Bridal Club Magazine
How to Choose Your First Dance
1. Decide Together
The most important thing you should think of when choosing your
wedding song is "What does the song mean to us?". It must be a
personal choice to you both - no getting ideas from Great Aunt
Jacqui! Just because she shook her wedding night booty to a Doris
Day number doesn't mean it will work for you. Go for something
personal - the song that you sing to each other in the bath, the
song that was on the radio when you first mentioned the L word, or
just something that makes you both smile when it comes on the
radio.
2. Timings
Your chosen song should have some romantic connotation that will
suit the occasion. You want a song that has a great slow, romantic
start, where guests can circle the happy couple... then for there
to be phrases in the song where the two sets of parents can join
in, then bridesmaids and groomsmen, then all guests together. The
finale should be one big happy raucous romp! A slow boring song
where people are staring at you staring at each other for five
minuets will leave you feeling cringy.
3. For the Adventurous...
Doing something completely different for a first dance - to
surprise your guests - is becoming increasingly common. Clips
appear all the time on YouTube featuring couples who have invested
time and dance lessons into creating hilarious routines. I did a
wedding where the first dance was a 'first song' - the couple were
in a rock band and they performed one of their rock classics.
Watching the bride on drums in her wedding dress was priceless.
4. Rehearse or Don't Bother!
The key to doing something adventurous is not to tackle it
unless you are prepared to put in the time to make it good. There
is so much planning to do before a wedding that some brides
wouldn't even conceive of adding hours in the dance studio to
perfect the Dirty Dancing routine (complete with lift), for
example. If you do want to go for it though, start by trying to
enlist a third eye - if your budget doesn't stretch to a
choreographer, rack your brains for that friend who you know is
good at throwing shapes.
5. Listen Out for the Lyrics
Couples often choose their favourite song, and forget to think
about the lyrics. Then the songs are played out and they don't
understand why their guests are laughing or crying. Abba's 'Take a
Chance on Me' is obviously a no-no but other songs can catch you
out. 'You're Gorgeous' by Babybird is actually about glamour
models, while some songs may have a romantic title but actually be
about a break-up - like Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U.
Listen to the whole song, not just the chorus!