A Reddit forum recently asked married men to share what they were honestly thinking as their brides walked down the aisle.
The responses are absolutely heartwarming:
1. "Why is everyone turned around to look at me? Of course I'm going to smile and be happy. Look at her! She spent all day to look like that so look at her! I got out of the shower an hour ago!"
2. "Wow she is beautiful, and holy fuck am I scared about this."
"Been together for 24 years and couldn't be happier." —denikar
3. "All the nerves that had gathered that morning dissipated when I saw her. It was like, 'Aw, here comes my best friend, and she looks happy to be marrying me. How did I get so lucky?'"
"20+ years later, she's still my best friend, and I still feel lucky every day. (Not every minute — that would be corny — but definitely every day.)" —MisterBigDude
4. "Don't pass out!!"
5. "Just got married in July. 72 hours before our wedding, my fiancée and I went to the doctor for the first ultrasound of our 12-week-old baby. There was no heartbeat. She was in surgery the next day for a D&E procedure."
"On the morning of our wedding, she spent three hours in the ER dealing with post-surgery complications, but she rallied and we got married as scheduled. As she walked down the aisle, none of our guests knew about her ordeal except for our family and best friends. We all teared up, knowing what she was going through. We got married on the beach in Cape Cod, so it was a long walk across the sand. As she approached, all I could think about was how fucking much I love her. What a strong, beautiful, and amazing woman." —velospeed
6. "Good, she came."
7. "How did I get so fucking lucky... Holy shit, you are so beautiful."
8. "My god, she's beautiful. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry... Fuck. I'm crying. Oh well, maybe I can get it out now before I say my vows... She's here. Let's do this shit! OK, say the vows and don't fuck up."
"I ended up having to stop in the middle of my vows because I couldn't stop crying and sounded like a Muppet. Everyone thought I was going to puke." —RiggRMortis
9. "'Get the fuck out of the way, people, I can't see her.' I'm short."
10. "30 years for me. I can still see her standing there, it's absolutely burned in my brain. She was (and is) so beautiful. I felt (and feel) so lucky. It was like the whole world was gray, and as she walked toward me, the world became color in her path."
"I can't even imagine the kind of man I would be without her." —Mrmidhoratio
11. "'Did I zip my pants? Nope...well, I can fix that, nobody is looking at me.' Then I proceeded to zip my pants."
12. "OMG that's my bed mate for the rest of my life. Thank you, God."
13. "Look at that beautiful idiot. What a fool she is showing up here."
14. "I'm not an emotional guy; I didn't shed a tear when my first child was born. But when I first saw my wife before she walked down the aisle, my thought was, 'All of this is for her, all the people, decorations, music, etc..., and she deserves it.'"
"That brought a tear to my eye. The realization that she deserved every bit of the results of months of planning, thousands of dollars and endless coordination/accommodation. It surprised me." —FredwasaGoodDog
15. "My mom gave me a big sobbing hug before the wedding party started walking down, so I was a sobbing mess by the time the music for my wife hit. My mind was racing between, 'I hope she doesn't trip' and 'Why isn't she crying as much as me.'"
16. "'PREEEEETTY.' My wife is generally not very elegant. On our wedding day, she pulled it off flawlessly."
17. "1. My god, she's beautiful. 2. She's gonna fuck me senseless later. 3. If I stand right, I think I can crop dust the groomsmen without making a sound."
18. "The Looney Tunes theme. Really. I'm an idiot. But hey, still married."
19. "It was really strange, 'cause I was raised as a kind of street kid in San Francisco. When I saw her, and I got my breath back, my mind said, 'You are Celtic Royalty and she is a Mayan Princess.' So I went with it and 25 years later, I still do."
20. "I was gunna kill my best man because I was holding it together until he patted my back and said, 'She's gorgeous bro.'"
"He's been my best friend for 15 years so his comment, mixed with how amazing my wife looked, plus the typical wedding emotions, made me blubber like a little bitch in front of 100+ people." —samcro6
21. "This exact thought went through my mind when as my soon-to-be-wife started walking down the aisle: 'No more fucking around, I will give her a good life.' Married 27 years this past September, it's been great."
22. "She's an amazing florist."
"Her flowers were beautiful. She designed them herself. She had, at that time, 17 years of floral designing experience, age 31. She's fucking awesome with flowers. And some other various things, too." —0youcantbeserious
23. "Those prosciutto-wrapped asparagus appetizers are going to be so fucking good."
24. "This is so awesome! I'm so excited! Don't cry...don't cry...don't cry...aww shit, I'm crying."
25. "I was thinking, 'So this is it. I've finally did it. This beautiful woman is mine. Wait, fuck, she's falling. Try not to laugh. Don't laugh. Shit, I'm laughing.'"
"She kind of stumbled and lost balance, but didn't fully fall. Her old man, the sly bastard he is, turned it into a kind of dance move while they were walking. I still love that man as much as I love my wife." —TheMuffinguy
26. "How the hell did a lady this beautiful agree to marry me?!"
27. "There are no words that can accurately describe the feeling."
The comments for this post have been edited for length and clarity.