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

“I’m so excited… and I just can’t hide it”!

OurWeddingDance.com

Well, it took some time but all good things do – don’t they?

There are lots of links to some great first dance and father daughter dance song selections as well as some even more wonderful (if that could be possible!) testimonials from my  students.

There is so much to see and experience on the site and I absolutely love the new top page full of beauty and color.

After all isn’t that what it’s all about?

Beauty in your dance for all to see your love for each other…

Beauty in your dancing with each other so you can feel fun and romantic…

And beauty in your marriage for the rest of your wonderful lives together…

With 69 pages on the site I think there is literally something for everyone here!

So browse a bit and let me know what you think…

And don’t forget to email me at Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com with all your questions about first dances and first dance songs.  I can’t wait to help you dance your reception away to your special first dance song and all your music!

Happy Labor Day,

Jillian (Click here, here and here for some sample first dances!)

Phuong & Richard

Visit the Our Wedding Dance page on Music at:

http://ourweddingdance.com/wedding-music.htm

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Visit the Our Wedding Dance page on Testimonials at:

http://ourweddingdance.com/jillians-testimonials.htm

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Visit the Our Wedding Dance page on my Couples at:

http://ourweddingdance.com/couples.htm

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Dance Lessons taught at Avant Garde Ballroom  at 4220 Scott Place Newport Beach, CA  92660.  Contact Jillian by phone or text 24/7 at 949.400.7347.

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

Never fear… you can do something simple and pretty even if you just plain have no time left.

In fact, I probably get at least five phone calls a week from brides or grooms getting married in under two weeks.

Of course, it would be preferable to have a month or two before the big day to get the first dance in your muscle memory, but what if you just want to have a bit of help with some turns and simply keep off of each others feet while dancing!

I’ve worked with students right before the big day very successfully and given them something quick and easy to work with for their big moment all alone on the dance floor.

One of my recent couples said they certainly felt better after their time with me than before and although they wished they’d had more time to work on their dance they felt a glow of confidence that would take them through it with flair and fun.

So if you’re debating about whether to go ahead and do just one lesson for your first dance even though you’re in the eleventh hour of preparations why not go for it?

I think you’ll be glad you did and who knows maybe you’ll take a few lessons after the honeymoon to wow your friends at their weddings with your lead and follow and fancy footwork.

Remember dancing lasts your whole life long… burns calories… and let’s face it guys, is a real pleaser for most of the gals out there!

Call Jillian at 949.400.7347 or email her at Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com and squeeze  a first dance lesson into that to-do list today!

Jillian of Our Wedding Dance!

The excitement is contagious and I can’t wait to work with these fantastic brides, grooms, moms, dads and wedding party participants.

2010 looks like a “bumper year” for weddings!

I’ve had questions about father/daughter dances, first dances utilizing musical numbers, wedding party group dances and beautiful bride and groom waltzes, swings, foxtrots and rumbas.

So far May and July are going to be big months for saying, I Do. 

The average sized wedding is coming in somewhere between 100-175 guests. 

Brides and grooms seem to be trimming their guest list so they don’t have to trim their wish list!

Popular right now…

The bride’s shoes in a color to match her bridesmaids dresses and her wedding colors.

Currently I have one dancing bride wearing gorgeous deep purple high heeled sandals with a rhinestone circle and another wearing red pumps to kick off a Valentine’s Day wedding!

Grooms are getting even more of that traditional “to do” list to do than in years passed.  At least 50% of my calls and emails have been from grooms this month;  fitting since they’ll be doing the leading in the first dance, I say!

So if you were thinking about dance lessons but putting off getting some info and firming up some evening or weekend dates… the time is now!

Be an “early bird who gets the worm” and email me today or call me at 949.400.7347 and start getting some dance figures and technique in your muscle memory today.

Happy almost February!

Hmm, what special event?

Guess not – we bought our tickets and found a seat in the nostalgic black light fish festival mural theater on the pennisula.

The preview came up and then suddenly shut down.

Another employee said they were experiencing technical difficulties… not unusual.

Then another “preview” came up and I noticed that the two people in it bore a huge resemblence to a man and woman who had entered the theater and sat four rows down in front of us.  The longer it played the more I thought “wedding video” as it showed the blond gal doing lots of fun things with her handsome man all over the world. 

Minutes later the film screen went to black and four wonderful words popped up on it, “Will You Marry Me”?

The lights came up in the theater and about fifty people in the balcony (yes, this theater is one of the last I know of with a balcony!) started shouting and whistling and throwing streamers.  The bride-to-be was totally surprised and her fiance got down on his knee and proposed right then and there.

What did she say? – came the shouts from above.

Yes, Yes, Yes the bride responded, tears running down her face. 

And then, Oh you poor people who just came to see the movie!, she added. 

We didn’t mind and after the movie a couple of people announced with a laugh, Anyone else want to get married?, as they left the theater.

So… how cool is that?

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Remember after you say “I do” say – “Let’s dance”!

Call Jillian at 949.400.7347

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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!

Yes, I agreed that these wedding dances were over the top and have been going on for at least the last two to three years.  And yes, I’ve helped put together some crazy “Evolution” twenty-two or so dance clips for at least three of my more intrepid couples.

It’s fun but it takes a lot of rehearsal, a lap top and a desire to be absolutely absurd, crazy and cool all at the same time.  But if that is your wish, as the saying goes, that is my command.

The interview with Joal Ryan went on for about ten or so minutes and I told her about my couple who had their entire wedding party do an adorable dance to “I’m Too Sexy For My Hat” where we did fun formations on a pretend runway and even had a bit with everyone pretending to “drive” around the stage haphazardly for the “Too Sexy For My Car” lyrics.

Another group wanted the song “I Feel Good”.  We did some great sixties dancing to that one, the Twist, the Swim and the Mashed Potato and generally looked really laid back and groovy!

If you’d like to read more go to the article and the YouTube at this URL:

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b136212_battle_of_wedding_dance_clips.html

I got the last words in at the bottom of the article.

As choreographer Jillian Forbath of OurWeddingDance.com tells us: “I think there’s a lot of pressure on a bride and groom to top the last thing they saw at a wedding.”