Monarch butterflies are considered a symbol of deceased loved ones and so one bride decided to incorporate them into her wedding day.
Wedding photographer Brit Perkins posted a video from Amy Rose Perry’s wedding on Instagram, showing her and her now-husband Matthew Perry releasing monarch butterflies in honor of their late father.
“The bride honored her late father at her wedding ceremony by releasing monarch butterflies,” the caption beneath the video read. “But instead of flying away… they landed on her dress, her new husband’s suit, and her sister’s bouquet.”
The photographer then showed photos of the newlywed couple walking down the aisle covered in butterflies. “Still not over it,” Perkins wrote under her Instagram post.
The reel received over two million likes and many people raved in the comments section about how much they enjoyed witnessing the moment.
“For someone who breeds monarch butterflies and releases them daily, this is very unusual. Normally they are only too happy to fly away and use their wings. Every now and then a single butterfly will land on me, but this is very rare and that so many fly directly at the bride is no coincidence, this is precious,” said one comment.
Another commenter agreed, writing, “All those butterflies were his hugs. The ones on the bouquet were his floral gifts. The one on her husband was the father’s blessing. These things are not accidental. He was there and he was proud.”
In an interview with TodayThe bride, Amy, explained that her father died of appendic cancer when she was only seven years old and admitted that monarch butterflies were always a sign of her father’s presence.
“One year after my father passed away on August 5th around noon, I was on a hike with my mom, my sister and some family friends and right at noon on August 5th a monarch butterfly came and flew near us and landed on me, my sister and my mom,” the bride told the outlet.
Since then, she has seen monarch butterflies several times on both Father’s Day and her father’s birthday, which led her to include them in her wedding ceremony.
“It was like the butterflies were reassuring us that love endures, that he is always with us and the memory of him will always be a part of our lives,” the bride reflected on the moment. “And it was just crazy. It reminds us that some of the most meaningful and beautiful moments are those that unfold in unexpected ways.”
Amy also revealed that before his death, her father wrote notes for her and her sister that they could open during important events in case he was no longer there to experience them with them.
“But what I didn’t know was that he had written me a card for my wedding,” the bride said. “My mom gave it to me after my bridal shower, which was smart because it would have been even more emotional on my wedding day.”
She even remembered what was written on the card, because it began: “‘Of all the cards I have written, this is the most difficult.'”
“This time I really understood the meaning of the cards from his perspective and how painful it was to pick up the pen and realize you’re never going to walk your daughter down the aisle. It’s just so impressive that he had the means and the foresight to give me something so special,” she said.
