A few weeks ago we announced the launch of my new favorite feature on A Practical Wedding: playlists! Music was such an important part of what made Michael’s and my wedding feel like it belonged to us, and choosing said music ended up being one of the most fun things we got to do together during the planning process. (Creative! Personal! Basically free!) But some songs were harder to choose than others. (First dance song? Easy. Parent dances? Like pulling teeth.) And since we think of APW readers as having pretty damn awesome taste, we figured what better way to help other people plan their wedding music than to share what we’ve all used.
Now, before we dive into today’s playlist, we received a few requests for parent dances after the last playlist went up, which of course makes perfect sense because good parent songs are hard to find. So let’s see if we can’t offer up some alternatives to the expected. I ended up loving our parent dances, so I’ll share first. We used “Changes” by Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne and “God Speed, Sweet Dreams” by the Dixie Chicks. Both still make me cry each time I hear them. If you have a parent dance you love, leave it in the comments and we’ll pull some of our favorites into a playlist like this one.
And now…the result of our original request for your favorite first dance songs! We pored over all of your suggestions (seriously. I listened to every song. And then cried a little bit. Because love is beautiful and I’m a sap) and have pulled together a small sampling of our favorites to create APW’s inaugural First Dance Songs playlist, creatively titled “First Dance Songs, Volume One.”
First Dance Songs, Vol. 1
- “You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne
- “That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Otis Redding
- “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds
- “Sea of Love” by Cat Power
- “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as covered by Ingrid Michaelson
- “Life is Beautiful” by Keb’ Mo’
- “Stuck on You” by Meiko
- “The Book of Love” by The Magnetic Fields
- “This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies
- “The Promise” by Tracy Chapman
- “Tupelo Honey” by Van Morrison
- “Stay Young, Go Dancing” by Death Cab for Cutie
Firstly, I’d like to thank whoever recommended “The Promise.” I could listen to Tracy Chapman all day long. And secondly, I just want to reiterate that this is just a small sampling of the songs that came out of that first post. If you don’t find what you’re looking for in this playlist, there are about a hundred more suggestions in the comments over here! (All really good.) So enjoy listening and make sure to grab a tissue box before Ben Folds starts playing.
Until next time, happy (er, well, emotional is more like it) listening! And feel free to leave us a comment letting us know what songs you’re having a hard time choosing and we might just choose that for our next playlist.
Cheers,
Maddie
Photo by: Kelly Benvenuto Photography (APW Sponsor)
This post includes Sponsors, who are a key part of supporting APW. For more information, see our Directory page for Kelly Benvenuto Photography.
I walked down the aisle to “The Promise”! (It has that Pachelbel’s Canon chord progression, which was a bonus.) And my wife walked to Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love”, which I think would make a nice first dance. (We didn’t have dancing, but the music was super-important to us.)
February 21, 2013 11:41 am
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YESSSS PARENT DANCES! We are trying to do a mother/son//father/daughter combo, and then inviting other parents and children to join us on the dance floor halfway through, so I’ve been searching for gender neutral songs.. The closest I have come is Alain Clark (feat. his dad)- Father and Friend (It isn’t gender neutral, but I figure it’s equally wrong for both pairings, so, whatevs.)
February 21, 2013 12:03 pm
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I am looking for the same thing! It is hard to find!
February 21, 2013 12:16 pm
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We did a father/daughter + mother/son dance to Wildflowers by Tom Petty! The lyrics are fantastic and very gender neutral.
February 21, 2013 1:13 pm
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We did “Knights in White Satin” and “What a Wonderful World” (the Israel Kamakawiwo’ole version)
February 21, 2013 1:46 pm
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Oh! My dad loves the moody blues! I might steal nights in white satin. ;)
February 21, 2013 6:03 pm
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We used Still Fighting It by Ben Folds. Not really a traditional parent-dance song, but it’s about parenting and your kids growing up and I’ve always liked it. It says “son” at the beginning once but other than that it’s very general–plus since it’s father/son it’s not really biased toward mother/son or father/daughter.
February 21, 2013 6:37 pm
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I’ve never heard of that song before… and now I’m crying. Thanks ;)
February 22, 2013 3:24 am
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Oh, this song. This song slays me. I’d completely forgotten it, but “Still Fighting It” is lyrically incredible. Thanks for the reminder! :)
February 22, 2013 6:28 am
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My dad and I are dancing to “Tupelo Honey” by Van Morrison (good first dance song AND a good parent song), and A and his mom are dancing to “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack. We also seriously considered “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and Shine Down’s cover of “Simple Man.”
February 21, 2013 9:15 pm
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We did a polka (“Roll out the Barrel”). It started with mother/son, then he grabbed in his grandma, then everyone else joined in. Very gender neutral, and VERY fun.
February 22, 2013 8:59 am
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For everyone looking for a Mother/Son-Father/Daughter song there is a CD by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris called “All the Road Running”, which has a song called “LOVE & HAPPINESS”. It is a beautiful song that they sang for their own children (they aren’t married and don’t have children together – they sang it as a duet to their own children). It is perfect for this. I’m going to play it as a surprise for my daughter and her fiancee at their wedding and I don’t think there will be a dry eye!
February 23, 2013 11:37 am
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thank you thank you thank you, this song is exactly what I needed
March 26, 2013 7:04 pm
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We danced to “Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee, which apparently is becoming quite popular as I was a bit surprised to see it on the suggested first dance song list for my brother’s band for his wedding.
February 21, 2013 12:09 pm
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Hmm…I think that song has been in a commercial or two. That must be why it’s gained more popularity. :)
February 22, 2013 4:06 pm
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I danced with my dad to “Lullaby” by Tom Rush. It was perfect because the style reminded me so much of my dad. I chose to walk down the aisle by myself, but we kept the traditional dances. When I danced with my dad there wasn’t a dry eye on my side of the family- just like when I was a little girl, he let me cry on his shoulder. This time they were tears of happiness that I’d been choking back all day!
My husband had two parent dances- one with his mom (to “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion) and one with his step-mom (to “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman… yep, the song from Toy Story!) It was really cute to watch him dance with them both!
February 21, 2013 12:11 pm
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I danced with my dad to “You’ve got a Friend in Me”!
I just didn’t want anything about me as a little girl, or focused on my physical appearance, and that sums up most of the usual suggestions. I thought this song encompassed what my adult relationship to my dad is: mutual respect, lasting friendship, help in tough times. Plus, Toy Story was a movie we saw together ‘just the two of us’ when I was young, and it’s a memory I cherish.
March 11, 2013 1:21 pm
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My dad and I danced to “Father and Daughter” by Paul Simon. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to get through the dance without bawling because even just hearing the song made me cry, but I did okay! My husband and his mom danced to “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tale, which was pretty cute. :)
February 21, 2013 12:15 pm
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Oh my gosh – Somewhere Out There!! I haven’t thought of that song in so long. My Mom used to sing that to me as a bedtime song when I was little. That would be a perfect mother/daughter song if there was such a thing.
February 21, 2013 12:57 pm
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I’ve seen lots of mother/daughter dances! Totally a thing! Warms my heart every time.
February 21, 2013 1:22 pm
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Samantha: There IS such a thing if you want it! My sister-in-law did separate mother-daughter and father-daughter dance with her parents at her wedding!
February 21, 2013 1:55 pm
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My dad and I danced to that too. I was only semi-successful at not crying. When I was in college, he used to call me to tell me “our song” was on the radio so it was pretty tough.
February 21, 2013 1:19 pm
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I also wanted to dance to that with my Dad, but knew he’d be too emotional for an official everyone-watch-us-dance moment, so I asked the band to sneak it in there and then asked my Dad to dance with me. He got through one recitation of “there could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you” before he admitted we had to stop or he would lose it completely. It was the definition of an imperfectly perfect moment in just such a day.
February 21, 2013 1:45 pm
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Yup, my dad and I danced to “Father and Daughter” as well. When I started what I thought would be a longer conversation about song options he told me he’d had this song picked out for my eventual wedding since I was a little girl. Talk about sob fest!
February 21, 2013 2:41 pm
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My dad and I danced to Father and Daughter, too. We made it through with just a few tears, but it was a near thing! I love this song, it so perfectly captured the essence of my relationship with my dad, without being overly cheesy like some of them are. (not that cheese is a bad thing if it’s YOUR thing, just wasn’t mine!)
February 21, 2013 5:08 pm
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I LOVE this song, but my dad wanted to go with My Girl by The Temptations since it’s upbeat. He’s still proud of how we used to do the twist at father/daughter dances in middle/high school and wants to bust it out again. Hard to argue with that sweet logic.
February 21, 2013 7:32 pm
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Every time I see one of our wedding photos on APW it completely catches me off-guard! We are dancing to James Hunter’s Mollena :)
February 21, 2013 12:15 pm
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For the father daughter dance we’ll be dancing to Simple Man by Lynryd Skynyrd. It fits me and my dad perfectly (well except for the genders, but we’ve never let that stop us from identifying with something)
February 21, 2013 12:17 pm
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I go freakin’ crazy when the parent-kid dance is Simple Man. Soooooooo good.
February 21, 2013 1:19 pm
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I love suggesting songs for Parent Dances! The songs for our respective parent dances were tough for my husband and I to select, but I think we both came away with awesome choices:
My dance with my dad was to “Young at Heart” by Jimmy Durante. I highly suggest looking up the lyrics because they are really sweet (and gender neutral!) and the song is pretty short. There’s a Frank Sinatra version too.
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+sinatra/young+at+heart_20055277.html
My husband and his mom danced to “Stand by Me”. I haven’t been to enough weddings to know if this is a common one or not, but again, a short and sweet song.
My runner-up choice for my father-daughter dance was “Little Willow” by Paul McCartney.
February 21, 2013 12:19 pm
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My husband picked “In My Life,” by The Beatles for the mother-son dance and it turned out that it was his mother’s graduation song, so it was extra sentimental. My sister danced with my dad to “I Loved Her First, by Heartland at her wedding.
February 21, 2013 12:22 pm
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I used In My Life for our father/daughter dance and it was perfect!
February 21, 2013 1:29 pm
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My husband and I danced to “You’re my best friend” by Queen. It was quirky and fun since I can’t do sappy stuff.
February 21, 2013 1:31 pm
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That’s gonna be our recessional song! My fiance doesn’t know it yet – it’s a surprise! (Since his comment when I asked was “we have to have music during the CEREMONY?” I don’t figure he cares to be left out of the decision.)
February 21, 2013 2:12 pm
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My husband and MIL danced to this one, too!
February 21, 2013 3:41 pm
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We are having our first dance to “Islands In The Stream”. Love me some Kenny and Dolly. And my brother and best friend are singing it as a duet! I’m pretty sure this is going to be my favourite part of the wedding :)
February 21, 2013 12:24 pm
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Ahhh I love “Islands in the Stream!” If my wedding were a movie, the whole cast would link arms and sing it together as the credits roll.
February 21, 2013 12:54 pm
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I’d really like to dance with my dad to something from Graceland, which came out the year I was born and played nonstop in my parents’ house as I was growing up. “You Can Call Me Al” was my first idea, but a song about midlife crisis is maybe not the best choice? Now I’m thinking “That Was Your Mother,” which is at least definitely about a parent/child relationship. “You are the burden of my generation / I sure do love you / But let’s get that straight.”
February 21, 2013 12:29 pm
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We used “How Sweet it is (to be loved by you)” by James Taylor and did the parent dances simultaneously.
February 21, 2013 12:33 pm
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This was one of our runner-ups! Good song.
February 21, 2013 1:22 pm
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Yay playlists!
Our parent dance was “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Now I’m going to go listen to it again and possibly have a desk cry because I can’t help myself. Such a good song.
February 21, 2013 12:39 pm
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OOOH I love this song.
February 21, 2013 1:19 pm
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Husband danced with his mom to “Teach Your Children.” It was awesome.
My dad and I danced to “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw which I realize is sort of objectively sappy and I know some people (umm even including me) have trouble with the ‘little girl’ thing, but whatever. We cried, my mom cried, other people cried, it was awesome.
Husband and I danced to “We Belong” by Pat Benetar. See also: awesome.
February 21, 2013 3:20 pm
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we did a joint parent dance, and used this song:)
February 24, 2013 8:16 am
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We did Loudon Wainwright’s “Daughter” for the Father/Daughter dance (which was cute, but still felt really awkward!).
My husband and his mom stole the show though. We had a subtle muppet theme for the wedding (a few muppet songs in the ceremony, a Kermit/Piggy cake topper, and a few other things) because both of us are huge muppet fans. My husband and his mom danced to “The Rainbow Connection,” and it totally made people cry. It was adorable.
February 21, 2013 12:40 pm
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We LOVE the Muppets! Our first dance song was “Life’s a Happy Song” mostly because we couldn’t find a decent recording of “Movin’ Right Along” but it ended up being perfect and very “us”.
February 21, 2013 2:01 pm
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We did “Life’s a Happy Song” for the recessional after the ceremony! We wanted to choreograph something awesome and do it for the first dance but didn’t get around to it. It’s such a great song (and perfect for a wedding!)
I walked down the aisle to a piano version of “He’ll Make Me Happy” from Muppets Take Manhattan, which was awesome.
My husband also cut Gonzo saying “I think we’re engaged!” to the beginning of “You Can’t take No for an Answer,” and we were going to use it for something but didn’t.
(Clearly, we had a lot of ideas that we never implemented…. sigh.)
Yay for muppet songs!
February 21, 2013 6:40 pm
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True facts: I really wanted to do The Rainbow Connection (Willie Nelson’s cover, which is just UNF), but I knew I would just end up ugly crying.
February 21, 2013 2:13 pm
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I’m thinking of dancing with my dad to “Gracie” by Ben Folds. It has some of the sweetest lyrics. My fiance and his mom are dancing to a cover of “Forever Young” by Audra Mae. I’ve always loved the lyrics to that song and it’s very fitting because my fiance will always be a kid at heart.
February 21, 2013 12:41 pm
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I think we are doing “Gracie” too! My dad has always called me Gracie instead of Elizabeth :)
February 21, 2013 1:56 pm
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We did the parent-child dances simultaneously, and used Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World.”
February 21, 2013 12:43 pm
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We used Billy Joel’s “Lullabye” when we danced with our parents. I danced with my dad at the same time he danced with his mom. It’s one of our funniest memories because of their reactions (probably should’ve told them we’d be doing that before we got there).
February 21, 2013 12:46 pm
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I used Billy Joel’s Lullaby also for my dance with my Dad.
February 21, 2013 6:34 pm
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My dad and I danced to “Heavenly Day” by Patty Griffin. It’s a gorgeous song with a perfect tempo, and it fit our wedding vibe just right.
February 21, 2013 12:48 pm
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My husband and I did our first dance to “This Will Be Our Year,” which I love because it’s such a positive song. We almost chose “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes, which our DJ ended up playing while everyone else was distracted by dessert, and it ended up being a lovely, private moment.
My dad and I always knew we’d dance to “My Girl” by the Temptations; my husband and his mom danced to “Sunrise, Sunset.” Other good parent dances I’ve seen have been to “Father & Daughter” by Paul Simon and “Somewhere Out There” from ‘An American Tail.’ (RIGHT?)
February 21, 2013 12:58 pm
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We picked the Bright Eyes song. I just love it and talked my husband into using it. We just did the junior high sway during the song. No parent dances at our wedding though..
February 21, 2013 3:45 pm
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Does anyone have any suggestions for father/daughter dances to rock songs – non-super-sappy-mushy-slow i.e.: Aerosmith, etc.? I need help!
February 21, 2013 1:02 pm
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Guns N’ Roses, Sweet Child o’ Mine? I was JUST listening to it thinking you could totally dance to it, albeit a little quicker than your average foxtrot.
February 21, 2013 1:19 pm
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My dad is a HUGE rolling stones fan, so I would like to do “Wild Horses.”
February 21, 2013 1:46 pm
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I was going to dance with my Dad to “Veteran Cosmic Rocker” by Moody Blues, because we always danced to it when I was a kid.
February 21, 2013 1:51 pm
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A little late to the party, but my father and I danced to Let’s Dance by David Bowie. It was great! (Husband and his mother joined in part way through).
March 11, 2013 3:27 pm
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We are dancing to Lover of the Light by Mumford & Sons. It’s our favorite band and one our favorite songs by them.
We haven’t picked our parent’s dance song but I love love love the idea of doing Rainbow Connection.
February 21, 2013 1:03 pm
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Did anyone skip the parent dances? I adore my father, and my partner loves his mom, but I just do not really feel like doing these dances. I feel like at that point, I’m going to be done being on stage, and will want a drink and to laugh with people. Am I crazy?
February 21, 2013 1:15 pm
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I would float that to both of your parents before you decide to cut them. My sister didn’t want a father/daughter dance, and really hurt my dad’s feelings with that one.
you’re not crazy, but weddings make people crazy. It can be a nice moment to get to share with your dad. you can always pick a short song, or do a combined parent dance if they really want one.
February 21, 2013 1:21 pm
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We didn’t do dancing at all. My dad has two left feet, and my husband and I are both Deaf. It was far more important to us to get the social stuff down at our wedding so we didn’t have music aside from the ceremony.
That said, I walked down the aisle to Rascal Flatts, “I Won’t Let Go.” And it was super fitting.
February 21, 2013 1:23 pm
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Glad to hear someone else happily skipped them. :)
February 21, 2013 2:39 pm
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My future in-laws are both Deaf as well, so we may skip the Father/Daughter, Mother/Son dance for this reason. I don’t think it’ll be noticed!
March 26, 2013 7:46 pm
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An option I came across in Mrs. Manner’s book is having your parents cut in during the first dance. This way you’re not the center of attention longer than you would be anyway (assuming you’re doing a first dance with new spouse).
Another idea I love (and will probably do) is having a special song picked out for a parent dance, but not announce it to the world. My Dad and I will just plan to meet up and dance when we hear it played. I’ll even give the photographer a heads up so we can get a relatively candid shot of Dad and I together. We’ll have our special moment without me feeling so on stage.
February 21, 2013 1:43 pm
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Oooo, I like the idea of having a covert father/daughter dance!
February 21, 2013 1:57 pm
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We did both of these things and it worked beautifully. I think it’s a great fix if you’re trying to cut down on the “spectator” aspects of the day. However, if you’re looking for a halfway point, you can always cut your music to remove a verse or two to keep things on schedule. even if you are making your own playlist, programs like garageband for mac and similar programs make it pretty easy.
February 21, 2013 3:09 pm
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we didn’t plan to do parent dances, but they just sort of happened, so ours happened to be to Frank Sinatra’s “come dance with me” because that’s what was up after our first dance. it was a lot of fun.
although i had seriously considered dancing with my dad to “your mama don’t dance (and your daddy don’t rock n’ roll)” because, well, my parents are way cooler than me and i’m fond of irony.
February 21, 2013 1:45 pm
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I agree with Gloria — Check with parents first.
However, if I were to go back again, I would probably cut some of the first dances if the parents were OK with it. They took up a lot of time, and our reception wasn’t really long (outdoors in september) — I felt like I didn’t have time to talk to anyone because we had to go from one event to the other. And they felt LOOOOONG to me. I would have cut those, the bouquet toss, and the garter toss.
Lovely to spend some moments with my Dad (I’m a total Daddy’s girl), but I would have rather done it by just going off and having a quiet word with him than dancing in front of everyone.
February 21, 2013 1:54 pm
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we skipped them and didn’t say anything. His mom is Dutch and did not seem to expect it, and i have a dad and step dad so…plus my dad just is not into that kind of thing.
February 21, 2013 8:50 pm
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We skipped them but I have never known my father so I’m sure that was part of it. My grandfather walked me down the aisle.
February 22, 2013 8:02 am
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I picked “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King for me and my dad. The sweetest part was us singing it to each other, even though my dad has a terrible voice.
Hubby and I danced to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillet. I’ve always loved that song, and it fits us pretty well.
February 21, 2013 1:17 pm
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My dad and I danced to “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King – which is a similar vein to your song.
February 22, 2013 12:33 pm
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I danced with my dad to Paul Simon’s “Father and Daughter.” I wanted something not overly sappy but still sweet and meaningful, a little upbeat. This song fit the bill PERFECTLY!
February 21, 2013 1:18 pm
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My dad and I considered that song, but ended up going with “Dance with Me” by Orleans for the same reasons…it’s sweet and upbeat without being overly sappy. Along the same lines, our first dance was to Mama Cass’s version of “Dream a Little Dream.” Meanwhile, my husband and his mom danced to The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies cover of “I Wanna Be Like You.” It was so much fun to watch people’s faces as they realized what the song was!
February 21, 2013 2:27 pm
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I don’t know what, but I’m always surprised that I don’t see our songs on lists because they are classic, standard songs. I’m not complaining — they are both very special songs for us and we would pick them no matter what.
Our first dance is L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole. Its the first song we ever danced to.
I’ve known the father-daughter song since I was a kid. Its Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole’s Unforgettable — a special song for my Dad and I. Its part of the reason we got a DJ over a band because I want this specific version. ;-)
My fiancee isn’t doing a mother-son dance because his mom thinks they are cheesy.
February 21, 2013 1:18 pm
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We had L O V E as our first dance at our wedding in October. Slow and simple but not too long- it was perfect for us.
February 22, 2013 2:17 pm
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My dad and I danced to Unforgettable, too! I loved having that moment with him. And I’ve always loved the song, and now I’ll love it even more. It’s such a perfect, often overlooked, classic song!
February 22, 2013 5:00 pm
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My dad and I will be dancing to Sam Cooke’s “Nothing Can Change This Love” because 1) it made me think of him and cry ugly tears at work the first time I heard it 2) the lyrics remind me of specific parts of growing up–being embarrassed that your dad still drives you to school, moving far away for college, etc. and 3) it’s only about two and a half minutes long.
February 21, 2013 1:24 pm
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oh I love that song!! SUCH a good choice! Now *I’m* crying at my desk!
February 21, 2013 2:49 pm
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My dad and I are doing this too, for the exact same reasons! Sam Cooke awesomeness fistbump!
February 21, 2013 3:51 pm
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My dad and I danced to that too! It’s such a great song! My initial suggestion was “Forever Young” by Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers but my dad insisted that our song must be something that you can really dance to. He had to take ballroom dance lessons as a kid and dances beautifully (and I so appreciated his strong lead since I am terrible)! I spent hours googling until I found Sam Cooke’s “Nothing can Change this Love” since I wanted to have something a bit less run of the mill.
I think it would totally work for any combinations of parents and offspring :)
February 22, 2013 10:23 am
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I danced with my father to “I Loved Her First”- which I strongly disliked (I would say hated, but that’s a strong word to apply to a wedding day). He wanted it so very badly and couldn’t imagine dancing to another song with me so I relented. That moment is one of so very many in our wedding planning process that required compromise.
That said, my husband and his mother are super close, and she suggested they dance to “That’s What Friends Are For” and I’m crying just having typed that. It was so cute, and not in an infantilizing way, but in a way that the lyrics are so nice to think about, especially coming from a mother to her son.
February 21, 2013 1:25 pm
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“Teach your children well” -Crosby, Stills, Nash
“Baby of Mine” Allison Krauss
February 21, 2013 1:34 pm
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Oh god, I would lose it if I heard “Baby of Mine” in even the most neutral setting, let alone a wedding. I’m tearing up now just from reading the title!
February 21, 2013 3:53 pm
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My fiance’s parents had passed away before our wedding, so instead of parent dances, we had a great big family dance to the Blues Brothers Everybody Needs Somebody to love! Some of my favorite pictures come from the fun we had during that dance!
February 21, 2013 1:36 pm
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We’re doing a “parents dance” in May and have chosen God Only Knows by the Beach Boys – which is also played at the end of Love Actually.
February 21, 2013 1:42 pm
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I love that song. It was a runner-up for both the first dance and father/daughter. It’s applicable to so many relationships, you know?
February 21, 2013 7:36 pm
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Aww, I walked down the aisle to This Will Be Our Year. Such a great song.
Also, last time when I commented that we didn’t dance to “our song” as our first dance because the song makes J weep? That song is totally The Luckiest.
Long story short, I like this playlist a lot.
My dad and I also danced to Paul Simon’s Father and Daughter, and J and his mom danced to I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden (her request). Finding parent dance songs can be really difficult if you’re shooting for lyrics that don’t come off as even vaguely sexual.
February 21, 2013 1:43 pm
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My dad and I danced to More I Cannot Wish You from the musical Guys and Dolls. He had seen the show earlier that year at a summer theater in our town and picked it!
February 21, 2013 1:47 pm
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I thought about dancing to that song with my Dad too, I’m surprised it’s not more popular.
February 21, 2013 3:28 pm
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We aren’t having any formal music or dances at our wedding or reception but music means a lot to both us. My compromise – printing lyrics to some of our favorite or most meaningful songs in our picture/scrapbook guest signing book. The first two songs picked are very different from each other but we love them both. Jogging Gorgeous Summer by the Islands (our friends first dance song at their wedding) specifically for the lyrics “Millions of sunsets, but the one I’ll remember/The one where you told me you’d love me forever.” It’s also upbeat and fun to dance to.
The second is much more of a traditional ballad, I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. The lines “If heaven and hell decide/That they both are satisfied/Illuminate the no’s on their vacancy signs/ If there’s no one beside you/When your soul embarks/Then I’ll follow you into the dark” gets me every time.
February 21, 2013 1:48 pm
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We’re dancing our first dance to “If I Should Fall Behind” by Bruce Springsteen – the waltz version from the “Live From Dublin” album where his wife sings the other half of the duet. Our runner-up was “Your Misfortune” by Mike Doughty, although my fiance lobbied hard for “I Got Mine” by the Black Keys (which we might do our entrance to). I always thought “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness would be a really funny first dance/entrance as well.
February 21, 2013 2:07 pm
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Love. Love. LOVE. I hadn’t heard that song before but the lyrics are EXACTLY right. I don’t love the boss (i know, i know) but will now be on the lookout for a cover :)
February 21, 2013 3:46 pm
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Catie Curtis has a beautiful cover version! We didn’t have parent dances, but this was the song we used after our first dance to get other couples on the dance floor before seguing to the fast music, crazy dance party part of our playlist.
February 21, 2013 4:17 pm
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We did a simultaneous mother/son, father/daughter dance to Billie Holiday’s “Things Are Looking Up.” Short, sweet, and easy to dance to!
February 21, 2013 2:09 pm
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Our first dance is Eddie Vedder’s “Longing to Belong.” I love Ed soooooo much so it’s only right to dance with my love to my other love singing :) And My father/daughter dance will be “Blackbird” by The Beatles.One of my favorite memories of my dad was when I went to a Paul McCartney show in college and he started playing my dad’s favorite Beatles song. I called my dad and held up the phone for him to listen. Halfway through I put the phone back to my ear and heard him singing along to my mother in the background. I don’t think I’ve ever cried from joy and sentiment like that before, because I was finally seeing Paul live (yep, I’m a Beatles fanatic) and because of the profound love I felt for my parents and their love for each other at that moment.
February 21, 2013 2:13 pm
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So here’s the thing about the Father/Daughter dance – all my life, I wanted to dance to “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” by CCR because for a very long time, it was the only song my dad could play on the guitar. And when I was a kid, he was in night school finishing his degree so we didn’t get to see each other a lot and on nights when he didn’t have class and his homework was done, he’d get out his guitar and pick through the chords a few times, and then he would play the song and I’d sing. So, even though it’s, like, a song about going home off tour and smoking a bunch of heroin, it’s SPECIAL, damnit.
But when I brought it up to my dad, he kind of laughed and was like, “no, I can’t dance to that.” (I can dance to anything but I accept that not everyone has my SUPERIOR rhythm skillz.) So now, I don’t know.
But I also have to share a story from a wedding I went to last year – the bride and her father (who is ADORABLE and sort of a “substitute dad” to a lot of her friends) danced to “Old Time Rock and Roll” and halfway through the dance, she kicked off her shoes and danced on his feet, and y’all, I LOST IT. I mean, full on ugly crying at the table while trying to hide behind a napkin because I didn’t want to miss it but holy jeez THE FEELINGS. ALL OF THEM.
February 21, 2013 2:20 pm
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Oh! And for the First Dance (which will be the ONLY dance for my fiance, because he hates dancing like I hate tofu), we’re doing “When I’m Sixty-Four” by the Beatles. We tossed a few suggestions back and forth, but in the end it was perfect- not overly sentimental, a song we both have great memories of already, and something I could choreograph a very simple dance for.
February 21, 2013 2:23 pm
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Oh, but I really wanted the runner up song to be “A Fairytale of New York” but SOMEONE thought it’d be “inappropriate.” Pff.
February 21, 2013 2:25 pm
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Pfff…same way SOMEONE thought it would be funny but inappropriate to dance to Lyle Lovett’s She’s No Lady She’s My Wife.
February 22, 2013 10:38 am
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Yes, mine vetoed Golddigger for some odd reason. It would have been SO funny. (he makes more than i do but has tons of school debt, whereas i have some savings)
February 22, 2013 9:40 pm
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I mean, “She’s No Lady” might have to play at my wedding. Genius.
March 12, 2013 10:35 pm
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My dad is a big Cyndi Lauper fan (cool, I know!), so it was a no-brainer for us to dance to Time After Time. I really love the lyric, “If you’re lost you can look and you will find me, time after time,” and I thought it was greatly appropriate for the parental support he’s given me over the years.
Also- SO PUMPED to see Life is Beautiful on this list! That was our first dance song, and it is so sweet and simple and beautiful! Great list. :)
February 21, 2013 2:33 pm
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I suggested Time After Time to my dad because he has always been a big Cyndi Lauper fan as well (love that song!)…I was a little surprised when he did not go for it.
My dad’s surprising pick: Earth Wind & Fire “That’s the Way of the World”.
February 21, 2013 5:03 pm
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Our last song of the evening, hubs and I were out on the floor dancing, just the two of us. Then my parents started dancing. And his parents. And my brother, sister-in-law with my nephew. It was the most amazing culmination of our families.
The song that was playing was “Piper to the End” by Mark Knopfler. – Not sure that it would be a great song for anything else, but it’s one of my favorite songs now, and always brings me back to that moment, “This has been a day to die for. Now the day is almost done”
A-MAZING!
February 21, 2013 2:41 pm
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My dad was in charge of all of the music at our wedding. He loves music and we have very similar tastes, so I didn’t even ask to see what he had picked out before the day.
When the time came for our first dances I had no idea what to expect for my dance with my dad. He chose Alicia Keys ‘Not Even the King’. I had never heard the song, and during our dance my dad asked me to pay attention to the lyrics– a really difficult thing to do while simultaneously dancing in the middle of a giant circle and trying not to bawl. Anyway, afterwards my father gave me all of the playlists on discs, and I have listened to this song about a hundred times since. I can’t get through it without crying. Not once.
February 21, 2013 2:42 pm
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I just listened to “Not Even the King” and bawled. What a beautiful song.
February 21, 2013 6:27 pm
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I am thinking about choosing “Constellations” by Jack Johnson for the Father/Daughter dance. I really love it but I’m still searching for something that might be a better fit. My fiance and his mom will be dancing to “Blackbird” by The Beatles. I’m also going to be dancing with my mom to “Let it Be Me” by Ray LaMontagne.
We’re still having a hell of a time picking out our first dance. Thinking about “Northern Wind” by City and Colour , “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green, or “That’s All” by Michael Buble. Just to name a few. :)
February 21, 2013 2:45 pm
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We danced to “You’ve got a friend” by James Taylor. My father chose it and I loved it because James Taylor always reminds me of my dad and I remember listening to it with him as a kid
February 21, 2013 2:49 pm
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Any ideas for my situation? We have 2 sets of divorced parents – all parties have remarried. We have differing levels of closeness to the parents and step-parents involved — I have a lot of issues w/ my dad and I figured I’d dance with him at some point at the wedding but I don’t need to honor him with a Father/Daughter dance (while ignoring my mom and my step-dad, who I’m very close to. Having a dance w/ my mom or my step-dad and NOT my dad would make my Dad feel bad, and I don’t want to do that either. My fiance is fine w/ skipping the dances as well.. but not sure if we’ll offend anyone or if there’s a better way? Really involving all 8 parents in this is just too much. Suggestions?
February 21, 2013 2:52 pm
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Maybe you guys could find a longish (4 minutes or so) song and have sort of a “cut in” situation? Like you start dancing with your dad and then maybe move on to your mom and then your step-dad and then your stepmom? I don’t know how friendly things are between your parents, so that may not work.
February 21, 2013 2:57 pm
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This is perhaps entirely crazy, but I’m wondering if you could have all four currently-married couples dancing, and then you and your husband cut in for a verse or a chorus or some other defined length on each? (so: you dance with your step-dad while your husband dances with your mom, then you dance with your husband’s dad while your husband dances with his step-mom) That way, whoever has been “cut in” on or whoever is not dancing with the bridal couple is still being danced with and is not busy getting jealous.
Or you could do a big fat circle dance with all 10 of you (or with the eight of them and the two of you weaving in and out). Or a hand-off square dance of some kind, but that would most likely result in exes having to interact a bit more with each other (which may or may not work, depending on the situations.
Or, yeah, you could totally skip it altogether. :-)
February 21, 2013 3:39 pm
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I’d probably just give your dad a heads up, since he’s probably the only one who’d possibly be offended (and even then, might not care). I’m guessing your mom and stepdad aren’t anticipating a dance with you, since it’s not the “usual.”
Folks in remarriage type situations often anticipate that things won’t be able to go according to the traditional expected route, which helps.
February 21, 2013 3:07 pm
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We had decided to do a joint father/daughter, mother/son dance but never decided on a song. We had a few in the running and then my mother in law passed away the week before the wedding and we didn’t think of those details again until the night of. Thankfully the band leader realized no one had told him what song to play for the dance and he went and found my brother and asked him to sing Stand By Me (my brother had already sung our first dance song, You Are The Best Thing, so the band knew he could pull if off). It was such a surprise to hear my brother’s voice singing those words and I am still so thankful for that band singer for taking control. My husband ended up dancing with his sisters as I danced with my Dad and then we invited everyone out to dance with us. I didn’t think of the song, but I don’t think I could have done better if I had-it was perfect. Highly recommend. (And, if you’re in the Boston area, my brother will come sing it for you! hah)
February 21, 2013 2:53 pm
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Squeeee! We used song #1 of volume #1. :)
February 21, 2013 3:00 pm
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Well, this is a slightly odd one, but my dad and I danced to Chanson Pour Tommy (Song For Tommy) by BeauSoleil:
http://www.myspace.com/beausoleilmusic/music/songs/chanson-pour-tommy-song-for-tommy-33896935
It’s a beautiful Cajun waltz that my dad picked out. No lyrics, fairly traditional, not overly sentimental — which was perfect for my always-wise-cracking father and myself. We danced to the first part of it by ourselves, and then when the music swells and the rest of the band starts playing, we invited everyone else out to the dance floor with us. It ended up being a great way to get everyone on the dance floor and start the dance party.
February 21, 2013 3:44 pm
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Maybe this song is over because they sang it on the Grey’s Anatomy musical episode (although Sara Ramirez is totally completely legit, Tony-winning, etc.), but I cannot make it all the way through Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” without sobbing. If there was a song that captured how I feel about my guy, that’s it – I’ve felt that way for a long long time. And, holy shit, we’re getting married!!! Like for real! Woop woop gratuitous engagement chair dance!
February 21, 2013 4:31 pm
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At our wedding, we used “Child of Mine” by Carole King for the mother/son dance and “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack for the father/daughter dance. Input of the parents in question was very influential in the song choices. Our first dance was to “When You Say Nothing At All,” the Alison Krauss version. Love that song.
February 21, 2013 4:47 pm
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Ugh the dancing. We HATED this part of planning, but after a million options, we finally settled on something that worked for us. First dance: Edelweiss (music only). Three reasons it was awesome: 1. Waltzing is way easy (and almost *gasp* fun to learn in your living room via You Tube videos). Once you get the steps, it can be super straightforward. 2. Our dinner hour music was orchestral movie-soundtrack-themed, and it totally transitioned us from dinner to the dance floor. 3. People actually burst into spontaneous singing!!! Holy touching moment Batman.
No parental dances for us, but everyone joined in for our final dance, Ben Fold’s The Luckiest.
February 21, 2013 4:57 pm
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I desperately wanted to have our first dance to The Luckiest, because it makes me tear up every time I hear it.
When I brought it up, though, it was a nonstarter. The first line is “I don’t get many things right the first time,” and my (previously married and divorced) husband was not interested in something that on-the-nose.
February 25, 2013 10:07 am
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