I love getting to know my couples & asking about their wedding plans. Some brides love the process, some hate it. One consistent issue I’ve found many people have is choosing songs for the important dances during the reception (if they choose to have those dances). There are a ton of tried & true father-daughter songs that are always played like Heartland’s “I loved her first” or Tim McGraw’s “My Little Girl”.

But not all of us like country music (sorry Nashville!) & I’ve had a few couples express their discontent with the small selection of non-country father-daughter dance songs. I truly believe you should choose a song that reflects your preferences, so if you & your dad grew up listening to the Beatles & Led Zeppelin, I promise you don’t HAVE to choose that mushy country song. Of course if you’ve listened to country songs all your life, you should definitely go for country music.

I’ve compiled a list of my top 8 father-daughter songs that I hope you’ll enjoy and just might open your eyes up to all the awesome non-country father-daughter dance song options that exist.

8) “That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Otis Redding

7) “Handle With Care” by Jenny Lewis, Ben Gibbard, and M. Ward.

6) “Take Good Care of My Baby” by the Beatles

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As I’m writing this, I’m listening to the sweetest music. It’s a soundtrack I hear often & usually take for granted. First it was a banjo, now it’s Neil Young-esque acoustic guitar with a harmonica. Soon my boyfriend will probably plug in his amp & I’ll go shut the door because I can’t concentrate when he plays his electric guitar so loud. He has no clue I’m listening to him play & writing this. :)

There’s a force behind Alex Bee Photo that most of you will never meet. I’d like to virtually introduce you. Hi world, this is Jeff, my boyfriend. He made this website. He also created my super duper cool new program that lets clients customize their wedding package & sign their contract online. Jeff’s pursuing his masters in computer science at MTSU & to me, he’s a genius. When I ask him what he learned in school today, I didn’t understand one bit of it.

He doesn’t like to get his picture taken, but he sucks it up when I need a model to test out lighting. Jeff’ll usually make a crazy face the whole time (see next picture). He’s fun like that.

I pay Jeff in burritos & hugs. Thanks for all your hard work, baby! I love you :)

(He’s a daredevil)

When I’m not shooting weddings & engagements, I love to get out there & just shoot for myself. I spent some time today practicing freelensing, an experimental technique where you take pictures with your lens detached from your body. I’ve been having a hoot with it!

I’ve been thinking about my first wedding gig lately. When I got the opportunity, it was completely from left field. I never thought about wedding photography, even after 6 years of studying and obsessing over photography. I had a mental image of wedding photographers as these really cheesy people with traditional poses.

I had no clue what I was in for. The last wedding I attended I was a flower girl. But I did it, and I was proud. I was surprised by how much I loved it. The experience stuck with me. I discovered a whole realm of non-corny photographers who create art & heirlooms for their clients.

Looking at these images is kinda painful. I’ve grown a lot, learned more about my equipment, etc. But I am happy they exist. They are a testament to the beginning of my career & life. When I think about myself before Chris & Andrea’s wedding, it makes me smile. I simply had no clue my life would take this direction. After this wedding, I hoped over to China for year, but as soon as I returned I began Alex Bee Photo.

Chris & Andrea got married at Sampson’s Hollow in Walland, Tennessee in the summer of 2009. I love that gorgeous mountain venue. Thank you, Chris & Andrea for helping me light this fire. Thank you letting me follow you around all day. And thank you for giving me a huge slab of cake to take home & eat for a week.

Happy Valentines Day from Alex Bee Photo & our mascot, Marley! He’s enjoying the sun today. Hope you get a chance to as well!