How to pack the dance floor

A couple of people asked on my last post about how the dance floor got so packed so quickly. I must say, the same thing happened at my younger brother's wedding this summer- and didn't happen at many of the other weddings we have attended. It seems that there are a couple of things that can make a difference.

1. The bride and groom must be happy.

If they are happy, it is much easier for everyone else to be happy.

2. The right music is crucial- and live music helps.

Of the three weddings we've attended with live music, 2 had tons of dancing. Of the DJ or ipod weddings, roughly 25% (2 of 8, I think) had a lot of dancing. Regardless of how the music is played, it should be music that everyone, from grandparents on down, should be able to tap their feet to. Our big band played standards from the 1930s, '40s and '50s; my brother and his wife had a funk band that played classics from the 1970s through today. But in each case, most people knew most of the songs.

3. A dance floor in the middle of the room helps.

All of the weddings that I've attended with a lot of dancing had the dance floor in the middle of the room, surrounded on three sides by tables, with the DJ or band on the 4th side. This makes it easier for people who are not dancing to be part of the dance floor, and if people stop to take a break, it is much easier for friends to get them back on the floor.

4. Booze is important.

'nuff said.

5. The bride and groom must be on the dance floor.

My mom asked me if we would go around from table to table at the reception. To her initial dismay, I said no- we were having a receiving line so we wouldn't need to do that. I said that I planned to be on the dance floor the entire night, and if people wanted to talk to me, they could dance with me. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, it worked.

Anyone have other tips to add about how to get the dance floor moving?

Dance Dance Dance

There were two things that our photographer, Ken Blaze, said about our wedding that he had never seen before at a wedding.

1. The dance floor was immediately packed following my dance with my dad.

Some dear family friends

The best man and his then girlfriend, now fiancee - we're going to their wedding in Calcutta in October!

College friends

Flower girl and ring bearer

2. The longest conga line- it extended way beyond the dance floor

Led by my piano playing youngest brother. He was so proud that he got is bowtie tied- specifically so he could look awesome at the reception when he undid it.




During the band's first break, we took a couple of group shots of friends. I'd highly recommend doing this.

The "chicas", from high school. Quite a bit different than our prom picture, I believe.

The requisite college alumni picture. Which still needs to be sent to the alumni magazine.

The group shot I wish I'd gotten- of all of the friends/families from my church that I grew up with.
And then we boogied into the night.

One of my good friends from college. At the winter formal in school, we would swing dance to at least 1 song, and did the same at his wedding.






And there you have it- our wedding in a nutshell. My youngest brother danced with 19 women (his girlfriend was in South Africa), my other brother did shots of Zwack with my uncle, and friends kept saying how much fun our wedding was- which was our original goal. To throw one helluva party.

All photos courtesy (and copyright!) of the amazing Ken Blaze.
Recap
The beginning
Getting ready
First Glance
To the Chapel
I Do
Receiving Our Guests
A little time for us
Let the party begin!
Sneak Peak
Dinner and Dessert
After dinner

After dinner

After dinner, it was....
....time for dancing! (Big surprise, I know. No way you guessed that one.)

My youngest brother, pianist extraordinaire, played the song for our first dance. Ben Fold's "The Luckiest", which may be a bit cliched- but is one of my brother's signature songs that he plays whenever he is around a piano.

Our dancing lessons really paid off.

It was so fantastic to have that time together on the dance floor.

Following our dance, I danced with my dad while the band played "Fly Me To the Moon".

This is my favorite picture ever of my dad and I.
My dad and I used to attend Girl Scout Father-Daughter dances when I was much younger- but both of us were more of the wallflower type than tearing it up on the dance floor. But the lessons that Calvin and I took, and my parents are still taking, really paid off.

The crowd really got into it as well.

Calvin's cousins and mom

Random people I don't know. Seriously- they are friends of Calvin's parents, and I have no idea who they are. And Calvin doesn't want to admit it, but he doesn't know who they are either.
At the end of the dance, I gave my dad a hug.

As did Calvin.

And then the party really got started!

All photos courtesy (and copyright!) of the amazing Ken Blaze.
Recap
The beginning
Getting ready
First Glance
To the Chapel
I Do
Receiving Our Guests
A little time for us
Let the party begin!
Sneak Peak
Dinner and Dessert

dance with my dad

Calvin and I have been taking dancing lessons off and on for close to a year now, and have had such a good experience that my parents decided to take lessons as well. So when I was in Cleveland this past weekend, I went along with them to their dance lesson, and got to spend some quality time with my dad.

Getting a little help from Joel, my parents' instructor

We got this

A little spinning motion (from both us and the camera).

My dad and I spent most of the time practicing the foxtrot, which is what he and my mom have been working on the most. Since both of us have been taking lessons, we want to show off our skills on the dance floor at our wedding. But to what song? We need something from the 1940s or 1950s that is either big band music or music from the Rat Pack, which is what our band will be playing at the reception.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good dance song?

(And for those of you in Cleveland interested in taking dance lessons, I'd highly recommend that you check out Arthur Murray. Located in Mayfield off of I-271, the studio space is awesome and the dance instructors are really fun. And then you could dance with my parents :-) )

put on your dancin' shoes

Now that we had the music locked into place, we had a bit of a problem.

Neither of us really know how to dance.

Back September '06, before we were engaged, Calvin gave me dance lessons for our anniversary. Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons, were not able to figure out a time to take them. So this summer, at the recommendation of a friend, we started with lessons at Arthur Murray.

The wonder who is Arthur Murray. Photo from Dance Heritage.

Lessons at Arthur Murray consist of three different parts. The first the private lesson- just you and your partner, with an instructor; the lesson lasts about 45 minutes. In our case, there are normally 1 to 2 other private lessons going on in the studio when we are there. The second is group lessons- you and your partner, with a few other couples of the same ability. For us, there are normally 2 to 3 sets of group lessons going on at a time, each with 2-4 couples. Finally, there are the parties- open dancing, with people of all skill levels and all types of music. Instructors are around to give pointers.

In the first four or five lessons we took, we had progressed enough that we were all over the dance floor at his cousin's wedding. Compared to how we were at a wedding the month before (when we had only had two lessons), we had definitely improved a lot in both our skill and confidence. I'm glad that we started lessons with so much time before the wedding, and have many more lessons to come.

The thing about dancing is that you can do it the rest of your life. For us, this is an investment so that we can enjoy all the weddings and parties of the future. On top of that, it is a good source of exercise, and is a great way to spend some quality time with the one you love! And who doesn't want to look fabulous on the dance floor?

Fred and Ginger in Flying Down to Rio

Do you plan on taking dance lessons?