Happy Father’s Day from the team at LookLoveSend! As daughters celebrate their fathers today, we thought we’d reflect on the special father-daughter wedding traditions of ‘giving away the bride’ and the ‘father-daughter dance’. Do you plan to include these traditions in the program of events for your wedding?
- Walking his daughter down the aisle is an anticipated and memorable moment for many dads; in fact many ceremony programs specifically differentiate the bride’s entrance from the rest of the wedding party processional. Popular songs are Pachabel’s Canon in D, Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary, and of course 101 different arrangements of ‘Here Comes the Bride’. But if you’re looking to sample some other appropriate but original options, checkout myweddingmusic.com.
However; as today’s weddings are becoming more and more personalized by modern couples, it is increasingly common to see the bride making her entrance in other special ways. Brides with cordially re-married parents may be accompanied by both father and step-father in a touching show of family unity. Older brides with a deceased father may choose to walk down the aisle with her mother or close male relative. And for second marriages embracing step-children it is a beautiful gesture for the children to accompany the bride and groom at the altar.
The father-daughter dance is also not the traditional waltz it used to be. We’ve all seen the sensational hip-hop numbers rehearsed for hours and immortalized on YouTube. But for every over-the-top father-daughter dance there is the bride who simply chooses not to include a spotlight father-daughter dance in her reception plan of events. The mother-son dance has become just as commonplace as the father-daughter dance, and some couples just opt for a single ‘wedding party’ dance before opening up the dance floor to all guests.
Bottom line: it’s your wedding so do as you want. Whether you waltz, boogie, shuffle from side to side, or don’t even have a spotlight dance, be sure to discuss your plans and priorities well-ahead of time with family for a harmonious and memorable day. For top designer programs and coordinating wedding invitation elements, shop the growing selection of quality cards at LookLoveSend.com. Enter our monthly sweepstakes below for a chance to with $500 off your wedding stationery!
