With a dinner party wedding, I knew there wasn’t going to be official dancing (there was definitely late night dancing inside after the dinner…that’s what happens when you have 9 hours of open bar!). I did, however, want to have a first dance. I’m not a huge dancer, but it felt like something that’s such a classic part of a wedding experience. I couldn’t imagine not having a first dance at our wedding.
OUR FIRST DANCE
There wasn’t a lot of question over when we’d incorporate the first dance. It felt like it would flow naturally in the course of the evening if we did it after cocktail hour, once everyone was seated, but before dinner began. While it was a little difficult in actual implementation because we didn’t have a band or an MC to announce us, it all worked out fine. There was space between the two tables to dance, I realized quickly that dancing with a fur cape isn’t possible, and we made it work.
I would tell anyone that’s doing a reception without dancing that you can 100% make a first dance happen. This is something I did a lot of googling about before I decided on it – seriously, the number of wedding forums (yes, those are a thing) that I read with brides asking the same question was kind of ridiculous. Clearly there are many brides out there wondering if it’s appropriate at their non-dance floor wedding.
OUR FIRST DANCE SONG BY ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES
There was no question that we would dance to anything besides a St. Paul and the Broken Bones song. I can’t think of a better band to get moving to – their music just begs you to dance. Plus, Adam and I have seen them together twice now.
We thought about “Flow With It” and then debated between “Call Me” and “Like a Mighty River” before ultimately deciding on “Like a Mighty River.” I wouldn’t say either is necessarily a love song (okay, fine, they’re definitely not), but all I wanted was a band we love and a fun vibe to dance to. So, that’s what we went with.
MY FIRST DANCE TIPS
So, this is a do as I say, not as I do situation, but I wish we had taken dance lessons! It would have been such a fun activity to do every week leading up to the wedding and I would have had some idea what I was doing on the dance floor (or dinner floor).
Also, we went to a wedding this past weekend where the couple danced to the first 30 seconds or so of the slow version of a song and then it kicked up to the fast version and they invited everyone else out on the dance floor. I thought this was a great way to do away with any of the “this is so weird” vibe of all eyes on you.
Lastly, have fun! Our photographer, Lauren Louise Collective, did a fabulous job of making us look way less awkward than I felt!
