Father Daughter Dance...help

I think you’re spot on - you shouldn’t go with a song that may bring negativity into such a positive day.

Some ideas:
- somewhere over the rainbow
- child of mine
- the way you look tonight
- your song
- how you’ve grown

I actually disagree...I LOVE "Daughters" by John Mayer...cautionary tale? Maybe.but it is a beautiful song.if it's how you feel, if he is trying to do right by you now, then it's good.
However - if the song itself brings YOU negative feelings/thoughts then absolutely DON'T use it.

I'm no help otherwise...if my dad wasn't present, I wouldn't be giving him a place of honor like walking down the aisle/dance etc.
And in actuality, my dad is Saudi Arabian and has never been to a properly hosted American wedding, they don't celebrate together (men&women) much less dance as they do here, so the entire concept is foreign and him not participating in walking me down the aisle or a dance doesn't phase him at all.
I'll be walking myself and the only spotlight dance is our first as husband and wife

I'm actually not inviting my father to my wedding at all. I'm having my uncle, who was married into the family but now him and my aunt are divorced sadly, walk me down the aisle. He's always been there for me. I'm having a bit of trouble myself trying to find a song too.

Tim McGraw has a couple songs check out the one about him dancing at his daughter's wedding

I Hope You Dance by LeAnn rhymes I didn't spell her last name right but that's a good song

View Quoted Comment I Hope You Dance bye LeAnn Rimes

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It's quite rough to not have an active father no matter the reason. Especially with such a special day approaching. I hear all these songs about daddy being there, reading fairy tales, kissing their little girls good night, etc..and all I can think is...man I never had that, but I wish. I would love to dance to Luther Vandross- "Dance With My Father". That's what I WISH our relationship had been like that. I would never give the impression to him or to anyone that he was a great father/dad. It's a tough spot to be in. I'm sure we will figure out our songs.

My dad and I are dancing to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac, it doesn't mention anything about father or daughter and it's a beautiful song.

It was the same for me so I chose just fishin because that’s about all we did. It was his favorite thing to do so we did it a lot. The words still don’t fit perfectly but it was about the best I could find

I gave my dad homework! Gave him a date that he needed to pick a song by! Lol. I already had to figure out all these other songs, I figured he could pick one!

My wish by rascal flatts. If I end up inviting my dad, it’ll be a toss up between that song and you’ll be in my heart by Phil Collins. Even slightly considering you’ve got a friend in me

Same... I am dancing with my step dad so i chose Walk with you - Edwin McCain

I love a few of the recommended songs by PP's - specifically Landslide and The Way You Look Tonight (this is one of my personal favorites).

My dad is not invited to my wedding, but my stepdad has been a part of my life forever and I couldn't imagine him not walking me down the aisle or sharing a dance with me. I agree that it was hard to find something that wasn't so "daddy's little girl." I ended up choosing "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" the James Taylor version.

Just to throw this out there- are you sure you even want to do this dance? If you aren't close, and if it will bring you stress and negativity, there is absolutely no requirement to do that. Or you can do a modfied father/ daughter dance, for example, your dad starts the song, but then your mom comes and dances with you for part, and then your brothers. So that way you aren't dancing with only one person the entire song. Or you can start with just you and your dad on the dance floor, and then have the DJ announce for other people to join you all after a very short time. Either way, good luck!

We're probably dancing to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. It's a pretty song but really doesn't mention anything about a father/daughter relationship.

We're choosing it mostly because of the tempo and because my dad's very old-fashioned and wants to dance to a really slow song.

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LeAnn Womack

How about "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts? It's a nice song, but it isn't super specific emotional for fathers and daughters.

My dad picked Dance With My Daughter by Jason Blaine. There are playlists on Spotify you can download that have a few different options.

It's hard without knowing your tastes or exactly why your relationship is strained, by I'll try some suggestions:

-"Wish I Could've Been There" - John Anderson (beautiful song, perhaps if your dad isn't close with you because his job has taken his attention? and if you're into old country)

-"My Wish" - Rascal Flatts (again, country; and it's pretty vague)

-"Soulshine" - Allman Brothers (this would be a great song to dance to, and mentions a relationship with a father and has a really positive message but isn't about a cheesy/close relationship)

-"The Way You Look Tonight" - Frank Sinatra (a classic; would put the focus more on "tonight" than anything in the past)

-"Stand By Me" - Otis Redding (another classic, maybe a BIT too sentimental than you're going for but again, it's not specific)

-"Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd (kind of sad subject matter but the lyrics are very abstract and can be used to generally just convey absence and wishing the other person was around, also not bad for slow dancing, if this is more your taste)

-You could also consider doing an instrumental song or an instrumental cover of a song with a beat you like (as long as the original song isn't both well known and very romantic), to avoid having to worry about what the lyrics are saying

(Sorry, realizing now you might be more into pop based on the John Mayer idea but I have very little knowledge of pop)

Thank you ladies for your input. You all have really great ideas. I'm really into r&b, hip hop, and pop. I do like quite a bit of country.

I am leaning towards "Dance With My Daughter" by Jason Blaine.

I LOVE "My Wish"!! I am going to dance with my son, who is 16. to this song for the mother/son dance.