Choreographed Wedding Dances

I have the good fortune to be a professional in the wedding world and in the dance world. I love it when my two worlds come together. Lately that's happened a lot as I've taught choreographed dances to brides and grooms, brides and their fathers and grooms and their mothers.

More and more couples are choosing to have these special dances choreographed. It makes good sense, especially since so many people take their own photos and videos at weddings and then post them all over the place in social media. Since we know that will likely happen, (unless you have a no social media policy at your wedding) don't you want to look your best?

I began working with Bride Nichole and Groom Brad and with Nichole and her father Vic about three months before their wedding. We first exchanged emails and then we met in person and talked about what they wanted to achieve and the kind of music they wanted to dance to. Once we were all on the same page, we started the dance lessons. Nicole knew she wanted something very special. "I've been to a lot of weddings and I knew I wanted something people would enjoy watching and I'd enjoy doing and that I'd be proud of." For Brad it was even simpler. "We didn't want to rock back and forth, and that's it."

Here are a few things to think about. Do you want something traditional like a slow dance? Depending on your dance experience, it may not be as easy as you think. Do you want a mash up of songs? Do you want slow and fast songs? Give yourself plenty of time before the wedding to make your dance dreams come true. You'll need to figure out your strengths, and what you want to stay away from and have enough time to perfect skills that perhaps you don't have down pat right now but could get with enough time. "It's funny looking back at the dance, I was thinking on the way over, when you first started putting it together it seemed like so much and it really was kind of intimidating and now that we do it I now feel like its almost so little and so easy to get through," said groom Brad Blough.

By the time we were finished, Brad and Nicole felt comfortable doing a lift that at first they weren't sure of, their posture improved, and they smiled and had fun. After the wedding Nichole wrote me to tell me how the dances went. "Thank you so much! Couldn't have done it without you!! Everyone said their favorite part of the wedding was our first dances."

You need a good dance studio to pull this off and I teach at the best one on the planet in my opinion. Thank you to Kirstie Spadie, owner of North Carolina Dance Institute for her unending love and support!