50 Father Daughter Dance Songs

The Father Daughter Dance is a traditional event in Western Weddings where the father of the bride dances with his daughter. This is typically done after the couples first dance and is sometimes accompanied with the Mother Son Dance, where the groom dances with his mother.

However, traditionally speaking, this dance was held prior to the Bride and Groom’s first dance. It was symbolic of the Father giving away his virgin daughter (the bride), as well as her dowry, to the new man who would now take care of her. This new man was often times a stranger to the bride and arranged for political or socio-economic reasons.

Thankfully, this is mostly a thing in the past and the Father Daughter Dance now represents a sweet moment in the wedding where the bride gets a chance to dance with her father. Of course, with the complexity of familial relationships there are many brides and couples that decide to forgo this particular event or choose a close male relative to fill in if the father is not around. However, if you are a couple that wants to include the Father Daughter Dance into your wedding, we have compiled a list of 50 songs for you to choose from for your Father Daughter Dance.

50 Father Daughter Dance Songs:

Having a hard time deciding on your Father Daughter Dance Song?

Having trouble figuring out what father daughter song to choose? What I like for you to think about is if there is a particular band or song that is important to you and your father? or if there is one that reminds you of your father? If so, you might want to consider one of those instead of a “traditional” Father Daughter Dance Song.

For my wedding, I decided to have a father daughter dance. Growing up I was a Daddy’s Girl so I always wanted to do something special with my Dad on my wedding day. Growing up, my Dad instilled the love of The Eagles into me. I still consider them one of my favorite bands.

So, when I was thinking of our song, I knew I wanted a song from the Eagles. My Dad had one condition: It couldn’t be ‘Get Over It’. Which was definitely the song I had in mind since we quoted it regularly growing up and is THE song that I associate with my father.

I think instead we decided upon Hotel California. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with weddings or father-daughter dances but it was a good tempo for dancing. And you know what? I hardly remember the music while we were dancing. I just remember being happy talking with my dad and sharing our anxiety of dancing in front of a crowd together. Then I continued to dance with my Father-in-law and then my mother while my now husband danced with his mother, my mother and his father!

Had I known then that you could switch the father daughter dance for a father daughter shot, I would have gladly bought my Dad a bottle of Patron as a gift (our favorite liquor is Tequila) and taken a shot with him instead. Are you looking for something different for traditional wedding events? Check out our blog 5 New Takes on Old Traditions.