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Monarch butterflies are known as a symbol of a loved one who has passed away, so one bride decided to incorporate them into her wedding day.
Wedding photographer Brit Perkins posted a Reel on Instagram of Amy Rose Perry’s wedding day, which showed her and her now-husband, Matthew Perry, releasing monarch butterflies in honor of her late father.
“The bride honored her late father at her wedding ceremony by releasing monarch butterflies,” the text across 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 newly married couple walking down the aisle while covered in butterflies. “Still not over it,” Perkins captioned her Instagram post.
The Reel went on to receive more than two million likes, with many people turning to the comments section to gush over how much they loved watching the moment play out.
“As someone that raises Monarch butterflies and releases them daily, this is very abnormal. They usually are eager to fly away and use their wings. There is the odd one that lands on me every now and then but it’s very rare and this many going straight onto the bride is no coincidence, this is precious,” one comment read.
Another commenter agreed, writing: “All those butterflies were him hugging her. The ones on the bouquet was him giving her the flowers. The one on her husband was the father’s blessing. These things aren’t a coincidence. He was there and he was proud.”
In an interview with Today, the bride Amy explained that her father died when she was only seven years old from appendix cancer, and admitted that monarch butterflies have always been a sign of her father’s presence.
“A year after my dad passed at noon on August 5, I was on a hike with my mom and my sister and some family friends, and at exactly noon on August 5, a monarch butterfly came and flew close to us and landed on myself, my sister and my mom,” the bride told the outlet.
Since then, she’s seen monarch butterflies on both Father’s Day and her father’s birthday multiple times, which led to her including them in her wedding ceremony.
“It was as if the butterflies were reassuring us that love endures, that he’s always with us and his memory will always be a part of our lives,” the bride reflected on the moment. “And it was just crazy. It’s a reminder that some of the most meaningful, beautiful moments are ones that unfold in unexpected ways.”
Amy also revealed that prior to his death, her father had written notes for both her and her sister to open during major milestones in case he wasn’t around to experience it with them.
“But what I did not know was that he wrote 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 the card said, noting that it began with: “‘Out of all the cards I’ve written, this is the most difficult.’”
“This time, I really saw the cards for their meaning from his perspective, and just how painful it was to put pen to paper and realize you will never walk your daughter down the aisle. It’s just so powerful that he had the wherewithal and the forethought to give me something so special,” she said.
