Many envision the first dance at their wedding as a scene straight out of a fairy tale: Cinderella and her Prince Charming gracefully gliding across the stage. Some fun-loving couples want to show their pizazz with a number that looks like a scene from "Footloose." Whatever your dancing dreams may be, it will take some time and effort if you weren't born with a talent for fancy footwork. Take these steps to eliminate embarrassment and bebop to your heart's desire.
Dance lessons can always boost one's self confidence and skills.
Check with local dance studios to see if they offer engagement classes to teach you the basics and choreograph your first dance.
Be sure to practice dancing in the actual shoes you will wear at the reception.
How to Prevent a Dance Disaster
Take a class. If you are paranoid about waltzing onto the dance floor with two left feet, gain some confidence and skills by taking a wedding dance class. You can either take a group class with a bunch of other couples, or sign up for private dance lessons to focus where you and your fiancee can customize a first dance. Look up dance studios in the yellow pages or check with your local Parks & Recreation Department to see if there are community lessons.
Learn from a video. Maybe you aren't comfortable breaking loose in a classroom setting in front of other people. Perhaps the classes are too expensive or inconvenient. The next best thing to classroom instruction is an instructional video. You can view thousands of user-created wedding dance tutorials on YouTube, or purchase a recorded instructional DVD.
Wear the proper shoes. To minimize the chance of twisting your ankle or doing a face-plant straight into the groom's cake, don't wear five-inch stilettos. You're better off wearing something flat and comfortable, such as ballet slippers. Trust me; your calves will thank you in the morning. Even if you want to wear stilettos during the ceremony, you can still slip into something more practical for the reception. As for men, be sure the soles of your shoes still have proper grip. You don't want to sliding across the freshly waxed dance floor.
Set a boundary for the booze. Although alcohol might make you feel like a top-notch dancer, odds are it won't make you look like one. Limit your consumption of alcohol until after you are finished dancing or at least until there are enough people out on the dance floor to minimize the humiliation of you attempting Tom Cruise's dance solo from "Risky Business."
Select the right song. Don't pick a song that's so fast your feet can't keep up with the tempo. Don't pick a song so slow that you end up awkwardly swaying like you're back at high school prom or so long that your guests start snoozing in the buffet line. For a good mix of songs to choose from, visit Richmond Presents. Pick a song that expresses your feelings for each other but is easy to dance to.
Practice, practice, practice! Try and steal a few minutes with your fiancee on the day before the wedding to run through the steps in the actual space. Adjust your first dance for the limitations of your dance floor.
Aside from your choreographed wedding dance, dance with your fiancee to modern dance songs that you think will be played at the wedding.
Dance in large groups or circles if you're not confident enough to dance with only one other person. Watch the rest of the dancers for the pace and rhythm of a song if you're unsure what to do.
Memorize a few wedding staples, such as the Chicken Dance, Macarena, and Electric Slide.
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