Wedding videos can often feel a little boring—unless you’re reliving your own special memories. But in October 2016, Mikayla and Cody Phillips from Utah completely flipped the script on traditional wedding dances, creating a viral sensation that’s been watched an incredible 41.4 MILLION times on YouTube!
Mikayla, a 25-year-old trained dancer, and Cody, her groom, met at Brigham Young University, where they were paired up as dance partners in the International Folk Dance Ensemble. Their love story blossomed from there, but little did they know their wedding would turn them into internet legends!
Mikayla had a huge surprise planned for her 400 wedding guests, and she roped in her dad, Nathan Ellison, to help. Forget the typical slow and sentimental father-daughter dance that everyone expects—Mikayla and Nathan were about to shock the room with a dance that no one could have predicted. Instead of swaying to a slow ballad, Mikayla and her dad kicked off their dance to the sound of Bob Carlisle’s “Butterfly Kisses,” which gave the illusion of the usual father-daughter routine.
But then, just as everyone thought they knew what was happening, the music stopped, the vinyl scratched, and suddenly, MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” blasted through the speakers. The crowd erupted in screams and cheers as Mikayla and Nathan slipped on matching sunglasses and burst into an epic, synchronized disco routine.
Their “running man” dance was perfection, and the crowd went wild. But the surprises didn’t stop there. When the music switched again to Sugarhill Gang’s “Apache (Jump On It),” Mikayla and Nathan broke out with the most ridiculous cowboy-style Gangnam moves that had everyone laughing and clapping along.
The energy didn’t slow down when LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” came on, and the duo added hilarious arm waves and street-style dances into the mix. Just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any more fun, they transitioned into a smooth, modern disco-ballroom routine to Peaches & Herb’s “Shake Your Groove Thing,” complete with sharp moves and perfect timing.
But the surprises kept coming. Mikayla and Nathan even incorporated Bollywood-style dancing, spot-on lip-sync impressions of Tom Jones, and an epic drop into the modern hip-hop track “Dessert” by Dawin. At one point, Mikayla’s veil even ripped off mid-spin in a graceful wardrobe malfunction, but nothing could steal the spotlight from Nathan, who nailed every move with the confidence of a professional dancer—even though Mikayla later revealed that he’s actually a salesman by profession.
Mikayla told ABC News, “I’ve danced my whole life, but my dad hasn’t,” making it clear that Nathan is not a trained dancer, but still managed to rock every step of their routine. The duo spent only one week preparing and rehearsing, picking songs that held personal meaning for them. Mikayla and Nathan even presented their song list to Cody, Mikayla’s soon-to-be husband, who remixed the tracks into a seamless four-minute mashup.
The dance was especially meaningful because Mikayla is Nathan’s eldest and only daughter, making this their one chance at a truly memorable daddy-daughter moment. Mikayla shared in her ABC interview, “He for years has talked about doing that and he finally convinced me,” adding, “Every night [in the week] prior to the wedding, we’d run through it a few times. I think since we’d talked about it for years, it was pretty easy for it to come together.”
What started as a wedding surprise turned into a viral video that continues to inspire people to break away from wedding traditions and make their moments unforgettable!
