Mom Of Only Daughters Finally Has Mother-Son Wedding Dance For The ‘First’ Time Thanks To Her Sons-In-Law

Jul 12, 2023

The father-daughter dance is increasingly common at weddings around the world today. The dance has also evolved to include mother-son dances. These dances usually take place between the bride and her father and the groom and his mother and commemorate the relationship between them. It is also thought to be a sign of respect and gratitude for the parent's love and guidance in the years before the ceremony. 

The tradition is thought to have originated in America at a time when marriages were arranged for convenience or wealth. Traditionally, the dance occurred at the beginning of the reception when the father and his daughter would have the first dance together before handing her over to the groom.  

However, the culture has changed as many couples now choose to have their first dance together before the father-daughter dance, after which the mother-son would then take place. Although the tradition is admirable, there have been a few criticisms in the last few years, as many think it is outdated. 

The issues range from critics saying it promotes exclusion for those who no longer have dads to others saying that they can reinforce harmful stereotypes, including concepts that fathers are nothing but sidekicks, according to Linda Nielsen, a book author and professor of psychology at Wake Forest University.  

This issue presented itself for Mary Theut for a long until her children found a way around it. Theut had five daughters, four of which had gotten married. However, she never did the wedding dance because she had no sons, until her last daughter's wedding in July 2022. Theut's family surprised her, as seen in a video on YouTube, and the happy woman could not hold back her tears.

In July 2022, Theut got the surprise of a lifetime during her lastborn daughter Sarah Reynolds' wedding. Theut has five daughters and no sons. Hence, she never had a mother-son dance. However, she was always contented to watch her husband dance with their daughters and never expected to have a go. 

While planning her wedding, Sarah and her sisters enlisted their husbands and their dad's help to surprise their mom, as Sarah's wedding would be Theut's last chance to get a wedding dance.

"The only people who knew were my sisters and our husbands because we didn't want to ruin the surprise," Sarah told Today.com. "Mom has done so much for our weddings and never got to have that dance." 

She revealed that all the men agreed when she and her sisters told them. 

"They were really excited to be a part of it," she said.

The clip that showed Theut’s dance with Sarah started with the former walking to the dance floor to meet the groom, Paul Reynolds. After Theut danced with Paul, each of her other four daughters took their spouses to the dance floor, and she danced with them to Carrie Underwood’s "Mama's Song." Theut also danced with her husband, Eric, and wiped away tears that welled up in her eyes.

Theut recalled having told her husband while dancing with him, "This is the first time I've danced with one of my sons at their weddings." He then replied, "Well, you're in for a surprise: You get to dance with all of us — turn around." Eric’s action amazed Theut, who confessed, "I can't even describe it. There are very few times when you're that excited."

"It meant a lot more to me than I ever thought," she remarked. "I have great sons-in-law. It all meant a lot. It was pretty special." 

What do you think of Mary Theut and her family's surprise for her? Have you been in her situation before? Let us know — and be sure to pass this article on to friends, family members.