The photo has been shared over 400,000 times.
A photo from 21-year-old Brittany Peck’s wedding in Elyria, Ohio has been shared over 400,000 times on Facebook. Surprisingly, it isn’t a shot of the beautiful bride, but her father and stepfather holding hands in a show of family togetherness. In the days before her wedding, Peck was upset because her stepfather, Todd Cendrosky, would be watching from the seats while her biological father, Todd Bachman, walked her down the aisle. Cendrosky had raised Peck since marrying her mother in 2003 and had a major role in her upbringing.
“My stepdad was just so upset,” Peck said of Cendrosky. “He literally would cry every day leading up to the wedding because he knew he would just sit in the crowd. I’d always known that I wanted both of them to walk me down the aisle, but I had no idea how to tell my dad,” Peck said. “I finally just built up the courage to call him about two weeks before the wedding and said, ‘I really need to talk to you.’ He said, ‘You don’t have to say anything more. I already have a plan for everything. I know what you want. Don’t you worry about it. I’ve got it covered.’”
Facebook / Delia D Blackburn Photography
As Bachman drove up to the ceremony with Peck beside him in a decorated golf cart, something unexpected happened. Bachman left Peck in the golf cart and walked over to the section where Cendrosky was sitting, put out his hand and invited him to walk their daughter down the aisle together. The moment was even more significant because the family had been embroiled in a heated custody battle for most of her childhood. “My parents could not agree on custody of me and my little sister,” Peck said. “I had my own lawyer and it was very, very bad. It could have been a Lifetime movie with all that we’ve been through.”
Photographer Delia Blackburn caught this magic moment of reconciliation while preparing to capture the bride walking down the aisle. Peck shared the picture on Facebook and it’s been seen as a positive reminder of the importance of family and forgiveness.
(H/T Good Morning America)
Facebook / Delia D Blackburn Photography