A wedding is an emotional day, and not just for the bride and groom. It’s also an emotional day for the father of the bride. I can’t begin to imagine how proud a father must feel on this day; seeing his daughter looking the happiest and most beautiful she has ever looked in her life, watching her prepare for the moment she declares her love for one person and her commitment to spending the rest of her life with them, and then handing his daughter over to the care of that person. As a dad to two little girls myself [edit: now three little girls], I may one day get to experience this myself.

It doesn’t matter how many weddings I photograph, I never become immune to the emotion that’s present the moment a father walks his daughter down the aisle. And don’t even get me started on the father of the bride speech. It’s very rare that I don’t have to wipe even the smallest tear from my eye at this point.

I’d like to wish every father of the bride I have met, and every father of the bride I will meet in the future, a very happy Father’s Day. Here are a few little moments captured on real wedding days.