First Dance Wedding Songs
Your First Dance Wedding Song choice will be one of the most important song choices you have to make for your wedding.
Your First Dance song will be the one that you remember for years to come, and everytime you, and your wedding guests, hear the song being played it will evoke memories of one of the happiest days of your life.
Of course your wedding does not have to follow all the traditional formalities, and you may choose not to have a First Dance, however being in the spotlight is honestly not as nerve racking as it seems, and if this decision is proving to be a bit stressful to one or both of you, here are a few tips and pointers to help you chose the right First Dance song for you and how JMF Disco can help you to have a well staged stress free First Dance together as man & wife.
First Dance Traditions
The tradition of a having a First dance at a wedding stems from formal Balls and Banquets of yesteryear, when the first dance was led by the guest of honour, which was usually the person of highest social position, such as a member of the Royal Family if any were present.
This first dance was the opening of the Ball, these were usually choregraphed ‘country’ type dances, the the guests of honour would be the first on the dance floor, with other guests following to join them on the dance floor, rather than the guests of honour being the only ones on the dance floor.
The First Dance at a wedding takes on this idea with the bride and groom being the guests of honour, who traditionally dance alone to their chosen special song to signify the opening of the dance floor for all guests.
How to reduce the stress of your First Dance
I will be the first to admit that being out there in the middle of an open dance floor together with the spotlight on you and all your guests looking on, is not the most natural of positions to be in, and indeed is a very unsual position to be in unless you are a performer of some sort.
The thought of this effects different people in different ways, it depends upon your natural makeup really, some couples are naturally extrovert and will lap up the attention, others couple like to shy away from the spotlight, sometimes one partner is shy and the other is not – so it is all about finding out what is right for YOU.
One way to reduce the stress is to come prepared – take a few dance lessons from your local dance instructor – you do not have to choreograph the whole dance routine but learning how to look good doing the odd twirl will relax you and amaze your on looking guests who will encourage you with a few cheers and claps – you never know you might just enjoy it! The odd kiss during your ‘routine’ also goes down well with onlookers!
Alternatively ask your DJ to invite your guests to join you on the dancefloor part way through your First Dance Wedding Song – this gives your photographer to get some shots of you dancing alone for the album and after a short while your friends and family will join you on the dancefloor for some reassurance. This can be pre- arranged at a particular point in your chosen song or if you have a good Wedding DJ on board, a simple signal to him at some point when you are starting to feel unformfortable, can be the cue for your DJ to invite other guests to join you. If you can pre warn close friends and members of the bridal party about the ‘flash mob’ so much the better!
Another alternative is to get your DJ to ask all the guests to come onto the dance floor for a group first dance and then the bride and groom are invited to join the group on the dancefloor, as there is safety in numbers!
Of course if you really, really do not want a formal First Dance to be ‘staged’, however informally, you do not have to have a First Dance – it’s your special day and it should be done your way – it is ultimately your choice.
Timing of your First Dance.
A good time for your First Dance is usually about an hour after the time you put on the invites to your evening guests. Many couple time their First Dance to ensure everyone they want is there, allowing an hour after the evening reception start time allows you to meet and greet your evening guests as they come in, and allows Jean & Steve time to get there, you know they are always late!
If your guests are there all day this allows for more flexibility in the timing of your first dance. Obviously time will be needed after your meal to allow for plates etc to be cleared, tables moved if necessary, dancefloor installed/revealed and if your DJ is not there all day the disco will have to be set up – commonly called the room turn around period. The room turnaround is usually done in about an hour.
First Dance Wedding Songs
You may know what ‘your’ special song is which makes the choice much easier, but if you do not have ‘a song’ then you will have to come to a decision on what your First Dance Song will be.
It will be one of the most important songs played during the day, and happy memories will come flooding back for you and your guests when they hear it on the radio or TV.
It should be a song that you both love (well…at least one of you loves it and the other doesn’t really hate it!), it should reflect your personalities if possible and reflect the style of your wedding.
However deciding upon your First Dance Song should not be a cause of arguments between you. If you both write down a list of possibilities down there may be a common denominator that you can choose. If you both write a list of possibilities from different genres, that might move you forward towards a favourite. If you have booked a good Wedding DJ he might be able to provide you with a suitable list from which you can choose.
Here are a few suggestions from this good Wedding DJ (did you spot the advert there?!):
A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
A Whole New World – Celion Dion & Peabo Bryson
All My Life – K-Ci & Jo Jo
Always – Atlantic Starr
Always And Forever – Heatwave/Luther Vandross
Amazed — Lonestar
At Last – Etta James
Cant Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
Everlong – Foo Fighters
Everything I Do – Bryan Adams
From This Moment – Shania Twain
Have I Told You Lately – Van Morrison or Rod Stewart
Heaven – DJ Sammy
How Do I Live – LeAnn Rimes
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
I Knew I Loved You – Savage Garden
I Swear – All-4-One
I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
I’ll Be – Edwin McCain
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
Iris – The Goo Goo Dolls
It Had to Be You – Harry Connick Jr.
Just The way You Are – Bruno Mars
Let There be Love – Nat King Cole
Lets Stay Together – Al Green
Make You Feel My Love – Adele
One Day Like This – Elbow
Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Songbird – Eva Cassidy
Thank You for Loving Me – Bon Jovi
The First Time I Ever Saw You face – Roberta Flack
The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra
Truly, Madly, Deeply – Savage Garden
Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers
Unforgettable – Nat King Cole
When a Man Loves a Woman – Percy Sledge or Michael Bolton
Wherever You Will Go – Charlene Soraia
Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
You Do Something To Me – Paul Weller
You Make It Real – James Morrison
Your Song – Ellie Goulding
Your Still The One – Shania Twain
Etc
Etc
The list could go on and on but the trick is finding something that is suitable for you and only you can decide that!
If you are going to have a few dance lessons then you will need to decide your First Dance Wedding Song before attending, but by following these hints and tips you will be well on the way to finding the perfect First Dance Wedding Song for you – good luck!
If you want an expert Wedding DJ helping you with more than just music, click on the link below and find out how we can help you with your perfect wedding reception contact John on Tel 01795 429777, Mobile 07895 546183 or by email to discuss your wedding entertainment needs or questions.
Leave a Reply