Grandmother, 94, serves as flower girl in granddaughter's wedding

Grandmother, 94, serves as flower girl in granddaughter's wedding
(Image credit: Twitter.com/ABC7)

At Laura VanPelt's wedding this past weekend, the flower girl stealing the show from the bride wasn't an adorable toddler, but rather her 94-year-old grandmother.

See more

Helen Kavanagh walked down the aisle with a basket of petals and a lace-covered cane, smiling as she made her way to the altar. "When I tell people I was the flower girl, it's quite a surprise," the Minnesota resident told The Grand Rapids Press, adding that some people don't believe her. She also thought her granddaughter was kidding when she brought up being the flower girl. "When she asked me, I just laughed," Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh — a mother to nine, grandmother to 11, and great-grandmother to four (with one on the way) — says she is so busy "I never take a nap." She makes rosaries for her church, watches Detroit Tigers games on television, and is an expert baker, even making 200 truffles and several batches of dessert bars for the wedding.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Kavanagh will turn 95 in November and has decades of memories, but says that serving as flower girl was "the biggest thrill I've ever had I think."

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.