Every couple chooses a First Dance song, and most of them simply look through lists of overplayed love songs and choose one. If you’d like to make your first dance a lot more personal — for you and your guests — try one of these ideas.
- Narrate it. Record your fondest memories of your courtship and your dreams for the future, and have your DJ edit your narrations into your First Dance song. Ideally, each of you should record your thoughts separately, so your mate will hear them for the first time as you dance. Pick a song with enough instrumental riffs to accommodate everything you have to say without stepping on the vocals. Guaranteed to be the emotional high point of the evening. Fourth Estate Audio can help you with this.
- Localize it. As a Chicago DJ company, we’ve had many of our couples choose songs with strong Chicago ties — everything from “Sirius” to “Don’t Stop Believing” to “We’re All Crazy in Chicago.” No one said your first dance has to be slow or sappy. Make it a reflection of your own unique personalities.
- Outsource it. Hire a professional songwriter to write and record an original song about your special relationship. You provide the details, and the writer converts them into lyrics. Just Google “Custom Wedding Songs” for a list of talented songwriters, and choose one that lets you listen to some of the songs he or she wrote for other couples.
- Dress it up. Many Asian-American weddings begin with the bride wearing a formal American gown for the ceremony, then changing into a traditional Asian gown for dinner and the first dance, and finally a semi-formal for the rest of the night’s dancing. You can also take it a step further, by making a surprise grand entrance to the dance floor in special costumes that reflect your passions, whether they be movie-theme costumes, sports-theme costumes or whatever.
- Double it up. If you’re undecided which of two songs to use for your first dance use both. Your DJ can create a medley by playing the first part of song #1, then fading into song #2 for the rest of the dance. Starting with something slow, then raising the energy level, always gets a big cheer.
- Prop it up. Have you ever seen those silly props a photo booth company brings to a party — the feather boas, funny hats, oversize glasses, fake beards and mustaches? You may have some creative ideas of your own. Nothing gets the crowd into the party like a couple of lovebirds who aren’t afraid to make complete fools of themselves.
- Choreograph it. Learn a special dance routine. There are plenty of dance schools that will sell you a First Dance lesson package. Then coordinate with your DJ to start and end the song at the appropriate times.
- Live music. If you have a musically talented friend or relative, invite him or her to perform your first dance song live. Your DJ can provide the microphone(s), and your artist can patch a keyboard or other instrument into the DJ’s sound system.
- Engage your guests. Midway through your first dance, each of you can pull someone from the audience onto the dance floor; then a few seconds later, your DJ can invite each dancer to find someone new, and so on, and so on; then invite all the other couples to the floor to share the moment. This should be a slow song.
When done properly, your First Dance can be a great way to share your love story, and your personalities, with the people most special to you.
© Fourth Estate Audio, 2016 – Jay Congdon is president of Fourth Estate Audio, a professional Chicago DJ and Chicago Wedding DJ company.
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