Letter to My Dad on My Wedding Day.

Dear Daddy,

We both knew this day was coming. While it’s the happiest day of my life, it also comes with a heavy heart. For as long as I can remember, it’s been you and me. Now the day has come and you have to share me. I know your heart broke when he asked for your blessing and I bet you held back tears as you said yes. To give away someone you love most you must believe that he can handle the responsibly.

I know I won’t make it to the end of the aisle without shedding many tears. But you should know the man that stands before us, is only there because he has some of the great attributes you have.

From the moment I was born and every day since, you have demonstrated what I deserve in a man. You have shown me love and respect. I spent many hours wondering if there could possibly be another man who treats me as well as you do? And with much trial and error and tears shed over the men in my past, you always held me, reassuring me that pain always goes away and hating the men my heart couldn’t. I’m happy to say I’ve finally got it right.

I won’t be turning to you for every single thing anymore (like understanding taxes or understanding exactly what was said in a political debate). But I promise I’ll save a few questions for you. The man before us is someone I spent my entire life wondering if he even existed or that you were the only good guy out there.

I know that when you first saw us together, you knew I finally got it right. There was light in my eyes that seemed to dim in the years prior. The person I became in his presence was everything you knew I was all along. I believe men and woman get married because every human needs love in their life. And you’ll hand me off confident that the man before us can provide me with enough love to last my lifetime.

I know love because you loved me unconditionally. I believe in love because of you.

I know I won’t make it through our dance without bawling. And I know you know the song I chose; it’s the same one that has been our song since I was 7. I still remember our first daddy-daughter dance, when mommy bought me my first pair of heels and I stood on your feet dancing. For me it seems it took a while to get here, but I know for you the years flew by.

I still remember running down the staircase every time you came home from work. I still remember every Saturday morning when you’d make breakfast, or when you’d drive us to school while insisting that we were going to Disney World. While I never quite understood the sacrifices you and mom made to give us everything we ever wanted, I know, as I embark on this new journey to start my own family, I’ll get it someday.

Thank you for every family vacation. Thank you for the love and support you continue to give me. Thank you for believing in my dreams even when I failed to believe in them myself. While marriage means vowing to share my life, the only reason I can share a life with another person is because you have given me the fundamentals to stand on my own two feet and confidence that I can.

While it may seem like you are losing me to the love of my life, my future husband, you aren’t. You are handing me off to a man who will forever live in your shadow and spend the rest of his life trying to reach the bar you set so high.

I love you.