Parent Dances Question...

jma1983

Has anyone ever seen the mother/son and father/daughter dance done at the same time?  I'm considering this to save the guests from having to sit through 3 seperate dances (including our first dance).  Not sure if that would be appropriate or not.  And, if you have done or seen this, any suggestions for a song that would be appropriate to both pairs?  I haven't even run this by FI yet, but I wanted to have an idea of how it'd work before I do.  It's much easier to seel him on an idea if I have a plan already.  Thoughts?

aerinpegadrak

My friend did this at her wedding.  In the course of one song:
* Bride danced with FOB, Groom danced with MOG
* Bride danced with FOG, Groom danced with MOB, FOB danced with MOG
* Parents danced with each other, B&G danced together

It worked great, and I'm sure all the other guests appreciated not having to sit through dance after dance.  (Your in-laws don't have to dance together, it worked for this couple because their families were very close.)

duckie1905

I wanted to combine the parent dances (DH and I were going to have a very short first dance, then I would dance with my dad while he danced with his mom to the same song). DH and my dad were all about it but my MIL refused to "share" her special moment so we had to subject everyone to a separate dance.

Run it by everyone involved before you even start planning it.

jma1983

Good point duckie!  Thanks!!!

megk8oz

We're actually doing this. FI didn't want to dance with his mom, but I really wanted to dance with my dad ... which made FI feel guilty about not wanting to dance with his mom.

So FI let me pick the (gender neutral) song (The Hawiian "Over The Rainbow"), but now both parents get their moment.

I would also run this by everybody if this is a situation where it might get weird. I really don't see why a parent would get upset by doing both at once (I mean, really, there's only 4 people on the dance floor at that point, how much more "spotlight" do you need?), but obviously, since it happened in Duckie's case, it happens, so better to avoid the hurt feelings.

duckie1905

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_parent-dances-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:e6d4d0bc-58c1-4aaf-a1fd-73847ace75a2Post:e7b2f7a3-26f1-4370-bf70-9789839bfdf6">Re: Parent Dances Question...</a>:
[QUOTE]I would also run this by everybody if this is a situation where it might get weird. I really don't see why a parent would get upset by doing both at once (I mean, really, there's only 4 people on the dance floor at that point, how much more "spotlight" do you need?), but obviously, since it happened in Duckie's case, it happens, so better to avoid the hurt feelings.
Posted by megk8oz[/QUOTE]

I also didn't see what the big deal was but my MIL is insane, controlling, and really sensitive regarding anything that had to do with the wedding or her son.

I would still check though, just to be sure everyone is okay with it, even if you don't have crazy ILs.

Doodle2011

In hindsight, I wish we had done a combination dance for parents.  I thought having all the separate dances made it go on forever! 

HRF2679

Ask your DJ about options too! I have seen DJ's mix songs together very well... where one fades out after literally a minute or so, and the next one begins for the same amount of time. So it is technically all one dance (about 3-4 minutes long), but you aren't dancing to full-length songs and boring everyone who is watching for too long! When the songs transition, that is when the people switch! Hope this makes sense!