My father and I have little to no relationship. He does not approve of my life choices, as he is Muslim, and I am not. Even so, I still plan on inviting him because I love him. He has no interest in participating in my Catholic wedding, and I feel conflicted about who will fill his role. I'm not particularly close to any male family members, and I don't want a woman filling in for him. Nor does anyone want to.
I have a very close male friend, who could be considered a father figure, and I want him to take on that role. I volunteer as an emergency medical responder, and he was one of my dispatchers. We became very good friends, even though there is a 16 year age difference. I've already asked him if he would walk me down the aisle, and he happily agreed to. I also want him to dance with me for the Father/Daughter dance. It feels right for me. But we are worried that will come across as inappropriate.
Do I just ignore any sort of less than supportive/positive reactions to this?