Wedding Discos – The First Dance

It’s possibly the most important part of the wedding evening, all the guests are waiting, the Bride and Groom are ready to take their place in the spotlight and for the next 3 minutes or so the whole place is focused on them as they shuffle awkwardly around the dance floor to their first dance.

A recent survey came up with a top 10 of wedding first dances and I think that all DJ’s would recognise them if they’ve ever done a wedding:

1. Lonestar – Amazed
2. Diana Ross & Lionel Ritchie – Endless Love
3. Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight
4. Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
5. Shania Twain – From This Moment On
6. Robbie Williams – Angels
7. Savage Garden – Truly, Madly, Deeply
8. Aerosmith – I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing
9. Van Morrison – Have I Told You Lately
10. Commodores – 3 Times A Lady

But why is it always these? Take Lonestar – Amazed. It reached no 21 ten years ago yet is number 1 in the first dance top 10. Why? Is it that good a song that so many people want it as a first dance? You could say the same for Truly, Madly, Deeply. Is it really that special to all these couples? What is a first dance record anyway? Does it have to be a ballad or is it a track that has a special meaning to a couple?

I have had a few “alternative” tracks over the years that people have requested; my most recent one was where the B&G requested “Finally” by Kings of Tomorrow. No shuffling round holding each other for these two and it filled the floor at the end for me to start the night off with – bonus!

To me a first dance is a record that the B&G should select based on it meaning something to them (again I can’t see so many people having “Amazed” mean so much.) The traditional first dance seems to be evolving as more and more people are doing a choreographed routine to tunes such as “Time Of My Life” or “It Must Be Love” (even my own brother got in the act for that one). Some couples are even recreating scenes made famous on YouTube, such as The Evolution of Dance (click here to see that video) or Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot, which several couples have made famous via the internet (click here to see one of them). Surely there is enough stress in a build up to a marriage without the added work of having to learn a routine because they’ve watched Strictly Come Dancing a few times.

For a DJ it’s always the key moment of the night and my greatest fear is always that the record stops in mid dance. During the rest of the night it’s not that big a deal but for a first dance – OUCH! I always play a back up copy at the same time up to the last minute giving me time to change tracks or, if required, just flip the faders to keep it going. Thankfully it’s never happened to me but there is always that first time…

So DJ’s, what records do you find yourself playing for the first dance more often than not?

Here’s my alternative first dances (all true requests)

1. Kings of Tomorrow – Finally
2. Meat Loaf – Paradise By The Dashboard Light
3. Meat Loaf – Dead Ringer For Love
4. Falco – Rock Me Amadeus
5. Swing Low Sweet Chariot (they met at an England rugby game)

Dave Evans