The First Dance - Five Tips

5 Tips to Help Choose Your First Dance Song & Song Suggestions

Your first dance is a magical moment where you, the blissful newlywed couple, steal a few minutes in each other’s arms on the dancefloor whilst your entire party of guests listen and watch on. No pressure…! No, seriously – sometimes picking the perfect song can be a tough decision. Some couples know immediately, and others need some time to figure it out. Let’s help you make the process a little easier with these 5 tips;

#1 Choose a song that means something to you both

A song you love listening to on road trips together, one that sparks a nice memory, a popular song from the year you both got together, one with lyrics that really connect with you as a couple – people can scoff at sentimentality but this is the one moment where it’s universally accepted to be a bit mushy, so dig deep and try to find on with a special meaning – if you aren’t getting goosebumps, it’s not the one!

#2 Make sure you can dance to it

You might have song in mind that is PERFECT, ticks all the boxes above, but can you bust a move to it? Is it sway-able? Will you have to waltz, and if so, can you waltz?! Identify this in the living room so that you’re not having nightmares in the lead up – keep the awkward moments to the minimum with lessons, or some practice at home at least to make sure it’s a song you both feel comfortable dancing to. Some couples will opt for a more up-tempo song. This is also perfectly acceptable. The important thing is that it is special to you both and you are comfortable dancing to it.

#3 Find out whether the band know it, in advance and whether they’re willing to learn it

Your wedding band (still looking?! We know just the guys for the job…) will be keen to work with you on this one if they can – the band will need ample time to practice, and will need the song to be realistic to their band member line-up (i.e. if the song features a jazz quartet, and your band don’t - they might struggle!)

#4 Make a modern day mix-tape

If you’re struggling to decide or narrow it down, make a few Spotify or iTunes playlists, if you both listen using Spotify then shuffle your frequently listened to for inspiration – make a shared playlist and listen in the car or in the house together, to try to help identify ‘the one’ !

#5 List the musicians you both love

There are lots of people who LOVE certain songs, but can’t always match them to the artists, or name the songs (!) (you know that song, goes like this, it’s yer one that sings it, you know your man with the voice?!!?) It could then be easier to make a list of the artists you love listening to see if that triggers a Eureka moment!

Some First Dance Classics

  • Have I told you lately that I love you – Van Morrison

  • Perfect – Ed Sheeran

  • Amazed – Lonestar

  • You make my dreams – Hall & Oats

  • I won’t give up – Jason Mraz

  • Highway to Hell – AC/DC……….if it means something to you both then why not? 😊

Darren Carr