What to do if you don't want to do wedding parent dances
Couples often skip parent dances because a parent declines or because standing in front of a crowd feels uncomfortable. Skipping these traditions can leave a gap in the reception timeline, but couples solve this by having one partner dance while the other skips it, or by shifting directly into an upbeat group song to get everyone on the floor.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
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What to do if you don't want to do wedding parent dances
- 1Skipping the parent dances altogether2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Asking the father to walk the bride down the aisle insteadDid this help you?
- 3Doing a first look with the father instead of a danceDid this help you?
- 4Planning a special moment outside of the wedding dayDid this help you?
- 5Skipping the announcement entirely and moving directly into a high-energy group songDid this help you?
- 6Having the DJ invite everyone to join the dance floor immediately after the mother/son danceDid this help you?
- 7Sitting it out without doing a slow danceDid this help you?
- 8Doing a fun or choreographed dance to faster musicDid this help you?
- 9Having a family dance where loved ones rotate in and outDid this help you?
- 10Having the father pop champagne and give a toast insteadDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My fiancé wants to do the mother/son dance. He thinks his mom deserves to have a moment like that (she is a very sweet woman and I’m not taking that always from her). However, my father and I do not want to dance 😂 we’re not the type of people to feel comfortable getting up in front of everyone to do something like that.”source ↗
“I’m trying to think of a funny way for the DJ to state that there will be no father/daughter dance. Like maybe we do a fist bump and a hug? 😂”source ↗
“I asked my dad if he would want to do a father/daughter dance at my wedding in march of next year and he said no.”source ↗
“Hearing him say no did break my heart a little though🥲”source ↗
“he honestly wouldn’t want to plan something so i’ve been trying to find ideas to pitch to him”source ↗
“I didn’t do a father/daughter dance but my husband danced with his mom. We just skipped the father/daughter dance. After their dance the band played a high energy song and I went up there and just motioned for everyone to join.”source ↗
“I find it awkward to do a father-daughter dance.”source ↗
“I don't remember the last time I hugged him.”source ↗
“My fiancé will be doing a mother-son dance, and I don't want to take that moment away from them by skipping parent dances altogether.”source ↗
“I feel the same as OP when it comes to my dad.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to schedule wedding dances without boring the guests
- 5Should we take wedding dance lessons or just wing it?
- 12How to have a wedding without a formal ceremony
- 6Am I being too bold by changing traditional wedding traditions?
- 5Wedding entertainment ideas for guests who don't dance
- 2What to do if a relative can't travel to your wedding