All photos via Alison ConklinHaving choreographed dances are more than all the rage these days. They are practically required for a first dance! The majority of weddings I attend, the bride and groom twirl with style and grace on the dance floor as we all gaze out with smiles and applause. I like this idea and think it's fun! Though, I think it's monstrously intimidating.
One thing that My Guy and I have always wanted to do was take dance lessons. Swear. Not necessarily solely for the purpose of our "first" public husband/wife dance, but because we actually want to know how to dance, as opposed to just standing with my arms gripping his neck and swaying back and forth.
But. Time is not on our side for this endeavor for our wedding. As I won't even be living in the same TOWN as my sweetie until the month before the wedding, taking months of dance lessons is clearly not in the picture. And, from what I've heard, it's quite a costly venture as well! We recently had some friends price dance lessons in Phoenix and they were upwards of $700!
What are you doing? Tango? Twist? Waltz? Booty-licious moves out of MTV? Good old fashion jr. high sway? I'm curious. I wonder what we will end up doing. Probably the jr. high sway. I'm cool with that.
Someday we'll learn all the fancy steps. We have a lifetime to learn.
One thing that My Guy and I have always wanted to do was take dance lessons. Swear. Not necessarily solely for the purpose of our "first" public husband/wife dance, but because we actually want to know how to dance, as opposed to just standing with my arms gripping his neck and swaying back and forth.
But. Time is not on our side for this endeavor for our wedding. As I won't even be living in the same TOWN as my sweetie until the month before the wedding, taking months of dance lessons is clearly not in the picture. And, from what I've heard, it's quite a costly venture as well! We recently had some friends price dance lessons in Phoenix and they were upwards of $700!
What are you doing? Tango? Twist? Waltz? Booty-licious moves out of MTV? Good old fashion jr. high sway? I'm curious. I wonder what we will end up doing. Probably the jr. high sway. I'm cool with that.
Someday we'll learn all the fancy steps. We have a lifetime to learn.
we swayed back and forth. life was to crazy, we didn't have time to learn how to dance together. so we swayed, just like we do in the living room at home or the kitchen when i'm trying to cook dinner.
ReplyDeleteat one point he did ask me if we should move more though. maybe just practice swaying.
We practiced the week of the wedding. I taught The Candyman the Box Step, which is super-duper easy. Even if you don't know how to do that, as long as you hold your arms in the "proper" dance position and sway, it looks better. In this position, you can also do a random turn and dip and look like you know what you're doing.
ReplyDeleteI say save the $$$. It's what? Like 3-4 minutes in your life? As long as you are ooey gooey in love on the dance floor, no one cares! :)
Don’t sweat it! The first dance is about the two of you enjoying each other in the moment. It was the most intimate and special part of our wedding. Be yourselves and don’t worry about how you think you look. Guaranteed, you and your guests will love it either way!
ReplyDeleteDon't stress yourself out with one more thing to add into that busy last month.Basking in love for each other while swaying is fabulous. :) Choreographed dances look impressive, to be sure, but I decided I would rather be completely focused on how much I love my partner and enjoy that, than be focused on remembering complicated dance moves.
ReplyDeletehow ironic - I have a post on this very topic coming up tomorrow! We ended up doing the jr. high sway b/c we ran out of time to take dance lessons. We tried to get out of the first dance, but our guests were having nothing of it!
ReplyDeleteWe are stuck in this debate too. I want our dance to be more about us and our new union rather than a performance. We shall see I guess
ReplyDeleteI think we'll probably just sway...I really think its important to be in that moment vs. concentrating on dance moves (although it is entertaining!)
ReplyDeleteTotally up to you dear. We decided to do one 2 weeks before the wedding (um well like everything else, it happened quickly). We probably spent 7 hours over 2 days because I have no memory for dance steps. Having a video of us dancing in practice helped.
ReplyDeleteI personally recommended it because it was a fun experience and I liked performing it with the husband. It was also nice because my husband enjoys salsa (we even had a lesson during the NYC reception). Yes it can be pricey though and admittedly my friend choreographed for us. Definitely find some dancer friends to help if you can!
Just some basic dips and lifts would be great and you'll have so much fun.
I for one did not see my wedding as a performance. No one was expecting a first dance of Astaire and Rogers proportions.
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to at least not stumble over each other, though, so we took ONE dance lesson at a local studio. UTTER FAIL. At the end of the hour we were both so frustrated with one another we didn't want to return for additional lessons. We never practiced another step - just agreed to "wing it". And it came out beautifully!
We didn't practice at all. We talked about it but just like a lot of things - it never happened. We spent our entire first dance talking about how we should have practiced just once. We picked a difficult song to dance to (Peggy Lee's "Is that all there is" which was meant to be humorous)and kind of floated around the floor stepping on each other and trying to spin each other. Don't bother with expensive lessons, but do take a moment to practice just once in front of a non-critical friend. See how it feels to dance to your song and maybe practice a dip or two. It really is about the two of you and everyone will love it no matter what.
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