Kasey + Alex - “ILYSB”

When you think of a first dance song, you may think of an oldie but goodie like “This Magic Moment” by the Drifters or a pop hit like “All of Me” by John Legend. But Kasey and Alex knew exactly what their first dance song was going to be and it did not fall in either of the above genres. “ILYSB” by LANY (which stands for I Love You So Bad) is a dance/electronic song and to be honest, when they told me about it was the first time I had heard of it! But as Kasey mentioned to me at the start of our lessons, it described their relationship perfectly so I wanted to make their dance as fun and unique as their song. Kasey and Alex brought the most fun energy to each lesson - with her bubbly personality and his laid-back attitude, teaching them was an absolute blast! Unfortunately, I couldn’t crash their wedding to see them perform their first dance, but by the looks of it, it seems like they had a great time!

Congrats again K+A!

Photos by Caroline Allen Photography

Brittany + Jason “Tennessee Whiskey”

Brittany and Jason came to me wanting some direction with their first dance. They knew what style and song they wanted but wanted to incorporate some dips and twirls to go with their southern tune. I mean, what girl doesn’t want to be dipped to the sweet syrupy voice of Chris Stapleton?! Honestly, this is the number one request I get from couples- they want to learn how to do a twirl or two just so they can do a little something more than sway during their first dance. And as easy as it may sound to try and do it on your own, going to the tempo of YOUR song is the tricky part. But that’s what I am here for! What I loved about Brittany and Jason is that they trusted me completely with their dance, even when I suggested they try a lift!

They were married at the stunning Fox Hall Resort in Georgia’s countryside and the photos of their first dance turned out just as romantically beautiful as the location. Congrats again B + J!

Photos by Ashlee Burgess Photography

Ashlee + Joe - “Jump in the Line”

On every wedding day, there is a first dance….and then there’s a FIRST DANCE. There’s truly nothing more thrilling than breaking out into a surprised choreographed dance for your guests to enjoy. I would tell the story of how it came to be, but I’ll let her share the details of the experience! Or you can head to her blog here and read ALL about her epic wedding day from start to finish! (Trust me, you’ll want to see more than just the First Dance photos!)

Ashlee writes:

”And then we danced. And oooo did we have an ace up our sleeve! About a month after we got engaged, with just the venue secured, we reached out to my friend and past bride Amanda about choreographing a surprise first dance. We knew we wanted to have a surprise and I really wanted to be able to dance! I cannot dance. Joe, of course, is a phenomenal dancer and took ballroom in college. We quickly decided on having Dig by Incubus be our slow dance and then we would cut into Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte! Beetlejuice is my favorite movie of all time and this song was perfect to kick off the night! Joe cut up the songs and blended them together and Amanda created the coolest dance for us! We practiced a lot, then we didn’t practice at all, then we decided to NOT do the dance…Then the day before we snuck away into our room at the BnB and gave it a real go. Surprisingly the muscle memory worked! It was back on! I am SO SO SO SO glad we didn’t chicken out (it was mostly me being worried I didn’t have it down and also that my dress would get in the way). NO ONE KNEW. No one. We told the bridal party as we were lining up that we were going to be doing something that they needed to fall into a conga line at the end, and they would know when. I will never forget the thrill as we jumped into the line! The guests went wild and we did it! Joe stepped on my dress but we recovered without missing a beat. We even nailed the lift! AHHHHHHH!!!! It was so hard to keep it as a secret but the pay off was insane! I cannot wait to see it on video!”

Ashlee and Joe were married at the Acre Orlando. Photo by Jason Mize.

3 Tips for choosing a first-dance song

Choosing your first-dance song can be a bit overwhelming (along with the other hundreds of tasks that come along with planning a wedding). Do you go with the song that you both jammed out to in the car on your first date? Or do you pick Ed Sheeran’s current hit love song (hint: it will most likely be everyone else’s first dance too). Here are some tips to keep in mind when deciding what to dance to on your big day.

Decide what vibe you want.

Are you and your partner the fun and silly type or are you more reserved and low key, Choose a song that goes with your personalities. You may want a song that has great lyrics or is meaningful, but if it doesn’t flow with both of you, it may feel awkward for you to dance to.

Dance to it!

This leads me to my next tip: dance to it, try it out. You’d be surprised how many times couples just pick a song and then never really dance to it until the actual wedding day; similar to buying shoes and not trying them on! You may think a song is perfect and then you try dancing to it only to find out it’s waaaaay too slow or even too fast for a simple back and forth sway. Get with your wedding dance choreographer (if you’ve hired one) and ask for their advice. They will be able to tell you more about the tempo of the music and what kind of steps will go with it.

Don’t give up on it if it fails a test

Even if it’s not your vybe or is too slow, don’t pass it up! There are so many different versions of songs you can find on Spotify, like an acoustic version or a cover artist. Your DJ may be able to help too if the song seems too long -they can fade it or cut certain parts out. You can even start with one song and fade into a completely different song. This is your day, make it what YOU want!.