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First Dance Song Ideas

The First Dance song marks the highlight of the wedding. If you've gotten to this point, our hope is you can look around and see the love you have for the people surrounding you. Our hope is your wedding planning didn't unnecessarily destroy relationships, create lifelong riffs, or make your life miserable. Just as the rest of the wedding planning goes, there are so many decisions to think about when you come up with your First Dance song, who participates in the first dance, and what is the etiquette around the first dance.

  • Do you go with what you like right now - a trendy song? Or do you want this to be a more timeless piece so when you watch a video in 20 years you aren't groaning at how cheesy and "how early 2000's" it sounds?"
  • Do you go with a song that holds special meaning - maybe "your song" as a couple?
  • Do the words of a song play the most important role or is the tempo more important for you?
  • Do you know how to dance? Tempo may be crucial for your level of expertise.
  • Are you traveling somewhere for your honeymoon and want to learn a dance from that area?
  • Do you have a wedding them that fits into a song? If you have a beach wedding, something from the Beach Boys could make people smile and fit a certain surfer mood...might also add a cheesy feel that offsets your nerves and inability to dance!
  • Do you or your spouse-to-be have a certain ethnic or cultural background? A song from that part of your life might be fitting if you didn't want the rest of the evening to be filled with music people aren't as familiar with.
  • Do you know if your parents (or maybe grandparents) had a First Dance? If so, can you secretly (or openly) find out what song they did and then surprise them on the wedding day? Maybe elicit the help of aunts, uncles, or cousins to do some investigative research so you can really shock them on the wedding day.
  • Another idea is to have a UNIQUE song made just for you!! We were so blessed with an amazing pianist at our church who literally invented an impromptu wedding bridal march song for me! It was amazingly cool and nobody will ever have the same wedding march I had. You could hire a musician who is creative and either commission a song or if it's instrumental, have a band or one person invent a song just for the two of you - impromptu or planned.

My husband and I had a fall theme and married in October. We had a live jazz band so the most romantic song I could think of was Van Morrison, Moondance. It is romantic, talks about "October skies" and I had a great friend who thoroughly enjoyed practicing with our fabulous band and sang it live! (I do regret we don't have a recording of it...)

If the above gets your creative juices flowing you may want to start asking people or Googling for particular song ideas based on what you want "fast tempo music ideas" or "songs with mountains" in them. A great source of ideas is your dj company or artistic, creative types online or friends you normally wouldn't get "wedding advice" from but can help you hunt down the Perfect First Dance Song.

Here are some first dance song ideas to at least get the ball rolling.

  • "You Are My First, My Last, My Everything" (Barry White)

  • "Take My Breath Away” (Berlin)

  • "The Rose” (Bette Midler)

  • "Our Love Is Here To Stay” (Billie Holiday)

  • "Just The Way You Are” (Billy Joel)

  • "She's Got A Way” (Billy Joel)

  • "We've Got Tonight” (Bob Seger)

  • "You Are My Special Angel” (Bobby Helms)

  • "If” (Bread)

  • "Everything I Own" (Bread)

  • "Heaven” (Bryan Adams)

  • "True Love Ways” (Buddy Holly)

  • "Tonight And Forever” (Carly Simon)

  • "You're The Inspiration” (Chicago)

  • "Lady In Red” (Chris DeBurgh)

  • "Longer” (Dan Fogelberg)

  • "Endless Love” (Diana Ross & Lionel Richie)

  • "Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (Elton John)

  • "Friends” (Elton John)

  • "The One” (Elton John)

  • "Your Song” (Elton John)

  • "Can't Help Falling In Love” (Elvis Presley)

  • "Always” (Erasure)

  • "At Last” (Etta James)

  • "Let It Be Me” (Everly Brothers)

  • "Songbird” (Fleetwood Mac)

  • "The Best Is Yet To Come” (Frank Sinatra)

  • "The Way You Look Tonight” (Frank Sinatra)

  • "If I Loved You” (from Carousel)

  • "As Time Goes By” (from Casablanca)

  • "Some Enchanted Evening” (from South Pacific)

  • "Somewhere” (from West Side Story)

  • "Love Theme To Romeo & Juliet” (from Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet)

  • "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You” (Glenn Medeiros)

  • "Here We Are” (Gloria Estefan)

  • "Beautiful” (Gordon Lightfoot)

  • "It Had To Be You” (Harry Connick, Jr.)

  • "So This Is Love” (James Ingram)

  • "Up Where We Belong” (Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warrens)

  • "You Are So Beautiful” (Joe Cocker)

  • "Woman” (John Lennon)

  • "I Swear” (John Michael Montgomery)

  • "Chances Are” (Johnny Mathis)

  • "Beautiful In My Eyes” (Joshua Kadison)

  • "So In Love” (k.d.)
  • "Don't Know Much” (Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville)

  • "What A Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong)

  • "Here And Now” (Luther Vandross)

  • "Dream A Little Dream” (Mamas & the Papas)

  • "Hero” (Mariah Carey)

  • "Grow Old With Me” (Mary Chapin Carpenter)

  • "Embraceable You” (Nat King Cole)
  • "Unforgettable” (Nat King Cole)

  • "When I Fall In Love” (Nat King Cole)

  • "Marry Me” (Neil Diamond & Buffy Lawson)

  • "When A Man Loves A Woman” (Percy Sledge)

  • "After All” (Peter Cetera & Cher)

  • "Glory Of Love” (Peter Cetera)

  • "Wedding Song (There is Love)” (Petula Clark)

  • "Perhaps Love” (Placido Domingo & John Denver)

  • "Forever and Ever, Amen” (Randy Travis)

  • "You Are the Everything" (R.E.M.)

  • "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" (R.E.O. Speedwagon)

  • "Unchained Melody” (Righteous Brothers)

  • "Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You” (Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson)

  • "Truly, Madly, Deeply” (Savage Garden)

  • "Kiss From A Rose” (Seal)

  • "Dreaming Of You” (Selena)

  • "From This Moment” (Shania Twain & Brian White)

  • "You're Still The One” (Shania Twain)

  • "If I Never Knew You” (Shanice Wilson & John Secada)

  • "True” (Spandau Ballet)

  • "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” (Stevie Wonder)

  • "I Believe (When I Fall in Love)" (Stevie Wonder)

  • "Ma Cherie Amour" (Stevie Wonder)

  • "Give a Little Bit" (Supertramp)

  • "Eternal Flame” (The Bangles)

  • "I Will” (The Beatles)

  • "In My Life” (The Beatles)

  • "Something” (The Beatles)

  • "We've Only Just Begun” (The Carpenters)

  • "In The Still of the Night” (The Five Satins)

  • "I Only Have Eyes For You” (The Flamingos)

  • "A Groovy Kind Of Love” (The Mindbenders)

  • "Oh, How The Years Go By” (Vanessa Williams)

  • "Will You Marry Me?” (Vonda Shepard)

  • "Hold Me” (Whitney Houston & Teddy Pendergrass)

- Elizabeth Doherty Thomas, is a co-founder of The First Dance, along with Marriage and Family therapist father Dr. William J. Doherty.  The First Dance was a Modern Bride Trendsetter award winner in 2007 for taking on the complex family dynamics of wedding planning.  Read Take Back Your Wedding: Managing the People Stress of Wedding Planning for more advice on working through the people stresses of wedding planning as a couple, with your families, and how to strengthen your upcoming marriage through this enormous first task of married life.

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