my dreams needed to change. Who would be walking me down the aisle in my dreams to give me away to my prince?

The symbolism of the giving away is typically that of the father giving away the daughter he raised - the little girl that he watched grow up and helped to become the woman that she is on her wedding day. It's quite a rite of passage for the woman's well-being and care to be "given" by the one that has taken care of her for so long to the one that will be taking care of her in the future. This symbolism and tradition has been a struggle for me as I've started this wedding planning process with Mike. Traditionally, my father should be giving me away. But if I am to honor the symbolism of those who have molded me into the woman I am, my mother should be giving me away. This has been my struggle for the past 2 months as this wedding process has begun.

After a lot of praying and talking with Mike, I have come to the decision that my mom will be walking me down the aisle to give me away at my wedding. I am writing to tell you this in advance because I need you to understand that this is what I want and that this is what is going to happen. My mom and I have a very special relationship, and I want to honor this relationship. She is both my mother and my best friend. She has been there every step of the way through my growing up and becoming a young woman. She is involved in my life, almost daily these days, and always takes interest in what is going on in my life. These are the reasons that she will be walking me down the aisle to give me away. John will also be joining her in escorting me as he also has been there every day for the last 20 years of my life. He too has been a big part of my life and upbringing and I want to honor him in this way as well.

I know that this is painful for you to hear/read, but I needed to tell you ahead of time. I need you to be okay with this and to understand that this is my choice. No one else has had any influence on this decision. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart. You are my only Daddy and for that, you always hold a special part of my heart. I still want to have our Father-Daughter dance and you will still have that special walk down the aisle to your seat when the rest of the family does, but this one honor of giving me away is one that I am giving to my mom.

I love you very much Daddy. I hope that you can understand why I have made this decision. Walking me down the aisle to give me away is an honor that my mom has earned, not one that she is just getting because. I love you!
Always,
BooBoo