Parents will always do everything in their power to make their children happy. Sometimes, their desire to paint a smile on their children’s faces appear in the form of a hearty meal. Sometimes, it manifests in the way they work hard to provide for their needs. In the case of Todd Bachman, a loving father, this meant having to set aside his ego and personal feelings to give his precious daughter the best wedding she could ever ask for.
Almost 4 years have passed since Brittany and Jeremy Peck tied the knot, yet their sentimental wedding is still fresh on their minds. After all, who would be able to forget the heart-melting gesture Todd Bachman generously extended to Brittany’s step-father during the most special day of their life?! Definitely not the millions of people who have seen their touching wedding photos that went viral online.
A wedding ceremony is one of the most sentimental celebration of love. It involves two people vowing to love each other through thick and thin in front of the special people in their life. As much as possible, the bride and the groom would like to give the key figures in their life a role during their wedding, however, this can be quite challenging for those who belong in a big and step-in family.
For Brittany, the then blushing bride would like to share her special day with her biological father, Todd Bachman, and her step-father, Todd Cendrosky. However, she was torn between having to choose whom will walk her down the aisle. Eventually, the bride decided to follow tradition and let her father hand her to her husband-to-be.
But during the big day, a few seconds away before the bride could walk down the aisle, Todd Bachman did the unthinkable and extended a sweet and touching gesture nobody saw coming. Dropping his daughter’s hand, Bachman ran to the front row and invited Brittany’s step-father to join him in the procession. In a few moments, Brittany was marching down the aisle with the two respectable men who love her the most.
The sweet and selfless act of Todd Bachman towards Todd Cendrosky was immortalized in a series of breath-taking pictures captured by the local wedding photographer Delia D. Blackburn.
“It was one of the most compassionate gestures toward a stepparent I’ve ever seen… The bride was in tears and overcome with emotion.” The talented photgrapher shared with The Huffington Post. “Everybody was shocked, silent and crying. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Even I was crying.”
In a separate interview, it was revealed that Brittany indeed had a hard time in deciding which of her two fathers would walk her down the aisle. Although her biological parents parted ways since she was young, she has a very close relationship with her father and step-father. Eventually, Brittany thought of voicing out her worry to her father.
“She called me and said, ‘Dad, something’s bothering me…’” The doting father said. “I told her I had something planned. She was so torn, and the last thing I wanted was for her to be torn.” The thoughtful Bachman revealed.
Thinking it would be a great surprise for his daughter, Bachman decided not to disclose his plan to anyone. Evident in the pictures, everyone was in for a touching surprise when Bachman stopped the wedding ceremony to share the spotlight with the clueless Cendrosky.
Aside from his desire to give his daughter a one-of-a-kind wedding, Bachman shared another reason behind his touching gesture that has become viral.
“For me to thank him for all the years of helping raise our daughter wouldn’t be enough,” Bachman revealed in another interview. “There is no better way to thank somebody than to assist me walking her down the aisle.”
Brittany’s step-father may have not expected Bachman to do such a sweet thing but he appreciated being acknowledged as the bride’s “father” too.
“I always wanted to [walk a daughter] down the aisle, and when I married my beautiful wife, Candy, she gave me three daughters,” Cendrosky happily said. “I don’t have a ‘step-daughters’, I have daughters, and when Todd grabbed my hand, that was the best day of my life. We have become a family, and the children’s needs need to come first.”
True to his words, Cendrosky treated Brittany as his own. In fact, according to his step-daughter, he really wanted to do have something special to do in her most important day.
“My stepdad is a very emotional person. He cried for a week straight until my wedding to my mom,” Brittany shared. “He was like, ‘I have a tux, but I don’t have anything special to do.'”
“We did not get along. We tolerate each other… That’s probably the best way to describe it.” Cendrosky said, describing his relationship with Bachman. But as time passed by, the two men were able to set aside their differences and acknowledged that both of them are great dads to Brittany.
“It meant the world to me. It was the happiest moment of my life walking down the aisle with both of them.” Brittany shared with CBS Sunday Morning- grateful that her two fathers have nothing in mind but what’s best for her.
“I hope we get our story out there because it could show families that are putting their kids in the middle of divorces and breakups and custody battles that there can be a good outcome. It’s such an amazing story. I just hope we can touch families that are going through the same thing we went through.” Brittany said, hopeful that their story will be able to inspire those who are in the same situation as them.
According to the US Bureau of Census, over 1300 new step-families are forming every day. Hopefully, those who are a part of this would learn to set aside their ego and pride in honor of what’s best for their children. Just like what the two respectable fathers, Bachman and Cendrosky did for the daughter they both cherish.
Watch and Share the heartwarming video of Brittany’s wedding below and may we be reminding what great co-parenting truly is all about!
YouTube | CBS Sunday Morning
Photos | Delia D. Blackburn Photography