Mom Refuses to Walk Daughter Down Wedding Aisle in Place of Bride’s Late Dad Because She’ll Be ‘Too Emotional’

A future bride is heartbroken after her mother turned down her request to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.

In a post on Reddit’s “Am I Overreacting” forum, the woman explained that she’s not yet officially engaged, but knows a proposal from her boyfriend is coming “very soon.” Because her father died when she was in high school, she and her mom were recently talking about who might take on the traditional “father of the bride” duties — including escorting her down the aisle.

“She’s my only living parent, and I really want it to be her,” the woman wrote.

She shared that in the past, her mother had agreed to do it. But during their most recent conversation, her mom changed her mind.

“I asked my mom if she would walk me down the aisle in his place,” the poster wrote. “Previously, she said she would. Tonight, she told me she would be too emotional and it would be too much for her.”

The bride-to-be noted that there are other people she could ask — for example, her boyfriend’s twin brother — but emotionally, she was really hoping it would be her mom.

“It just feels like, per usual, I have to minimize my grief to make her happy,” she said.

Commenters overwhelmingly reassured her that she was not overreacting. Many suggested that she bring the topic up again gently once there’s a real date and concrete wedding plans, rather than while everything is still hypothetical.

One highly upvoted comment encouraged her to help her mother understand how important this moment would be: the person suggested “easing her into it” and explaining that it might actually be more emotional for the bride if her mother didn’t walk her.

Another commenter agreed that she wasn’t overreacting but recommended revisiting the conversation later: once the wedding is on the calendar, her mother’s feelings might shift when she can picture the day more clearly.

Several users, however, focused on the phrase “per usual” in the original post, saying it hinted at a bigger pattern in their relationship — one where the daughter often has to push her own emotions aside to protect her mom’s feelings.

“Sounds like maybe a deeper issue where she’s not putting your needs first,” one person wrote. They suggested that the bride try to talk things through with her mom, but added that if her mother still can’t prioritize her on such an important day, it might be better to choose someone else to walk her down the aisle.

In a follow-up comment, the poster explained that her mother “had a rough time” after her father’s death and still struggles emotionally. “What I want from our relationship and what she’s capable of doing emotionally are two different things,” she wrote.

Ultimately, she said that having someone else walk her down the aisle might be the “option [that] would make everyone happy.”

“I want her to enjoy the wedding as much as she can without my dad there,” the bride-to-be added. “I didn’t think about how hard it would be for her to tell me no and be honest with me.”