::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!

Tags: father daughter dance, Inspiration, rebecca, songs

This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 8:50 am and is filed under Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.