…have quickly become my biggest wedding pet peeve. You know the ones, the bride and groom are dancing romantically for their first dance when all of a sudden this beat comes out of nowhere (gasp, “what is going on here??” says the look on the bride’s face), and then all of a sudden, SURPRISE! The new Mr. & Mrs. are doing a full-out “running man” into the “robot”… Sigh.
{ image via DanceJam }
Let me preface this by saying that I majored in dance in college and therefore consider myself to be a dance snob. So, forgive me while I vent for a moment and please know that I by no means mean to offend anyone…we just will not be doing a choreographed first dance at our wedding since it is definitely not something that matches our personalities. Hope that makes sense? You know I love all of you :)
Now, I get it. For some people, it’s hilarious that the usually-quiet groom actually got roped into doing some romantic-waltz-slow-dance-UH OH-DJ-gone-wrong-turntable-scratch-into-baby-got-back dance in front of all his fraternity brothers. OR, like my friend Matt, some people are just natural comedians so it’s completely fitting to incorporate both the “sprinkler” and the “shopping cart” into the first dance. I just really don’t find it funny to watch strangers dancing poorly at their own weddings on YouTube. Am I crazy here?
I partially blame it on all the dance shows on TV: Dancing with the Stars (or Mira Quien Baile on the Spanish channels), So You Think You Can Dance (LOVE!!!), America’s/Britain’s Got Talent, Dance Your A** Off, and so on…We’ve been exposed to such great dance lately that it’s just hard for me to watch people dance poorly.
So my plea is this: it doesn’t have to be intricately choreographed and you don’t have to make complete fools of yourself (if you can do the worm, save it for after everyone is on the dance floor and has had a couple signature cocktails), but there ARE ways to make the first dance fun for you and the guests. Need some inspiration?
Somewhere Beyond the Sea – I hope you take the time to watch this, it’s lovely! Of course, it’d be lovely if everyone could dance like this, wouldn’t it? Ok, obviously this couple has had years of training, but I’m guessing that as long as you have a bit of rhythm and body awareness, if you bring this video to an Arthur Murray or the local dance studio, they can give you something watered down that will be just as beautiful. Just make sure it’s a good song!
Dirty Dancing Wedding Dance – Amazing! I guess it helps that I’m in love with that movie…but, see? The choreography is not that intense but still it gets everyone into it!
So, on the topic of non-traditional way of wedding dances, I say go more Fred Astaire, Gene Kelley, Patrick Swayze, and less MC Hammer, Kid n’ Play.
{ image via goleech.org }
Otherwise, just enjoy the moment of holding your new hubby close, slow dancing to your first song together, whisper “watermelon, peas and carrots” into his ear so people think that you’re saying sweet nothings (I used this trick in choir all the time), before you get swept away amidst all the guests, food, and drinks for the rest of the night :)