Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing the steps Drew and I took to prepare for our first dance at our wedding as well as advice on what you can do to successfully nail yours.
If you're a current bride-to-be, then you probably have had a nightmare or two about tripping over your dress in front of your husband and hundreds of your wedding guests that are staring at you intently. Or worse... losing sleep over the thought of your husband stepping on your train and ripping it (even though your train is bustled). Anything can happen right?
Not to worry.. luckily there are many things you can do to relieve these anxieties and walk onto the dance floor confidently and proudly.
So, let me start by sharing what Drew and I did to prepare for our first wedding dance....
First of all, we had Dan and Shay perform their song 'From The Ground Up' live for our first dance. Meaning, we were super super super excited about it but we would also be seriously humiliated if we messed the dance up.
Since Drew had just been traded from the San Diego Padres to the Boston Red Sox, I decided to google ballroom dance lessons in the Boston area. I wasn't even sure if "ballroom" dance lessons was the right thing to google, however, it seemed more accurate then twerk lessons or adult ballet classes.
So, before one of Drew's games, we nervously Ubered over to our ballroom dance sesh to learn how to look a little impressive on the dance floor. Turns out...the teacher was a saint! She was so awesome and fun and we laughed hysterically throughout the entire lesson. In the midst of cracking up at ourselves in the mirror, she taught us how to enter and exit the dance floor, where to properly place our arms, and even some pretty advanced spins and jumps.
Although in the back of my head I knew all of the spins and lifts would probably be impossible to do once I had my wedding dress on, the lesson turned out to be such a blast and something we will remember forever.
During my last dress fitting in LA, my bridal stylist helped teach me a very simplified version of our dance, incase we weren't able to do the dance we learned in Boston due to the long train on my wedding dress. We had my alterations lady video tape us practicing it (lol) so we could quickly show Drew on the day of our wedding.
When our big day arrived, I remember being extremely excited to perform for all of our friends and family. I also remember my wedding planner telling us it was time for us to go to the dance floor. After that, I remember being in a minor state of shock that Dan and Shay was just a few feet away from us singing the song we had practiced to over and over again. Most of all, I remember the massive smile on my face while soaking up the fact that Drew was now my husband. The dance steps, hand placements, twirls and everything else we learned, came out naturally. Woohoo!
Tips for Future Brides:
1. Take at least one dance lesson with your fiancé
2. Practice dancing and walking around in your gown at your fittings.
3. Bring the shoes your going to dance in to your lessons and your fittings.
4. Don't spill dress details to your fiancé. He can be flexible and modify the dance the day of.
5. Savor the moment. Enjoy!
Xx
Carolyn
