Amy Rose Perry has always seen monarch butterflies as a symbol for her father. After his passing at only 36 years old, Perry had always seen monarchs flying around her during important days such as Father's Day, birthdays, and the anniversary of her father's death. It was a no-brainer that she wanted to release the monarch butterflies at her wedding, as the closest connection to her father that she had. It became profoundly heartwarming, however, when the butterflies didn't fly away, but remained on Perry and her groom for the entire ceremony.
The first time that she saw a monarch butterfly was exactly a year after her father had passed away from appendix cancer on August 5, 1999, she told Today. ''A year after my dad passed away 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.'' Despite being only 8 years old at the time, Perry described the event as ''a pretty profound, crazy moment.''
Since then, she has strongly believed in signs from loved ones and admitted seeing monarch butterflies at important moments of her life on more than one occasion.
Perry said that planning the wedding had been a difficult process without her father by her side. She had vivid memories of her time with her father and described him as a person who filled any room with joy. Before he passed, her father had written Perry and her sister Molly cards to read at special moments in their lives, such as graduations and weddings. Since she had read most of the cards when she was younger, she was able to read the one written for her wedding with a more mature perspective. She expressed how painful it must have been to write a letter to your daughter in a future where you will never be able to walk her down the aisle.
Her mother, Janice Mills walked her down the aisle on the day of the ceremony on June 14. She had scheduled the release of the butterflies to be at the end of her Cape Cod ceremony, with music that had an overlay of her father saying, ''One hug and kiss for my 'girlie whirlies!''. She had expected the moment to be emotional, but she did not know that the butterflies would refuse to fly away altogether.
After they were released, the monarchs settled all over the bride's dress and the groom's tuxedo as well as her sister's bouquet, who was the Maid of Honor. They did not leave her even as she changed into more comfortable shoes and as everyone headed to the reception.
The wedding photographer, Brit Perkins, recorded the whole phenomenon and posted it as an Instagram reel, which has since received more than 2 million likes.
Watch it here:
''It's a reminder that some of the most meaningful, beautiful moments are the ones that unfold in unexpected ways.''
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