I am a sucker for first dances at weddings. I get choked up watching these milestone moments at every single wedding.  Songs are so tied to our emotions.   It is hard to give specific suggestions on wedding first dance songs, father-daughter songs, or mother-son songs but I am going to give some any way!

OUR FIRST DANCE

For starters, my first dance song with my husband was “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds.  When we were dating, Lucas would make me mix cds.   At the time (circa 2001), that was OUR song.   We felt like the luckiest people in the world to have met. When it came time to pick our first dance song in 2010, that made the most sense. It was sentimental and sweet and “us”.

PARENT DANCES

Since becoming a mother to a little boy, I have to say that the mother-son songs get me good.  I can imagine the day when I will be dancing with my son.   At that time he will probably be taller than me.  I daydream about what I will say to him and how happy he will be that day as he becomes a husband.

As my mind starts to wander  about first dance songs, here are some contenders I have come up with.

Days Like This by Van Morrison
I imagine this song as my constant maternal reminder to my son that when life gets hard and marriage feels like work to remember days like this. “When you don’t need to worry there’ll be days like this” I hope he will always look back on his wedding day as one of the best days of his life.

Stand by Me by Ben E King
I danced to this song with my dad at my wedding and I love the idea of passing our first dance on. Even though I know he will now have his spouse to stand by him, unfortunately he can’t get rid of me.

Forever Young  by Bob Dylan

Have you ever seen the series Parenthood? It is one of my all time favorite shows and I devoured it when I was pregnant. This song is in the opening and I absolutely love the sentiments.  Bob Dylan’s version is the classic, but I also love Norah Jones’s rendition.

Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles

In the same vein as Stand by Me, my husband danced with his mom to Here Comes the Sun by Nina Simone as did his brothers. I love family traditions so this may become another favorite.

The best advice  is to go with a song regardless of whether or not it fits the mold.  Choose a song that gives you a goosebumps.

Photo credit: Christina Lilly Photography