Bride and Her Father Spent Months Rehearsing Surprise That Stole the Show at Her Wedding

When Rachel Silverman and her dad, Michael Schwab, started planning their father-daughter dance for her wedding, Schwab knew exactly what he wanted to do: tap dance.

At first, Silverman was caught off guard — her dad had never tapped a day in his life. Still, she wasn’t too surprised. Silverman had danced for years growing up, and tap was always his favorite style to watch at her recitals.

“I said yes right away!” the bride, 27, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We knew we wanted to do something different for our dance, and this felt so much more unique than the typical ‘break-into-a-routine’ moment you see online.”

In the months leading up to her April 5 wedding at the Elkins Estate in Pennsylvania, Schwab dove headfirst into learning the craft. He started with YouTube tutorials to grasp the basics and later took two lessons with dance instructor @mayamoves, who choreographed their routine.

“It was amazing — and honestly so impressive — to watch him put in the work,” says Silverman, a fashion and lifestyle content creator. “We practiced together here and there, mostly in my parents’ basement when I was home or if we were away together. But really, he did a lot of the solo work to get it right.”

The tap routine became a secret project between Silverman and her dad, 61, with only her mom in on the plan. Everyone else — including her now-husband — had no idea.

Since the lessons took place in New York City, Silverman kept things vague, telling her fiancé she was “doing something else with my dad.” The toughest part, she admits, was hiding it from her brothers.

“We had a big tap board in the basement, and we’d have to stash it away — and the shoes, too — whenever they came home,” she recalls. “Sometimes we even practiced while they were in the house, and they still didn’t catch on.”

When the wedding day arrived, Silverman slipped into a custom second dress after the ceremony and joined her dad in lacing up the tap shoes they had hidden under the sweetheart table.

“Everyone kept coming over asking to see my dress, and I just kept saying, ‘Not yet!’” she says. “I was stalling until our dance because I didn’t want anyone to notice the shoes. It was a mix of nerves and excitement.”

As the music began and they stepped onto the floor, one guest shouted, “OMG, those are tap shoes!”

Silverman says her brothers’ stunned reactions were her favorite. “Their faces were pure shock,” she laughs. “Also my camp friends — who were my ‘something blue’ — their reactions were hilarious in the best way.”

She remembers the atmosphere shifting the moment they began. “The whole room lit up,” she says. “It means the world to me. He’s always been the type of dad who goes above and beyond for us, and this was just another example — but such a special one.”

“It was the final surprise of the wedding, and it’s a moment I know neither my dad nor I will ever forget,” she adds. “So much thought and detail went into every part of the day, and this dance was no exception. I’m grateful we had a long engagement, because it gave us the time to make this moment exactly what we imagined — and to enjoy every second of it.”

She continues: “Years from now, I’ll remember it exactly as it was — completely unique, incredibly special and pure joy from start to finish.”

Not long after, Silverman shared the video of their tap dance on TikTok, where it quickly went viral.

“I truthfully wasn’t shocked — it was so different and joyful that I knew if we were able to pull it off in secrecy until showtime, it would resonate with people!” she says.

“So many people have said how special and unique it was — a lot even called it the best father-daughter dance they’ve ever seen online. A few former dancers have even messaged me saying they want to try it with their dads at their own weddings one day, which is SO sweet to hear!”