The wedding planning process isn’t always stressful. Some parts of it are actually pretty fun! One of those things is choosing the songs for your first dances. Typically at the reception the bride and groom share a first dance followed by the bride and her father and the groom and his mother. Today, I’m sharing some tips for making these decisions along with my top picks for first dance songs!
Tips for pick your first dance song with your groom:
- Make it a fun process! Turn on some music and listen/dance together.
- Narrow it down to 3 songs before deciding on the final song. This will make it easier to choose with fewer choices.
- Decide if the song will be played from recording or live if you have a band. We chose live since we had a band.
- Practice dancing to the song if you want or don’t! We didn’t because we just wanted to be in the moment and not worry about choreographed dance moves. This part is strictly up to you as a couple.
My top ten favorite songs for the bride/groom first dance:
- You Are The Best Thing – Ray LaMontagne (This was our first dance song!)
- Beyond – Leon Bridges (This song didn’t exist when we got married but it probably would’ve been our first dance!)
- You & Me – Dave Matthews Band
- XO – John Mayer
- Tupelo Honey – Van Morrison
- When A Man Loves A Woman – Percy Sledge
- Your Song – Elton John
- Just The Way Your Are – Billy Joel
- From The Ground Up – Dan + Shay
- This – Darius Rucker
Tips for choosing father/daughter and mother/son dance songs:
- Choose the song together with your father or mother!
- Make it one that represents your relationship together.
- It can be fun or serious! Whatever fits your personalities best.
- Once you’ve chosen the song decide if it will be a recording or played live by the band if you’re having one.
My top ten picks for the father/daughter dance song:
- Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison (This is what we used! It was so fun.)
- My Girl – The Temptations
- Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
- In My Life – The Beatles
- Daughters – John Mayer
- You Are My Sunshine – Johnny Cash
- American Girl – Tom Petty
- I’ll Be There – Jackson 5
- You’ve Got A Friend – James Taylor
- How Sweet It Is – James Taylor
My top ten picks for mother/song dance songs:
- Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
- The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra
- Wonderful Tonight – Eric Calpton
- You’ll Be In My Heart – Phil Collins
- What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
- Forever Young – Rod Stewart
- You’re My Best Friend – Queen
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye
- Stand By Me – Ben E. King
- Landslide – Fleetwood Mac
I hope this gave you some ideas to help you get started in the process of choosing your first dance songs! Let me know if you have any favorites in the comments!
Love,
Megan