If your wedding is coming up in October, November or December now is the time to consider your first dance!

Will it be slow and romantic or upbeat and swingy?  Will your dance have  lots of movement  to show off a big dance floor or are you working with a small square or runway floor and need something compact?

Don’t have a song yet?

Well, let me tell you what some of my couples are using right now so you can get those creative juices flowing!

Click on the (Lyrics) link to see the wonderful words to these great first dance songs and see if they don’t just describe your relationship perfectly!

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First Dance Songs!

“Wrapped Up In You” by Garth Brooks (Lyrics)

“Someone Like You” by Van Morrison (Lyrics)

“Yellow” by Coldplay (Lyrics)

“Better Together” by Jack Johnson (Lyrics)

“When The Stars Go Blue” by Tim McGraw (Lyrics)

“I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You” by Savage Garden (Lyrics)

“These Are The Days” by Van Morrison (Lyrics)

“L-O-V-E” by Frank Sinatra (Lyrics)

“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Michael Buble (Lyrics)

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Whatever song you choose you’ll want to get started soon on learning how to lead (gentlemen) and how to follow (ladies).

I write everything down at the end of each lesson so you have something to practice with at home and you’re always welcome to bring your phone or camera and we can video some steps too!

Remember the further away from the big day you start the more the dancing steps and technique have a chance to get into your muscle memory.

After all don’t you want to be gazing into each others eyes rather than trying to remember what comes next in your dance

For more song suggestions visit my Music page at:

http://www.OurWeddingDance.com/wedding-music.htm

And… you can always text me at 949.400.7347 and ask me what type of dance would go well with the song or songs you’re thinking of using!

Happy September,

Jillian

OurWeddingDance.com

BallroomDanceWithJillian.com

ArgentineTangoWeddingDance.com

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EMAIL:  Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com

You might ask, “What exactly is a wedding dance?”

Well you can go to YouTube and type in “wedding party dance” and see lots of them.

Usually it’s a somewhat choreographed dance done by the entire wedding party to really “kick-off” the reception and add that little extra special personal touch to your day to remember.

The wedding party dance can be done to just one song or to a couple or group of songs.

I’ve worked with waltzes, popular tunes and oldie but goodies.

(Just a couple of examples: One group decided they wanted “I’m Too Sexy” which was very whimsical to choreograph to and another group really liked “I Feel Good” which we did a lot of retro moves to and really stirred up the crowd!)

It’s all in fun and it is fun!

This summer I had a particularly exciting wedding party dance with bride and groom Ruth and Michael and their wonderful wedding party of eight.

They decided they absolutely loved the song “All The Right Moves” by OneRepublic.

Click here for the glam YouTube of this popular song.

And they decided that they and their wedding party would wear masks, as if at a masked ball, and perform a near facsimile of the waltz type dance you see dancers dancing on YouTube in front of the band.

We didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time since everyone was coming from all over and we had to literally rehearse at the last minute!

But we videotaped it for everyone to review it that night and rehearsed our feet off.

And I think it came out quite well!

(I’ll be including a videotape of the dance here soon!)

Masks on, ready to start the group wedding dance!

So if you’re thinking about a wedding party dance here’s a couple of things to consider:

1)  Is everyone in your wedding party ok with a group dance?

2) What song(s) do you like that you think will inspire them to really go crazy and be fun for everyone else to watch?

3)  Can everyone in your wedding party get together to rehearse?

4)  Do you want to use any props or special effects?

5)  When during your reception do you want to do the dance?

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Let your imagination soar and consider the wedding party dance as yet another fun way to personalize your wedding reception.  Your guests will be talking about it for years to come and you can bet your wedding party won’t forget the dance they did together either!

You can contact me through email to discuss your ideas about a fun wedding party dance or call me at 949.400.7347.

Jillian

Happy Halloween

]]> http://ourweddingdance.com/wp/2010/10/01/wedding-party-dance/feed/ 0 http://ourweddingdance.com/wp/2010/09/15/a-blast-from-the-past/ http://ourweddingdance.com/wp/2010/09/15/a-blast-from-the-past/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:07:27 +0000 admin http://ourweddingdance.com/wp/?p=475 I got a surprise last week.     Opening my email there was a blast from the past…  One of my marvelous couples from earlier this year sent me pictures and a very kind note.  I’ve included them below for you to see and read.

I can’t tell you how much I look forward to hearing news about “the big day”.  I get so excited being included in all the wedding plans that when it comes time to say good bye and send my incredible couples on to wedding bliss I do feel a bit misty eyed. 

Hearing the stories and seeing their smiling and happy faces is just a perfect end to a great time spent teaching dance to my wonderful wedding couples.

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Hi Jillian,

I know it has been a very long time since we last saw you, and even some time since our wedding, but I have been meaning to write you and send pictures. . .  and I am just now getting around to doing it!

Thank you so much for all your help, it was really so fun working with you and it was perfect to have a simple (yet choreographed) dance to do at our wedding despite our nerves!

Beautiful Cuddle

Actually, Chris did great and didn’t seem nervous at all, but I was – thank goodness he was leading!!

The dance went so well, although it did fly by!

I don’t think we missed a step.

The day was beautiful and our dance must have inspired all our guests because the DJ later told us that our guests did the most dancing he has ever seen at an afternoon (lunch) reception!

We all had a wonderful time and got some great pictures of the dancing.

Check out Mom of the Bride - so excited!

Thank you again for making it all so easy and just being a fun person to hang out with/learn from.

We wish you the best and will contact you if we ever need a brush up lesson!

Sincerely, Caitlin and Chris

(Photographs by Josh Aull.)

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Remember call now or email Jillian for Fall and Winter weddings!

Reserve your favorite day and time today to look great on the day of your dreams…

Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com

949.400.7347

OurWeddingDance.com

ArgentineTangoWeddingDance.com

BallroomDanceWithJillian.com

Jillian & apples at Riley's Farm

From denim inspired wedding gowns in blues and dainty laces that lace up the back and cut up the leg to adorable table decorations with cowboy hats and boots doubling as flower containers… the big sky is the limit and the grass can be greener.

Blue and browns with touches of white and yellow seem to be the most common color schemes.  Bachelor buttons and daisies can keep the costs down and the whimsey up.  While you peruse cute cake toppers with horses and hitching posts and fun silver ring bearer horseshoes with white satin ribbons.

Accessories for a Western Wedding

Favor Ideas for a Cowboy Wedding

The bride can wear white in a western type period gown or go for something completely different with touches or whole parts of the gown in denim blue.  Why not add some fringed white cowboy boots or cream or off-white granny style boots with pretty lace inserts?  Top it off with a white or off white satin cowboy hat covered in lace, roses and tulle and you’re sure to feel romantic and country cool all at the same time!

Western Wedding Wear

Cultured Cowboy Wedding Dresses

Western Wedding Hat

White Cowboy Boots Granny Style Boots

(I love this denim halter for bridesmaids dresses in the Western themed wedding!)

Of course the variety for grooms is endless and who doesn’t enjoy duding up their best dude in the duds of a cool, clean cowboy?  There are period style vests and ties and natty jackets with and without fringe as well as boots in all sizes, shapes, colors and textures.  It’s a field day for the fellas and they’re sure to make a splash when they ride in off the range in today’s dashing designs.

Gentlemen’s Emporium

The Old Frontier Clothing Company

And last, but certainly not least, there are mother lodes of wonderful Country songs old and new from waltzes to 2-steps that will keep your first dance and your father daughter dance in the Western theme.  Below are a few of my favorites:

First Dance Country Songs:

I Love The Way You Love Me by Faith Hill

Could I Have This Dance by Anne Murray

From This Moment by Shania Twain

The Wedding Song (Girl Forever) by Marty Falle

Fishin’ In The Dark by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

(Lyrics for Fishin’ In The Dark)

Father Daughter Dance Country Songs:

I Loved Her First by Heartland

My Little Girl by Steve Kirwan

Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wick

I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack

Daddy’s Little Girl by Kippi Brannon

Happy Trails to you Western wedding fans…

Jillian

OurWeddingDance.com

949 400 7347

* Remember I put these links to other web sites up for your reference and don’t endorse any one in particular.  I’ll let you do the research and remember always get your orders in writing and you can use my handy guideline, “If it smells fishy, it usually is”. 

But what about something that could combine all of the above?  Now that would be one heck of a New Year’s Resolution!  How about dance lessons???

• Dancers can lose weight…
• Dancing can get those endorphins going which can make for happier people in the workplace and who knows - ripe for that promotion…
• Dancing brings out the travel bug to find fun social spots for doing your latest steps…
• If you’re dancing, you can only think about the figures and your movement not stressing about the latest…
• And dancing could be your next fun hobby…

It’s that time of year and I’m getting lots of inquiries from 2010 brides and grooms and also people who just want to take up dancing!  It’s easy to get started and really all you need are your feet, some leather soled dance shoes and a willingness to learn.  So what are you waiting for?  Oh, that’s right two more days!  Well, let’s start 2010 right!

Have a wedding?  Have a special event? Have a desire to do something fun and frolicsome with your mate?   Email me and we’ll start that music and get you moving.  Until then, I found this quote rather amusing since it hits both sides of the coin:

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”  — Bill Vaughn

Happy New Year to all from Jillian of OurWeddingDance.com

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Dancing. 

The very word can bring fear into a perfectly normal groom’s life. 

Guys know that girls like to dance and, let’s face it, most guys learn to dance to attract a girl.  So what’s the point in learning to dance once you’ve got the girl?  Answer: The First Dance at your wedding reception. 

Probably, given a choice, most grooms would opt out of the first dance and move right on through the reception.  But the first dance can be a great opportunity for grooms to get those extra “love bank” points that they can use as collateral later on!

Grooms come through the door of a dance studio with two very real fears: 1) They will not be able to do a partnered dance and 2) They will look very silly trying. 

But, the whole experience can be a very “liberating” one for them since they will be in-charge of the dance.  Because the man leads and the lady follows, grooms find out they can dance with a partner and they don’t look silly because the couple then moves as one across the floor.

During private classes, instruction should be kept in every-day language with work on the dance frame, the couple’s posture, simple walking steps to their song and basic dance patterns.  This way a three-way “creation process” can start that will eventually produce choreography that the groom can remember and the bride can look beautiful dancing.

Brides and grooms need to start their first dance as soon as they can spare the time. 

Couples can master simple routines in foxtrot, waltz, rumba, tango, and night club two-step in about five to fifteen lessons.  

More elaborate first dances with props and costume changes and first dances that combine two or more dance types may take a little longer to feel second nature. 

Personalization is the underlying theme with today’s weddings and the first dance can be as personal as the bride and groom want it to be.

No matter what you think you might like to do or even if you have no ideas whatsoever and just want some help “not looking stupid”, a professional dance instructor who specializes in bride and groom first dances can work with you to create your dream first dance. 

With time and patience you can have a dance to remember and even keep dancing for other special occasions all your married life.

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Happy Holiday Shopping and don’t forget to include a few dance lessons on your New Year’s Resolutions list!

In fact I’m not sure if you remember the crazy trend of inserting a wild piece of music in the middle of the soft wedding song with a “scratch of the record” sound but that was quite the rage.

We would start out with the traditional “clutch and sway” and then “scratch, scratch” and suddenly the bride and groom would be doing the robot, or reeling in one or the other like a giant fish, or catching up on some side by side hip hop moves.  Then in less than a minute it would be back to a traditional wedding waltz, foxtrot, rumba or slow dance to end the hilarious piece.

These days that’s not so popular anymore but having two songs seque-way one into the other is!

I’ve got a beautiful dewy-eyed bride and Jim Sturgess look-alike groom now using two songs by The Beatles – “Here, There and Everywhere” and “When I Saw Her Face”.

This is super fun to work with and my couple, who admit they loved the movie ”Across the Universe”, are really doing up their first dance in their very own style with pizazz!

We’ve got some beautiful romantic moves for the first song where they use the melody to just float in each other’s arms and then they let loose for their swingin’ second song.  I’m sure this will have their guests clapping and cheering and talking about their first dance all night!

So if you’ve got two songs that you both really like don’t be afraid to use them both for your first dance.  As long as the total piece stays around three to four minutes you’re fine and the mixing up of tunes will keep your guests guessing about your beautiful and meaningful first dance.

It’s not uncommon for me to get phone calls and emails from Moms and Dads saying they want to look good at the wedding they’ll be attending or planning since everyone will know them and be watching them to see how they look!

No pressure, right??

You’re only planning or working on the biggest event ever with your daughter or son… and the last thing you need to be worrying about is dancing lessons…

Well, I tell my Moms and Dads to think of it as one hour a week where they don’t have to think about the planning.  The only things they have to concentrate on are following or leading, a handful of steps and a few technique points.

And it works!

I have a fantastic Mom and Dad right now who are learning Foxtrot and Jitterbug.  I think it’s a bit of a surprise for their guests so I’ll keep their names a secret for now.

Suffice it to say, she’s having a blast getting her husband of many years to finally Jitterbug with her and he’s enjoying “Master and Commander” status as leader and getting tons of brownie points he can pretty much use for the rest of his life!

Their Foxtrot is coming right along with him making gorgeous heel leads and using his leading arm to communicate to her – something she tells me they have never done while dancing together – and she’s following like a dream and gliding across the floor like Cinderella at her very own ball!

I love to see the look of relief as a Mom and Dad realize that they can dance together and that they look good doing it!  Often they haven’t tried dancing together in years or they do try to dance together and it is difficult and not that much fun.

With just five hours of instruction before the big event, Moms and Dads can learn following and leading skills and have at least five to ten steps to show off on the dance floor.

So treat yourself to some “you” time in the midst of the all the pre-wedding excitement. 

You’ll be glad you did – both to preserve your sanity and also your status as the “party giver extraordinaire”.