There are a lot of wedding decisions that feel weighty. Every moment of your big day feels like a moment you’ll remember forever. After all, that’s why I’m there! Your wedding photographer helps you capture and remember every emotional, beautiful, and hilarious moment of your nuptials. Something else that helps is music.
Anyone who knows me knows that music is a huge part of my life and my process as a photographer. A great song has the power to make you dance, laugh, cry, and remember a moment forever. Whenever that song comes on, you’re transported back to when you shared it with someone you love.
But as you sit down to select songs for your wedding day, you might be overwhelmed by the abundance of options. Since I love spending hours finding new music, I thought I’d narrow down a playlist of the most important songs of the night.
Keep in mind that I’ve made these playlists based on wedding traditions. On your day you can choose to honor whoever you wish with a special dance. I’ve seen brides dance with their moms or grandparents, and I’ve photographed weddings where there wasn’t a bride. Do what matters to you.
So let’s talk about the daddy daughter dance. This can be such a sweet time to thank the man who taught you to love. A lot of fathers are excited to share that dance with their daughter…as long as it’s only a minute or so. Bless them, but usually dads are nervous about dancing in front of 200 or so guests. If your father has similar concerns, reassure him by involving him in the decision-making process.
Ask your father how long he would like to dance, if he wants to slow dance or groove to something up-beat, and if there are any songs he has in mind. It can be a fun time to bond with your father over some tunes.
Worry less about the lyrics and more about the sentiment. Honestly, most of the “father daughter” songs are cheesy and over-used anyway. Find a song that brings back memories of growing up or your relationship.
If your dad wants to be on the floor for the least amount of time possible, then 2 minutes should be your goal. That is plenty of time for your wedding photographer to get some great photos (just let your DJ know at least a month in advance so they can make cuts to the song).
On my Spotify playlist there are great options of varying genres, tempos, and lengths. Believe it or not, I’ve seen a lot of daddy daughter dances so I’ve veered away from any over-done songs or I’ve found fresh new covers. For example: a lovely acoustic rendition of The Temptations’s “My Girl” by Us the Duo.
Mostly I focused on songs that feel memorable and nostalgic, but also appropriate for the occasion. For any Jimmy Buffett fans, give “Little Miss Magic” a listen. If your father is ready to boogie down, check out “Little Bitty Pretty One”. There’s Camilla Cabello’s gorgeous new ballad, “First Man”, which is guaranteed to inspire some tears.
My daddy daughter dance song: “I’ll Be Your Man (Song for a Daughter)” by The Zac Brown Band
This decision felt especially hard for me considering that my father is a musician with great taste. In the end I went with a song that reminded of days in college when I was missing Montana and my family. It’s a simple and sweet song that brought to mind my dad’s faith in me as well as his Sunday morning guitar-playing.
The intro and instrumental are easy to cut, making it a quick but poignant song. It can be found on my playlist because I would be more than happy to share my daddy daughter song with you and your dance partner!
I hope this helps you narrow down a great song for you to share with someone special on your big day. And if you have a daddy daughter dance song in mind that isn’t on the playlist, please leave it in the comments. I’d love to keep adding to this playlist. I’ll take any excuse to drive around Bozeman listening to some new music!