Weddings are happy occasions, but they can be complicated if stepparents of the bride or groom are involved. The bride traditionally walks down the aisle with her father.
If she’s close to a stepfather, she may feel conflicted, and her stepfather may feel regret that he is unable to walk her down the aisle. When Brittany Peck walked down the aisle with her father recently, her stepfather Todd Cendrosky was looking on and did not imagine what would happen next.
Stepfather plays a significant role
Cendrosky played a significant role in Brittany’s life for 14 years. He was thrilled for her that she was getting married. But he couldn’t stop thinking during the planning for the wedding that he would be sitting in the crowd, rather than walking her down the aisle.
He was excited about the wedding, but he knew that the privilege of walking Brittany down the aisle belonged to her biological father, Todd Bachman.
A surprise
At the wedding that took place in Ohio, Bachman began walking Brittany down the aisle to her groom just as they had practiced. Cendrosky was seated in the front row with the other guests. Then, unexpectedly, Bachman stopped and went to the front row.
He tapped Cendrosky on the shoulder to get his attention, grabbed his hand, and led him to the beautiful bride who then had both her father and stepfather walking her down the aisle.
Cendrosky later said that the moment was the most impactful one of his life and he had gone quite weak at the knees when Bachman said “You worked as hard as I have. You’ll help us walk our daughter down the aisle”.
Bachman made the gesture of appreciation to thank him for the years he helped to raise his daughter – he knew just saying the words wouldn’t be enough.
Difficulties along the way
The gesture would make one think their relationship had always been easy, but this was not the case. It is often complicated for parents and stepparents to have a good relationship and to maintain boundaries.
Bachman and Cendrosky did not always find it accessible by any stretch of the imagination. Many families in this situation can relate -disagreements between parents and stepparents are common. However, both had Brittany’s best interests at heart.
Cendrosky grew to love her like his daughter, and Bachman understood this. He knew that when it came to her wedding day, the gesture he made was the only way to make it a real family affair.
Photos go viral
Ohio-based photographer, Delia Blackburn took the wedding photos and shared some on her Facebook page. It didn’t take long for the photo album to go viral and in less than 30 hours it had received 12 million views and over one million likes.
Blackburn says the bride was in tears at the compassionate gesture and she didn’t blame her for feeling emotional as she walked down the aisle with her father and stepfather.