what does eevryone think of 'surprise' first dances??

We did think about it but I think unless you choreograph it down to the last detail it can end up looking rubbish. I did see one recently where they did this and as they didn't do a set routine for the silly part it just fell flat after 30 seconds.

They can work but I would do a proper routine and to something original that hasn't been done before. We're just having a "normal" first dance but I want others to join in after the first chorus else I think people will get bored!

I think it's a bit of fun and if I was at a wedding where the Bride and Groom did that then it would be a blast!

There are some brilliant ones but think it takes effort. We had an unusal ish song (NIce day for a white wedding) which lent it self to lots of energtic jumping around and ripping down the balloon net (great fun lol).

For me personally I like upbeat first dances rather than slow shuffles but thats just me.

Some are so cheesy and cringeworthy!

But I have to confess I love the Dirty Dancing ones.. ?

Hiya

We did a suprise first dance, tbh I think watching 5 minutes of the side step shuffle is boring ! We had our first dance to Aerosmith "Don't want to Miss A Thing" and we recorded the music so when he did the high pitched screech it cut into the Macarena, then into the YMCA and then we did The Timewarp, before cutting back into Aerosmith.

It went down really really well with everybody, people are still talking about it, we did practice it a couple of times before hand so we both knew what we were doing and when the music was going to change. Seeing the look on peoples faces was priceless !

I would go for it, just make sure you practice before hand !

With people joining in after the first verse - how does this work? Does the DJ announce that people should join the dance floor or something? We have chosen a very slow first song/dance but h2b is a terrible dancer and really will just shuffle about and feel very embarrassed. I think he'd much rather only be in the spotlight for a short time.

Sammy - I'm just going to gesticulate wildly at my guests and get them up. Our song is vay slow too and I don't want them to get bored watching me and the boy shuffling.

I think they can look fab. But i know we would look wooden trying anything like that.

We are doing the wedding march for our first dance, hoping to have a Piper lead the way. It means all the guests join in and its traditional in Scotland. We are both English but now live in Scotland. I think it will be nice when family come to the wedding and get to see things done the Scottish way. x

Just watched your utube clip Eliza, it looks brilliant and i would love it but my H2B really does have two left feet. I could see ripped dress disasters etc...lol

Spotted this one there two and it looks brilliant. x

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUHixgYVw08&feature=related:550:0]

With my brides, I always arrange with them beforehand. I always know what part of the song they want me to invite either the bridesmaids, wedding party or all guests up to join them....it works well. There's nothing worse than the poor tog trying to capture piccies while the bride and groom are gesturing to their guests to join them! Leave it to the DJ.

On the surprise first dances.... I love them and have often put the mix together and choreographed the routine for them. I have a large mallet i take along so when the slowie starts to crash I walk round my rig with the mallet trying to fix it....and then it goes into the routine. I've got a terrific one coming up in May next year. Lonestar - Amazed into Donald where's your Trousers!!!! It'll be an absolute hoot. Must admit.....of all the different ones I've done....they have all gone down really well and set the scene for a real fun night.

Hmmm my OH is not up for it. mind you i know that I probably would be too scared to do it at the time anyway!! lol

We're hugging and shuffling!!

I love the dirty dancing ones too! I think if you put the effort into it then why not? I think it all adds to the atmosphere. We are going to have professional dance lessons and get them to choreograph a dance for our song. Im not comfortable with the whole shuffling thing.

We did an upbeat 1st dance that no one was expecting, people have said lots of positive thinks about it but I would've only done it if it had been choreographed properly. We had 3 dance lessons to learn but didn't practice as often as we should have as we forgot the end but I hope it looks ok. A friend is gonna upload it to facebook so I'll post it on here if its any good!

We're not planning a 'surprise' dance as such but we're putting together a routine to 'All I want for Christmas is You'. I think it will be slightly less cringey than shuffling around for a few minutes!!!!

My friends did one last year - Bryan Adams into MC Hammer... whilst it was funny I think these dances have almost lost their "surprise" aspect now and I wouldn't want to do what everyone else has done.

Loving the aisle dancing (JK!) but not sure that would go down too well in our church!

Might have to go with the traditional choreography for a nice change!!! And maybe have a funky choreographed dance with the girls later on!

We're doing one! My h2b is desperate to do one! We are having Kci and JoJo ALl my life go into Kci and JoJo tell me its real- the mix by dj luck and mc neat-show me happiness! We are having it all choreographed and will practise loads as Im determined not to look stupid!!x

We've done a few surprise first dances. It's more difficult for a live band to do exactly what the bride and groom want if songs are being changed around. We had 1 bride and groom who wanted "Your Song" by Elton John, but a funky version. We obliged, though it wasn't easy. We have done a couple of "mash up" types where you start with a slow song and then change at a specific point into something funny or fast. These always go down well. But if there's to me more than 2 songs involved, I would say get your DJ involved, as they can often make the "new" song and give you a copy of it to practice to before the wedding. With a live band, you often can't do that as most bands don't have access to recording a song fully rehearsed in enough time for the bride and groom to have a practice to.

If you do choose to do this, I'm sure you will all have an absolute blast.

Have fun!