And now for the sentimental part of the night: We dance with our parents. Well, not all of our parents. I danced with my dad and he danced with his mom. My mom and his dad were SOL.
I let my dad pick our song, and he ended up picking the one I had in mind, which made for an adorable blog post. The song he chose was “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. (Side brag: We’re going to see Fleetwood Mac in April!!)
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
I love how the wedding party is totally not paying attention in the background of every picture. They’re totally oblivious to the precious memories being made in their very midst! On the right side, you can see one groomsman filling out our guestbook.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
My dad had more moves than Mr. Unicycle, which resulted in slightly more variation on photos.
When I was a kid (still in my awkward stage), my school threw a father/daughter dance, and my dad and I went to it and danced the night away. He told me “you dance divinely,” which is apparently from something, though I can’t remember what, and Google isn’t helping. When he spun me around the floor on my wedding day, I remembered that moment and repeated the line to him.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
I heard we brought a few people to tears.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
He sang the song as we danced, but got many of the words wrong.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
I sang over him so he’d learn the correct words.
Partway through the song, he whispered to me that we were going to end with a dramatic dip (and no, I don’t mean guacamole). Toward the end, there’s a fake-out ending where it gets slow and she sings, “Well maybeeee…” (at about 3:29 in this video) and then the tempo picks back up again. I thought it would be oh-so-Hollywood-perfect if we did the dip then, and then continued dancing for the last few bars, but I didn’t communicate this to my dad, so we had a bit of a false start. Then when it was actually time to do the dip—not this dip—I got confused about the mechanics of it (I guess I’m not a dancing virtuoso after all) and did a trust fall instead. Luckily, my dad was able to hold me up. That could have been rough.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
And…here’s the closeup. Check out that look of fear!
Lest you think I’m some heartless bride who can only write sarcastic things, you should know that I’m currently listening to “Landslide” and tearing up. Yep, Mrs. Unicycle is capable of crying!
Next up was Mr. Unicycle and his mom, dancing to the song she chose, “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
I don’t really have much commentary to add since I wasn’t part of it, but they seemed to enjoy themselves!
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
Mr. Unicycle still has a really close relationship with his mom, so it was really sweet. I think people cried at them too.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
They ended with a hug, and he thought that would be a good time to destroy her updo.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
Seriously, he really went for that updo. He was a man on a mission. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure she grounded him for that.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
Are you having parent dances? How did you pick your father/daughter and mother/son songs?
We’re definitely having the parent dances. My dad loves music (and always suggests new stuff for me to listen to, usually more than once and I can pretend I’m cool the second time around 
) so I think he’ll have an opinion, but I’d like to dance to “When You Need Me” by Bruce Springsteen. I’d actually never heard of the song, but I saw it on a “quirky” wedding song list and wrote it down to consider when we actually started planning. My dad is a HUGE Boss fan so I think it’ll be a winner. I’m debating not telling him as a surprise but ill have to run that past my mom. I finally listened to the song at work this week, big mistake, tears almost immediately.
For my FH’s song we’re kind of stumped, there isn’t anything that stands out for either of us, so we’re still working on that
Your posts never fail to make me laugh out loud like a fool.
I’m going to let my Dad pick the song but I have a feeling it’ll be ‘Landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac as well. It reminds me of road trips together. Likewise FMIL will get to pick out the song to dance with my FI to and I’m going to take a guess it’ll be a Beatles song.
Oh man, I’m so afraid someone (either my dad or FI) will try to dip me! I will definitely fall!
I’ve always wanted to dance to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” with my dad. He always sang it to me when I was a baby. And I wanted to surprise him with it. But he got his heart set on “I Loved Her First” so I had to tell him about my idea. He loved it, and now we are doing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, but its not a surprise anymore!
I’m going to miss your blogs, you have a fantastic sense of humour and writing style
These pictures are so sweet and your dip picture is priceless!
you crack me up i need that sometimes this planning business gets so serious all the time!
thanks! love this post.
Mrs. Unicycle, Chicago, IL Age and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing Company Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD Student Engagement Date: March 26, 2011 Wedding Date: June 2012 Venue: Bridges of Poplar Creek About Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
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