Weddings are among the most memorable events in one’s life, and this bride and her father decided to make it even more special.
When it was time for Riannon Trutanich VanSciver to dance with her dad, they recreated a dance they did when she was two years old. There was not a dry eye in the wedding venue, and the moment ended up being the bride’s best wedding dance video.
As a child, Trutanich VanSciver’s mother often said that her daughter’s wedding day would be full of her best childhood memories.
She said that her special day would include a family film of VanSciver and her dad dancing in the family room together. This is exactly what happened, resulting in her daughter’s best wedding dance video.
On October 16, 2021, Trutanich VanSciver, 32, tied the knot with her husband in the Town and Gown ballroom at the University of Southern California.
When it was time for the father-daughter dance, their best wedding dance video easily became the highlight of the event. Trutanich VanSciver said, “I told my dad before the wedding that we were going to have the video playing during our father daughter dance.”
“He cried and then I cried! We practiced a few times before the big day. He had me hold his thumb with my hand just like I did in the original video,” she added.
The family’s best wedding dance video represented some of the father and daughter’s best memories together. The video was taken on March 9, 1993, when Trutanich VanSciver was 2 years and 4 months old.
She recalled her father saying that he was leaving for a work trip the next morning, so the video was probably done late at night. The video, where father and daughter were singing and dancing to the title song from Beauty and the Beast, was taken in the family room at her parent’s house, where she took her first steps as a child. She also lived in that home until her marriage.
She reflected, “I feel the video being in that house in the place I spent (and still spend) so many moments of my life was a great representation of my childhood.”
The video was meant to be a surprise for the wedding guests, and the only people who knew about it were Trutanich VanSciver’s parents and her husband.
Riannon and her dad
They actually tested the video a few weeks before the wedding with the wedding team in attendance, and everyone cried even then. Imagine the reaction of the guests at the wedding itself! It truly was the couple’s best wedding dance video.
Trutanich VanSciver recalled the experience as surreal. She said, “My dad gave his speech right before the dance so I was already crying before I even got up there to dance with him. As soon as I heard the video start and my little voice say ‘when we done with this,’ I absolutely lost it.”
In the original clip, Trutanich VanSciver was so little that she held her father’s thumb with her little hand. At her wedding, the two reenacted their sweet dance in front of all the wedding guests, mirroring the one shown on screen.
Her best wedding dance video might have been taken a few years ago, but Trutanich VanSciver decided to upload it on her TikTok account after rediscovering it on her phone album.
She had been looking for photos to post to commemorate her dad’s birthday when she found the video. It quickly went viral and has now reached around 3.1 million views.
She happily showed her father the TikTok video, and he was so excited. He even sent the video to all of friends and showed it to his co-workers. He said it was the best birthday present!
Trutanich VanSciver truly appreciated all the comments that the TikTok clip generated, saying people’s reactions have been amazing and kind.
The video allowed her to connect with so many people. She stated, “The sweet words and the way they relate to the video is so beautiful. I feel the video and the responses from people truly encapsulate the human experience in the best way! It is so heartwarming to have people feeling the way I do about time and growing up and the bittersweetness of it all. The way the video has resonated with so many people is beyond amazing.”
Then and now, her best wedding dance video brings back strong emotions. Trutanich VanSciver said that during the dance, she cried straight through from start to finish.
She shared, “I remember looking back and forth at the video and then at my dad. My emotions ranged from being so elated and blessed to have this moment with my dad to bittersweet about the passage of time and growing up.”
To cap off such a magical moment, Trutanich VanSciver and her mom gifted the emotional dad with a small music box that played Tale As Old As Time as father and daughter finished the dance.
Watch the sweet dance between father and daughter in the video below:
@riannont The sweetest memory #wedding #fatherdaughter #weddingtiktok #weddingday ♬ Beauty and the Beast – From “Beauty and the Beast” / Soundtrack Version – Angela Lansbury & Disney
