"Her Mother and I Do"

Although I'm going a bit traditional and having both of my parents walk me down the aisle on my wedding day, I'm still not a big fan of the whole "who gives this woman" thing. I'm 27 — I'll be 28 by the time we get married — and I don't think I need to be "given away" by anyone. Our walk down the aisle will certainly mean a lot to me, but I feel that it is more symbolic of my love for my parents, their love for me, and their support of my relationship with Mr. Cupcake; it doesn't need to be translated into me being handed over like an object. I've been a pretty independent person since going away to college, and I have lived away from my parents entirely since I was 22. I like to think that I am my own person who can stand on her own two feet without anyone else having to support me.

This weekend, while catching up on some episodes of "Brothers & Sisters" on my DVR, I happened to catch the episode where Calista Flockhart and Rob Lowe's characters got married. After Sally Field walked her daughter down the aisle, the minister asked "who gives this woman?", to which Sally Field proudly replied, "she gives herself freely, with my love and support." What a perfect and appropriate reply for an independent woman of the twenty-first century!

I know it's only television, but I really liked this response, and it got me thinking about what I'd like my parents to say if asked this question during our ceremony. A response like this seems a lot more relevant in this day and age, and I think it reflects the free-thinking person my parents raised me to be.

What do you think? Stick with tradition, or get a little creative to make things more relevant to the era in which we live?