Image courtesy of Viva School of Dance
There is a great scene in the movie The Wedding Planner, starring Jennifer Lopez. She’s Mary the wedding planner (of course), and she’s in a car with her latest couple-to-wed, Steve and Francine. The two lovebirds are listening to a wedding songs CD, trying to pick… their first dance song! Snippets of songs equally cheesy and endearing float by, until they find the one they like: I Honestly Love You by Olivia Newton-John. And just like that, they have their song!
Fast forward about half an hour and Mary says to Steve during an argument: “Oh, oh, and I Honestly Love You as your wedding song? You might as well commit matrimonial suicide right now!” Whoops!
Even if you agree with Jennifer Lopez on this one, there’s no doubt that the bride and groom’s first dance is something everyone looks forward to, a real highlight of the wedding and a tradition that’s still going strong decade after decade. Making it meaningful is the best thing you can do to truly enjoy it!
As with many wedding customs, an elegant slow sweep around the dance floor (possibly enveloped by smoky clouds of dry ice) is no longer de rigueur – nowadays couples pick anything they like, from Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode to Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. We swear we’ve also seen a real bride who was trying to decide which Metallica song would be best for her first dance! We say – that’s fantastic! Choose a song you love, one that reminds you of something you did together, or maybe it played when you met at that bar, or maybe something from the first concert you attended together. Have fun with your first dance song – Adele isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. If your style is more like jump & jive then go for it!
Do keep in mind – if you’ve never danced for an audience before (except that time when you were 5 at your cousin Tommy’s birthday party and you got bribed with an extra slice of cake), you cannot imagine how long a song becomes when you have nothing to do but sway around while everyone is staring. You don’t have to do a Fred and Ginger either – but say yes to a practice run beforehand, darling, to get an idea of what it will be like! Having a little bit of an idea of where you’re going on that dance floor also helps immensely, so book a few lessons to get some pro tips for your particular song. A great way to avoid having to do the same thing for around 4 minutes (it will feel like 400…) is to invite others to join you on the dance floor at any point you find best. For example, after the 2nd bridge ask your dad to come dance with you, and your hubby will ask his mum, or ask the bridesmaids and groomsmen to join you in pairs.
Every single year has its share of musical hits and weddings are no exception. In fact, someone out there should make an official countdown of wedding songs, just like they do in the charts – wouldn’t that be fab! But, until that glorious day comes, we can only ask the experts in the business for the most popular songs the couples are requesting. Here is what we found! So far this year the following songs were giving the couples that loving feeling:
Make You Feel My Love – Adele
Diamonds – Rihanna
Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran
Your Song – Elton John/Ellie Goulding
What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz
Marry You – Bruno Mars
At Last – Etta James
Greatest Day – Take That
Everything – Michael Bublé
It is very interesting how each year has an almost equal balance of classics and new hits – and now there are more and more unusual song choices being made. For example, consider the following songs chosen by some of our real brides:
Bonnie & Clyde – Jay Z & Beyonce
The Heart Never Lies – McFly
Still Into You – Paramore
Modern Way – Kaiser Chiefs
We Found Each Other in the Dark – City and Colour
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
Gravity – Embrace
Turning Page – Sleeping at Last
Book of Love – Peter Gabriel
Be Mine – David Gray
You and Me Song – The Wannadies
Ho Hey – The Lumineers
Amazed – Lonestar
So what is your first dance song going to be – leave us a comment and tell us!
