Wedding First Dance Lessons to Shine on Your Big Day with a Simple Yet Beautiful Wedding Dance

The wedding dance should, as a general rule, accommodate the song you want to dance to, so aim for selecting the song first, if you can. This is because it helps narrowing down the choice of the first dance.

The following few tips will help make the process of choosing your wedding dance song easy and fun.

Choosing the length of your first dance song
Long songs can be tiring for you and may stop the guests from joining you in on the floor.

For example, All I Want is You by U2 lasts more than seven minutes. That is way too long and ought to be shortened. Also, live bands tend to play songs longer than usual and bore the guests to death. 

On the other hand, there’s no problem dancing to short songs because very few are shorter than two minutes.

If you aim to dance between two and two and a half minutes, which is the average time a first dance lasts, there’s plenty of songs to choose from.

Choosing the lyrics
Being a popular or a favourite first dance song doesn't mean its lyrics are always fitting to a wedding occasion.

Some songs have a personal story or event behind them, others were not written as wedding songs or with one’s wedding in mind.

Often first dance song lyrics are overlooked, but if you care as to what the words say or mean, do check your song's lyrics.

For example, Angels by Robbie Williams has odd lyrics. See more examples of odd first dance song lyrics at Unusual First Dance Songs.

Choosing the tempo
Very slow songs are tricky to dance to. Also, if timing changes it may confuse the movement. 

For example, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith has sudden and quick rhythm changes especially towards the second half.

By choosing a song not too slow and not too fast would be more enjoyable to dance. Also, it would be more entertaining for the guests.

Making a list of potential songs
Considering more than one song gives you more chances to find your special song. It would also be more likely for the two of you to like it.

Usually, couples end up with an average of two to three potential first dance songs. Also, many songs have been performed by more than one artist or band. Each performance varies and it’s worth considering.

For example, How Deep is Your Love by Bee Gees is also performed by Take That.  

Ask for help 
You can always ask your dance teacher, a DJ or your friends. They may have very different opinions and preferences from yours, but you will find they are happy to help.

A dance teacher would likely suggest a song that is easy to dance to, a DJ some popular hits. You consider both and then settle for the first dance song the two of you want to dance to.

For a full list of first dances, please check First Dances Explained