sweetfrenchtoast

During the course of my relationship with RH, one of the things that has gotten me the most emotional is my sadness that he and my dad never had a chance to meet. To get to know each other. To bond over their shared ritual of watching each of the big horse races on TV every year. To grill a meal together. (Not to digress, but do all men love the grill?)

So it was really important to me to find the right way to include my dad in our wedding day. Because I know he would have loved RH as much as my mom does, and he would have been so happy to see us getting married.

With Dad gone, I wrestled with the question of who would walk me down the aisle. I finally decided to walk down the aisle without an escort, but with my dad right there with me. I had my floral designer (who was also my super-awesome life-saving wedding coordinator) affix my dad’s military class ring to my bouquet. When I first started toying with the idea of attaching something to my bouquet, I leaned towards using a locket, but I didn’t actually own a locket, and it felt somewhat impersonal and over-inspired by my wedding blog habit. When the idea to use his class ring came to me, I knew that it was the perfect way to include Dad.

I think it turned out beautifully. It was very subtle, and I doubt many (if any) of our guests even noticed. But I got to carry his ring with me all day, and it makes me so happy to know that.

Mom and I are headed to Texas this weekend to visit my dad’s grave. It’s an Asian tradition to visit the graves of loved ones every year, and we’ll also get to see my aunt (who had to deal with my last-minute wedding prep kerAzy-ness while she was here in April). I’ll get to see my maid of honor WF and her adorable toddler too since Mom and I are crashing at her place after we land and pick up the rental car.

It’s been a crazy few weeks, and I’m really exhausted. I hope I can get some rest this weekend and stay cool in the 100+ degree heat!

Photo by Stacey Bode Photography.