Prepare For Your Wedding's First Dance

Take it from a man who knows, of all the things that I cherish from my wedding day, the reaction from the crowd when my wife and I finished our bridal dance still gives me goose bumps to this day. They lost their minds!

I’m not sure if it was because they never thought we could formally dance like that (slightly offensive) or that it was the first time they had seen us being truly vulnerable, but if there is one tip I can give for any couple considering a choreographed bridal waltz – do it!

Manage your expectations

Firstly, nobody is expecting you to be Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. If anything, they’re expecting you to stand cheek to check and shuffle around the dance floor for a minute and that’s about it. Anything above that is a bonus.

Choose a dance style to match the wedding theme

As our wedding was classical and held in an old ballroom with a jazz band, an old-school fox trot was always going to be our choice. But it needn’t be yours. If you are looking for something with a bit of spice like a mambo or maybe even a jive, then do that. You want to be doing dance moves that you want to do. If you’re embarrassed by any of the moves, guests will know and this is supposed to be a celebration!

Hire a dance teacher… if you have time

Our lessons took about 6 weeks and quite a bit of practice at home. You’ll typically practice at their studio or a space at their home. If you don’t have that kind of time you may struggle to reach that level of confidence you require to pull this off. Don’t just choose the first choreographer you find. There are different styles of teacher just like there are different styles of dance, and everybody learns differently. I like to have demands made on me, my wife doesn’t. So it can be tricky.

With that said, we had great fun with this and it added to the anticipation of the day greatly. Some brides feel that their fiancé doesn’t have as much to worry about with the rest of the wedding planning. Here’s a great way to get him involved and make him really present.

Band or CD? Who should play the wedding song?

Our dance teacher was adamant that under no circumstances were we to let the band play our wedding dance song. She thought that a band would speed up or slow down the beat and we would lose our timing. She was wrong.

We spoke to our band and they laughed when they heard this, and told us not to worry, that it would be “right on the night”. And he was right. It just added to the whole live performance feeling of the dance.

If you are plannning a DJ, this becomes a moot point.

What song?

Just like the style of dance, you want the song to be a reflection of you and your wedding theme. There’s no point Googling this – it has to be a song that you both love. If you’re planning something choreographed, then slower is better, but then again if you are wanting to blow people’s minds with something seriously memorable like below, then any beat will do.