Bride Releases Butterflies to Honor Late Father, But They Didn’t Fly Away – NBC4 Washington

Amy Rose Perry always knew she wanted to release monarch butterflies at her wedding in Cape Cod to honor the memory of her father, Nathaniel Machain, who died on August 5, 1999, when she was just 7 years old.

When she opened the box at the end of her June 14 wedding ceremony, the butterflies were supposed to fly away. Instead, they landed on her dress and stayed there, accompanying her as she and her new husband, Matthew Perry, walked down the aisle at the end of the wedding.

Perry’s wedding photographer, Brit Perkins, posted a video of the special moment, which has now been viewed 23 million times.

Butterflies can be a powerful symbol for someone who has lost a loved one, but in Perry’s case, they hold special meaning.

“A year after my dad passed away at noon on August 5th,” Perry tells TODAY.com, “I was hiking with my mom, my sister and some family friends, and right at noon on August 5th, a monarch butterfly came and flew right over us and landed on me, my sister and my mom.”

Perry was only 8 years old at the time, but clearly recalls the memory as “a pretty profound, crazy moment.”

Perry is a big believer in signs from loved ones who have passed away, and has since seen monarch butterflies on Father’s Day and her father’s birthday on more than one occasion. The monarchs “were always a powerful, powerful sense of my father’s presence,” she says.

Her father, Nathaniel Machain, had appendix cancer that was not detected until it had already metastasized. He died three years after diagnosis at age 36.

Perry describes her father as a man who filled every room with warmth and joy, turning everyday moments into precious memories.

“The most important thing I remember about him was his selflessness,” Perry says. “He always put others before himself, especially during his battle with cancer. He really taught me the value of generosity and compassion.”

Her father spent part of his final years writing cards to Perry and her younger sister, Molly Machain, celebrating important childhood milestones they experienced without him, like birthdays and graduations.

“But I didn’t know he wrote me a card for my wedding,” Perry says. “My mom gave it to me after my bachelorette party, which was smart because it would have been even more emotional on my wedding day.”

Perry says the note begins, “Of all the notes I’ve written, this is the hardest.”

Since she had read most of her father’s cards when she was younger, reading this card as an adult had a completely new impact on her.

“This time, I really saw the meaning of the cards from his perspective, and how painful it was to pick up the pen and realize you’d never walk your daughter down the aisle. It was just so powerful that he had the means and the foresight to give me something so special,” she says. Planning her wedding “was a difficult process without him.”

Because Perry didn’t have a father to walk her down the aisle, her mother, Janice Mills, whom Perry calls “my hero,” was by her side. Perry attributes many of her memories of her father to Mills, who took many photos and videos before Nathaniel Machain passed away.

Perry planned to release the butterflies at the end of the wedding ceremony. Although she “didn’t expect much from the butterflies themselves,” Perry “felt it would be emotional” because the music she had chosen for the moment included an overlay of her father’s voice saying, “One hug and a kiss for my ‘girl swirls!'” as he called Perry and her sister.

When the butterflies were released from the box, they landed all over the bride’s dress. They also landed—and stayed—on the groom’s buttonhole (or, as Perry put it, “his heart”) and on her sister’s bridesmaid’s bouquet.

“Wow, it was surreal,” Perry says of the moment. “I’ve never felt him more in my life.”

The butterflies followed Perry until she swapped her wedding heels for more comfortable sneakers. Most of them flew away on their own, but a few seemed a bit reluctant to leave. Perry says she had to “help” the last ones fly away.

“It was like the butterflies were reassuring us that love endures, that he’s always with us, and his memory will always be a part of our lives. And it was just crazy. It’s a reminder that some of the most meaningful, beautiful moments are the ones that unfold in unexpected ways.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: