Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
THE DANCE FLOOR — Daddy-daughter dances are a staple at weddings. It’s a time for the bride and her father to take a beat during the whirlwind of the day to have a tender moment.
Or, you know, to rock the house.
BYU grad and Utah bride Mikayla Ellison Phillips met her now husband, Cody Phillips, when they became partners as part of BYU’s International Folk Dance Ensemble. With that background, you think a killer dance routine with dad at her wedding would be Mikayla’s idea. Not so, according to videographer Bethany Petersen.
“The first thing he (Nathan Ellison, aka Nate-Daddy) told me when meeting me the morning of the wedding was how excited he was for the daddy-daughter dance,” Petersen said in an email. “He wanted to make sure I knew when they were going to be dancing and kept giving me an hour, 30-minute, 10-minute warnings leading up to the dance. He was so excited and was obviously looking forward to it all day!”
His excitement is clear in the video. As soon as the song switches form the schmaltzy “Butterfly Kisses” to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This,” you quickly see that Nate-Daddy is in it to win it. What he lacks in skill he makes up for with sheer joy and enthusiasm.
While October 8 may have been the happiest day of Mikayla’s life, this video is compelling circumstantial evidence that October 8 was the happiest 3 minutes of Nate-Daddy’s day.
Petersen also said the daddy-daughter duo practiced for weeks beforehand. Nate-Daddy asked Petersen to post the video of the dance because he wants to send a message to all dads: Never pass up a chance to dance with your daughter.
The reception was held at the Vista at Cedar Hills venue, and you can see more of Peterson’s work on her website.
