Walking Down The Aisle

Walking Down The Aisle

At first glance, walking down the aisle on your wedding day may seem like a strange subject to discuss, but honestly. For the vast majority of brides that I have worked with, it’s one of the biggest things on their minds.

Left foot, Right foot, they call it walking, right? How hard can it be?

I get that. It’s the first time everyone is about to see you, your heart is already racing, all eyes are on you and then, oomph. Just like that you’ve tripped up.

It’s every brides worst nightmare.

Here’s a few of my top things to consider when it comes to walking down the aisle:

Pace yourself

This would probably be my biggest tip to give you and probably the one that you didn’t want to hear. I get it, you’re dreading it and it’s something you just want to get out the way so why on Earth would you pace yourself? - It’s important to pace yourself for a few reasons. The first is that you don’t catch your shoes on your dress and ultimately end up stacking it on the floor. The second is so that you can actually enjoy it. It’s one of those moments where it’s all eyes on you and as daunting as that sounds, it’s something that you’re never going to do again. So, slow it down a little, take it all in, listen to the music that you’ve chosen, it’s as much for you as it is everyone else.

It’s not a race to see who can get down the aisle the quickest. If you're going to be linking arms with someone then YOU set the pace, tell them this upfront and if you have to, do a little practice walk.

Check the walkway

This might sound a little daft and for those doing a rehearsal, this will probably be covered anyway but I attended a Church wedding once where ¾ of the way up the walkway was vents on the floor. Vents that sadly acted as a cattle grid for the bridesmaid, who unfortunately initially stopped right over the top of them and whilst standing there, her heel kept slipping down the gap. Naturally this came with a gasping noise of shock every time it happened.

Break in those shoes

You’re going to be wearing them for a large part of the day (you don’t have to and it’s not uncommon for brides to switch them out for something more conformable in the day), but you’re going to want to break them in. Also, as a side note, if you’re not used to wearing a high heel, now isn’t the time to start. Those 4 inch heels might make you look like a princess when you’re stood still, but when you walk down the aisle, do you really want to look like Bambi on ice?

Where should you look?

Honestly if you’re really nervous abut the whole walking down the aisle thing you’re probably going to want to fix your eyes on your future husband/wife. There is no rules on where you can and can’t look, my only suggestion would be to keep your head up. Of course, this is just a personal aesthetic reason for your photographs.

Who goes first?

Throughout my years I’ve seen it both ways.. Flowers girls/boys, followed by Bridesmaids followed by the Bride and the other way round, Bride and then Bridesmaids. So there really is no set rule. The only thing I would bear in mind when making this choice is 2 things.

1) If you’re planning on going first, how does your choice in music sit with this?

2) Is there going to be enough room at the end of the aisle and are you going to get a good view of your husband/wife to be as you make your way down the aisle (and the other way around).

Who should walk you down the aisle?

Traditionally it’s the ‘Father of the Bride’ and this tradition is simply because once you get to the end of the aisle, you have ‘giving away of the bride’. This tradition actually dates back years and the reason it’s called giving away of the bride is because it is the official transfer of custody or control of her family to her new husband. Thankfully in modern Western Weddings this is seen more as a symbolic gesture rather than a legal transfer.

But that’s merely tradition, it’s entirely up to you who you wish to give you away.

Why is it called walking down the aisle?

Why is it walking down the aisle and not up the aisle? Surely that depends on where you’re standing right? If you’re at the entrance, it’s up the aisle? - Whilst from a standing point of view you could argue that case, the truth is it dates back years whereby Churches were actually built with a slope gravitating towards the alter, so yes, you would walk down the aisle, in the same way you would walk down a hill.