One of the most poignant moments of the wedding reception will be the dance between the bride and her father. Her father is passing along her care to another man and may feel emotional about the girl that he has raised starting her own life. For this reason, the father-daughter dance during the wedding reception is one of the most touching times of their lives.

In many cases, this may be the first time that the father has danced formally since his own wedding and he may be nervous about performing the dance in front of a large number of people. It is very important that both the father and the daughter be comfortable with the dance prior to the actual wedding reception to ensure that both parties will be able to enjoy their dance together. Discussing the details about the dance should take place well before the wedding reception and plans should be made to either learn the dance or practice together before the reception takes place.

Both parties should be comfortable with both the tone and the style of the father-daughter dance and should discuss each detail to be sure that both parties are comfortable with what is being planned. Generally, the bride will choose the song that the dance will be performed to, but she should run her choice by her father to ensure that he does not have any issues with the choice. The dance style may be chosen before or after the music has been chosen, but that should also be discussed between them to ensure that both parties are okay with the decision.

If the bride and her father live close enough together, they may choose to take dance lessons together before the wedding reception. The dance lessons will typically occur for several weeks, once a week, for about an hour to an hour and a half and will assist the bride and her father in feeling much more comfortable about the father-daughter dance. Most cities have numerous dance studios that are experienced in creating wedding dances for wedding receptions.

If the bride has a specific song in mind that she would like to use for the father-daughter dance at her wedding reception, she should take it to the dance studio to have the dance instructors create a custom wedding dance for her and her father. The dance instructor can take the tempo and style of the song to make a dance that follows the song and adheres to the skill level of both individuals doing the dance. As the father is not as young and vigorous as the bride, some of the dance moves may have to be modified to ensure that he will be able to complete them properly.

Having the perfect father-daughter dance at a wedding reception depends on both people being comfortable with what they are doing and having fun with it. After all, this is supposed to be one of the happiest times of your lives and this dance will create a memory that will last forever.