::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated.  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

In the first part of this post, we covered some country songs, some cheesy songs, some current songs, and some folk songs you can dance to with your daddy.  Today, let’s see what else we can find.

There’s “Daddy’s Girl” by Red Sovine

“Just the Way You Are” Billy Joel

or “Gracie” by Ben Folds (particularly handy if your name is Grace, of course…)

There are songs that just automatically make the guests melt and go “Awwww….” — I’m a sucker for these songs.

“Daughter” Loudoun Wainwright (which you might remember from the ending of “Knocked Up”

“Father and Daughter” Paul Simon (sorry about the video…I don’t know those people, obviously)

“Over the Rainbow” (the Iz version, obviously!)

“You’ve Got a Friend” James Taylor

“Stand By Me” Ben E. King

And “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” (you can use the Rod Stewart version, but I prefer the Van Morrison tune)

(Sorry for the Wall-E video…it was the only version I could find that wasn’t some weird tribute to Zac Efron or Twilight…teenage girls must love this song for some reason?)

I like upbeat songs for Father/Daughter dance songs. If your dad is willing to bust a little bit of a move, these are always fun:

“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” Randy Newman (Yes, the song from Toy Story…listen to the lyrics! So cute!)

“American Girl” Tom Petty

“I Love You More Today Than Yesterday” Spiral Staircase

“Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” The Four Tops

And a song your dad might love (and Lord knows your mom does!), “It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones

And, finally, if your family is as goofy as mine can be, they’re always joking around. Make people go “Oh, that’s so them” with one of these songs:

“Short People” Randy Newman (my dad used to sing this to me all the time…he’s 6′4. I’m…not.)

“If You Wanna Be Happy” by Jimmy Soul (Another one of my dad’s favorites, the lyrics say “If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife, so from my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you” Like I said, the bride has to have a pretty good sense of humor…)

If your dad loves his duds, how about “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top (here with David Cook)

“I Knew the Bride (When she used to rock and roll)” Nick Lowe

And for the dad who gave the groom a “stern talking to” before the wedding, there’s Rodney Atkins’ “Cleaning This Gun”

What song are you using to dance with your dad?  Anything we missed here?

::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated.  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

I was a music major in college, and so music has always been one of my favorite things about weddings.  Plus my family and I love to dance (we’re not good at it…we just love to do it…) so a rockin wedding is a MUST!  One fun aspect where you can really infuse your personality into your wedding is the Father/Daughter dance.  Now, in these days, you don’t HAVE to do a Father/Daughter dance.  You can do a Mother/Daughter dance, you can do nothing at all, you can dance with your grandpa…it’s totally up to you!  But if you are doing one, sometimes it’s difficult to think of good songs.  So, of course, I’m here to help!

There are a lot of different ways you can go with the father/daughter dance.  There’s the tried and true, clearly made for a first dance songs:

“Butterfly Kisses” Bob Carlisle

“I Loved Her First”  Heartland

“Cinderella” Steven Curtis Chapman

“Daddy” by Kendall Payne

Or “A Song for my Daughter” by Ray Allaire

There are songs that are not quite as…sappy…but still classics:

“My Girl” The Temptations (I would totally do this for my imaginary wedding…if my sister hadn’t already used it on my dad, even though I’m TOTALLY his girl!)

“The Way You Look Tonight” Tony Bennett (again, there are other great versions, but the Tony Bennett version was used in “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” and therefore the BEST one for a wedding!)

Or “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder, which he wrote for his daughter’s birth

There are Old Fashioned songs:

“Thank Heaven for Little Girls” The Lennon Sisters

“Unforgettable” Nat King Cole (I like the original better than the duet with Natalie)

The Beatles wrote several songs perfect for a Father Daughter dance.

“All You Need Is Love” (Ignore the crazy trippiness that is “Yellow Submarine”)

“In My Life”

and “Here Comes the Sun” are three great examples

If your dad was a dad of the folky Dylan/CSNY era, there are some great songs that would be perfect.

“Forever Young” Bob Dylan

“Here for You” Neil Young

“You Are My Sunshine” (this is one of my favorite versions…Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash)

“Magical Child” Graham Nash

“Teach Your Children Well” Crosby, Stills, & Nash

Country fans have TONS of options. Here are some of my favorites:

“They Don’t Make Em Like My Daddy Anymore” Loretta Lynn

“All American Girl” Carrie Underwood

“Daddy’s Angel” by T. Carter

And one of my new favorites, “Best Day” by Taylor Swift (I admit it…I love her!)

In fact, there are a lot of “current” (meaning in the last, say, 15 years or so) songs that are great for first dance songs.

“Kind and Generous” Natalie Merchant

“Wildflowers” Tom Petty

“My Darling” by Wilco

“Still Fighting It” by Ben Folds

And a song that would be in serious contention for me, “Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee

To prevent this post from getting too overwhelming, I’ll let you listen to these, and next time we’ll cover the “Aw” songs, some upbeat songs and some choices for those of you, like me, who will take any opportunity for a joke!

::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated unless denoted by a link to another wedding on this blog.  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

First of all, let me say…IT’S NOT ST. PATTY’S!!!  If you’re going to shorten it, it’s ST. PADDY’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew…I feel better now   When you read as many blogs as I do, little things start to drive you slightly insane.

MOVING ON…Happy St. PADDY’S DAY!!!!!!!!!  I love this holiday.  I mean, you get to wear bright kelly green, which I love, and you get to drink a lot.  What more could a girl ask for?!  How about some great green wedding ideas (with some Irish traditions thrown in for good measure!)

It’s an Irish custom for the bride to carry a horseshoe down the aisle for good luck.  She must carry it facing up, so the good luck doesn’t run out.  There are tons of little horseshoe charms out there for bouquets, like this one from Nordstrom:

But I like the larger ones, like this one which, sadly, I can’t remember where it came from (Etsy?) It would also be cute to display in your home after the wedding:

You can also use horseshoe touches in other parts of your wedding, like in these traditional Jordan Almond favors from Martha Stewart:

The claddagh ring is another Irish tradition (I meant to take a picture of mine, which I love, and bought at The Silver Parrot in Old Town Alexandria, but I just moved and can’t find it!)  Here is another gorgeous one.

A great way to honor the day, though, is to, of course, include green in your wedding!  You can do this a number of ways, like these bridesmaids dresses:

Photo: Chris Baltazar

Kimberly Gray Photography:

LOVE these J. Crew dresses, photographed by Root Photography:

Or these darker green Jim Hjelm dresses, photographed by Sarah Bastille:

Accessories are a great way to add color too (and then the bride can get involved with the wearin o’ the green!)

Franco Sarto shoes, photographed by Sarah Q Photography:

Or how about this beautiful shamrock necklace (great bridesmaid’s gift!) from Etsy seller Sammi84:

Speaking of bridesmaids gifts, how about these cute clutches from Etsy Seller JenniferLadd:

And don’t forget the guys…they can wear green too!

Amy Carroll Photography:

How awesome is this boutonniere from Design Sponge?!

Kristin Spencer Photography:

Bouquets are an easy way to add green as well.  There are so many great green flowers as well as things like succulents (and especially four-leaf clovers!) that make a gorgeous green bouquet.  Touches like beautiful green ribbon add some great color too.

I love this bouquet from Brilliant Blooms in Denver:

Chris Baltazar Photography:

LOVE these green bouquets, photographed by our friend Heather Z:

Speaking of green flowers, how about the ceremony decor and centerpieces?

Photo by The Wiebners:

Laurel McConnell Photography:

Allyson Magda Photography:

How much do I love those green vases?!?!  Of course, flowers aren’t the only way to color your wedding.  There are also cute escort card ideas:

Non-floral decor:

Love Life Images:

Martha Stewart Weddings:

Or favors, like these cute shamrock lollipops, photographed by Blue World Studios:

Of course, we Irish love our drink, so add a little festive touch into your drinks (and food!)

Anne Constance Photography:

Mmm…cake bites…oh, Bakerella, how I love you. (That’s Red Velvet cake…dyed green!)

I admit it…I love corned beef and cabbage…

How pretty is this cupcake stand photographed by local Dolphindance Photography:

I love that candy buffets are still popular, like this green one photographed by Eleise Theuer:

And of course, you can’t have a St. Patrick’s Day wedding without Guinness:

How cute would it be to have a group of Irish Dancers perform at your reception?  (Locally, the O’Neill-James School of Irish Dancing and Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance would be good places to check)

So for all of you Irish out there (and those who are Irish just for today) HAPPY ST. PADDY’S DAY!

A big Happy Birthday to Wish, who is celebrating five years today.  We started out as Soiree Special Events in 2005 and have never looked back!  Over the years we’ve served over 200 couples in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland.  We’re so thrilled to have such wonderful supporters who have kept us in business through this economic craziness.  Thank you to all our past and future clients — we love you all!

xoxo,

Photo via The Washington Post

We’re so very excited that same-sex couples in the District of Columbia can FINALLY apply for marriage licenses, starting today. Of course they still need to wait until May 9th to actually tie the knot but today is a big day for the LGBT community! Click here to see some photos from the Washington Post on the activities at the DC Superior Court today.

Here at Wish we love to help all kinds of couples with their wedding celebrations. If you’re not quite ready to hire a planner but are looking for some advice, here are some wonderful same-sex-friendly wedding resources:

SoYoureEngayged.com
GayWeddings.com
GayRites.com
TheKnot.com’s Real Weddings
Rainbow Wedding Network

If you participate on Twitter, here are some great folks to follow:

SoYoureEngayged, resource
Bernadette Smith, wedding planner
Rainbow Wedding Network, resource

Of course don’t forget to follow me on Twitter too!

Congratulations again!

We got some fantastic images of Anna & Mike’s wedding from photographer Elaine Studley.  I thought Elaine’s images turned out great!

It wouldn’t be a Hokie’s wedding without a Virginia Tech garter, now would it?

They exchanged vows at the Church of the Holy Rosary on 3rd Street in Washington, DC:

Isn’t this church amazing!?  I thought the grand aisle made for a fantastic entrance:

Look how sweet these guys are!

After the ceremony, Anna & Mike took their bridal party around the mall for some quintessential DC monument shots:

Elise Alexander provided this beautiful bouquet and all the flowers for the wedding:

I think the Jefferson Memorial is one of my favorite spots for wedding portraits:

The US Capitol is just about as “DC” as it gets!  This is also a good photo to point out Anna’s gorgeous wedding-day look from Elegant Hair by Giselle and BeautyMark:

The reception took place at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC.  There are two large rooms in this venue, connected by a large sliding door.  Here’s the bigger space of the two:

Martin’s Caterers did a beautiful job on the yummy cake:

Complete with orange & maroon icing flowers!  How fitting!

The big entrance:

I really love this shot…aren’t Anna & Mike cute together?  I also loved the whimsical polka dot lighting:

Musica Entertainment kept the party going all night:

Mmmm….this cake display was the perfect end to the evening.  Look how many different types there were!

….and they danced and danced and danced.

Congratulations, Anna & Mike!  I’m glad I could be a part of your day and hope you enjoyed every second of it.