Father-Daughter Dance Takes Unexpected Turn When They Recreate Childhood Routine

Newlywed Kelsey Phinney Goggins created a special memory with her father-daughter dance, and a month later, that memory has gone viral.

On June 1st, 2024, Kelsey said “I do” to the love of her life, Patrick Goggins, during a fairytale wedding in Charlottesville, Virginia. Several details and moments from that day have been loved by thousands on social media. But her traditional father-daughter dance connected with millions.

For the dance, Kelsey and her dad, Dave, stepped onto the floor for the emotional song, Best Parts of Me by Will Dempsey. The two swayed to the lyrics while photos from her childhood played on a screen behind them. But a few seconds in, a record scratch interrupted, and Let’s Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams kicked in.

Behind them, an old video of Kelsey and Dave doing a choreographed dance began playing, and the duo flawlessly recreated the moves for the cheering guests.

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the father-daughter dance that melted everyones heart 🥹 #weddingday #fatherdaughterdance #weddingmoments

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Newlywed Shares The Sweet Story Behind Her Father-Daughter Dance

In an interview with People, Kelsey said she’d been planning that father-daughter dance for a decade.

Kelsey and her dad were digging through old VHS tapes one day, long before she met her now-husband. She found that video, which showed her and Dave performing a routine from a father-daughter dance class they took when she was a kid. And she instantly asked if he’d recreate it with her on her wedding day.

“Sure, when the time comes, we’ll talk about it,” he told her.

Kelsey and Patrick got engaged in October 2022. And when she started planning the wedding, she remembered the promise from her dad.

“Alright, Dad, it’s time to learn the dance again,” she remembered telling him. “And he was like, ‘Wait, you were serious about that?'”

Kelsey and Dave spent five months re-learning and practicing the vintage routine, and that time together was just as memorable as the actual wedding day performance.

“We turned it into a little father-daughter outing where we would practice after work, then go get dinner together and catch up,” she said. “It was really nice.”

As for Dave, he’s feeling sentimental about the dance coming full circle. He admitted that he doesn’t typically enjoy being in the spotlight. But he’s happy he pushed past his comfort zone for his daughter.

“Get involved in your kids’ lives,” he said. “If an opportunity like this comes up, you’ve got to take it. It’s not my thing to be out there dancing in front of people, but you have to do it because it’s true what they say: They grow up so fast.”

This story’s featured image is by Andrea Knepper via Shutterstock.