First Dance
Your first dance will be one of the most romantic and memorable moments of your wedding reception. To ensure that you both look natural, comfortable and impressive during your spin on the dance floor, it’s a smart idea to take dance lessons.
A great many of our New Jersey brides and grooms are so inspired by television shows like Dancing With The Stars and fun first dance wedding videos on YouTube that they’re hiring first dance choreographers to help them create their first dance. Why hire a dance pro? An expert dance instructor – we have many near our Northern New Jersey location — can assess your and your groom’s natural dancing ability and comfort level, and choose steps, spins and dips that suit your skills. And you get to say if you’re not confident in a move, which will lead your choreographer to make an adjustment. You can’t get that type of customization from a DVD or online dance video. You’ll often attend three to four dance lessons at a dance studio, either privately or in a group wedding dance class, in order to perfect your wedding’s first dance with grace and style.
A rising wedding first dance trend is foregoing the swaying slow dance in favor of a more exciting dance such as the rumba or the tango, the cha cha cha or a faster dance with club choreography. Wedding guests cheer when your music begins and you wow the crowd with your moves, and your beaming smile as you perform them. It’s far better than just swaying back and forth to a slow song, ‘like at the 7th grade dance,’ say many of our happy wedding couples.
Other First Dances
One wedding trend we like very much is when brides and their fathers, and grooms and their mothers, take a dance lesson or two to choreograph the Father-Daughter dance and the Mother-Son dance. This way, when “Fly Me to the Moon” begins, you and your father can ‘show everyone how it’s done,’ says one of our recent wedding couples.
Avoid that ‘we didn’t prepare for this’ awkwardness that occurs when a groom and his mom chose a song to dance to, but never gave any thought to how they would dance to it. With a choreographed first dance, everyone feels more confident and comfortable, which makes the dance more fun to perform, and to watch….especially again and again, as captured on the wedding video.
Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Chateau
By Laura Madden, Senior Sales Manager, Pleasantdale Château
The ceremonial “First Dance” at a wedding reception often looks uncomfortably like its name implies: The newlyweds are usually nervous and hesitant, even if they took dance lessons a few weeks before their wedding day to be prepared for their pas de deux. We say don’t worry about it – just grin and bear it. First dance songs are usually a classic or traditional standard, and danced in relatively slow motion anyway, so there’s not much risk of embarrassing yourselves. But one trend that’s getting more popular at wedding receptions is the Second Dance.
The Second Dance can be a surprise the bride gives to the groom, a dance for the newly married couple to really enjoy themselves. It can be fun and fast or slower and romantic, but it’s a way that a bride can really show her new husband a good time on the dance floor. It’s also one more time where you two can steal the spotlight together, dancing. If the couple had trouble agreeing on what to play for the first dance, you can use the song that got passed over for the second dance. (In other words, the groom’s choice that he was gallant enough to defer in favor of the bride’s selection!) Whatever song you choose, the Second Dance is another good way for newlyweds to start off their new life together in step.
Have a great day!
Laura
By Rolf Shick, Banquet Manager, The Manor
By now we’ve all seen the crazy freestyle dance on YouTube, and again during The Office’s season finale when Pam and Jim got married. But that style of wild celebration clearly isn’t for everyone. That begs the question: How should the bride and groom, and the wedding party make their entrance to the wedding reception? One interesting way to introduce the bridal party is to use a song that builds up over the course of a minute or so, with the bride and groom coming into the reception at the highpoint of the musical build up. The Dave Matthew’s Band’s “Two Step” is an example of a song that works well as an entrance soundtrack. If you’re sports fans, you can use Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll (part 2)” or Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” both famous for being played during the intros of many professional sporting events. A simple announcement made by a member of the wedding party or event staff will also work for an entrance, but for couples who want something a little more, there’s nothing wrong with putting a little pizzazz into it.
Thank you!
Rolf
