Groom Takes Onto Dance Floor With Mom, When Music Dies the Crowd Roars in Laughter

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From the archives: This story was last updated in August 2019.

There are so many ways to make a wedding unique and memorable these days, but everybody loves a first dance, don’t they? The first dance is such a longstanding tradition that there would be stern words if a newly married couple ever omitted it from the proceedings.

The mother-son dance in particular is a tearjerker; what a wonderful thing to see the groom and his mom share a special, tender moment on one of the most important days of his life. Well, Jared Dauenhauer, of Tennessee, took his dance with his mom to the absolute extreme.

And it brought the house down.

Jared and his beautiful mom, Mary, walk shyly toward the dance floor and wait for the DJ to start the music. At this point, mom and son seem to be having a heartfelt, serious chat. Perhaps they’re discussing the nuptials that just transpired between Jared and his gorgeous bride, AlLee; perhaps, however, they’re conspiring!

They begin a sweet, slow dance to Celine Dion’s “Because You Love Me,” and the wedding guests smile and look on appreciatively. But all of a sudden, the music scratches to a halt. Has the DJ made a mistake? Or is something a little more ... intentional going on?

You guessed it; Jared and Mary have a plan!

Jared digs into his pocket and pulls out a pair of funky sunglasses for his mom and another for himself. The wedding guests, slowly catching on, start whooping and cheering and prepare themselves for the treat they’re in for; a mom-and-son epic dance floor extravaganza!

In a YouTube video of the magical moment that’s already garnered 11.9 million views, and counting, the duo are willingly interrupted by MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This,” the 1985 Bee Gees hit “Stayin' Alive,” and Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” among others.

Every song has iconic, pre-rehearsed moves to go along with it. The crowd can’t get enough of Jared and Mary’s skills.

It wasn’t made up on the spot, of course. The groom and his mother practiced way ahead of time, but it wasn’t easy; Jared was living in Tennessee and Mary in Michigan. But they had a solution: FaceTime!

“We just tried to have fun with it,” Jared told WGN9. “So it was kind of some of the stuff we’ve seen in other wedding videos. And the rest of it was like, ‘How can I get my mom to try to dance hip hop?’”

With hard work and perseverance (although from the look of joy on her face, Mary was a willing student!), Jared found a way. We think you'll agree Mary nailed it! How many moms do you know who would bust out hip-hop moves in front of a room full of her own friends and family?

“I just liked that it was a surprise, that people didn’t know it was coming,” AlLee commented after the epic performance. “Also, I think the ‘Stanky Leg’ part... his mom kept calling it the ‘Janky Leg,’” she laughed, referring to the hip-hop dance moves that went way over Mary’s head.

Mary and Jared even managed to keep their wedding dance a complete surprise from the gathered crowd, which made it all the more gratifying on the day. As you can see from the awesome video, the Dauenhauer family and their friends had a blast, and they now have a hilarious memento that will last a lifetime.

Share this video if you think Mary deserves credit for being a great sport! We still can’t stop laughing...