Love Your First Dance

Your wedding day is all about you.

Obviously you want the entire day to go perfectly, especially your first dance. This is a moment that you will want to remember forever. For your first dance song, you will probably want to choose something romantic, meaningful, and easy to dance to. With that criteria, there are so many songs to choose from, that’s where planning music with an experienced wedding DJ comes into play! Some couples have “their song” in mind months before they even start planning the wedding. While others may still be wondering what will be that perfect first dance song.

Spotify Playlist: First Dance Songs

*Updated for 2021 weddings

Thankfully, our Mike Staff Productions wedding DJs have put together a playlist with some of their top first dance song choices. They have included the classics and some more modern hits. This playlist will get you thinking, or even help you pick your song! FYI – over 4,000 people are following this playlist on our Spotify account!

1. Love – Lana Del Rey
2. Helium – Sia
3. How Would You Feel (Paean) – Ed Sheeran
4. Perfect Duet – Ed Sheeran & Beyonce
5. God Only Knows – John Legend
6. Prisoner – Ryan Adams
7. Say You Won’t Let Go – James Arthur
8. What Would It Take – Anderson East
9. How Long Will I Love You – Ellie Goulding
10. Mona June – Slightly Stoopid, Angela
11. New Year’s Day – Taylor Swift
12. Never Be The Same – Camila Cabello
13. Look At You – Seth Ennix
14. Eyes On You – Chase Rice
15. Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha, Florida Georgia Line
16. Legends – Kelsea Ballerini
17. Greatest Love Story – LANCO
18. Yours – Russell Dickerson
19. River – Leon Bridges
20. I’ll Name The Dogs – Blake Shelton
21. Best Part – Daniel Caesar, H.E.R.
22. My Forever – Tamar Braxton
23. Speechless – Dan + Shay
24. Made For You – Jake Owen
25. Blessed – Thomas Rhett
26. I Don’t Dance – Lee Brice
27. Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
28. You and Me – Lifehouse
29. 10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
30. Lover – Taylor Swift
31. Beyond – Leon Bridges
32. Adore You – Harry Styles
33. Conversations in the Dark – John Legend
34. Finally // Beautiful Stranger – Halsey
35. Yours – Russell Dickerson
36. Homesick – Kane Brown
37. Ease My Mind – Ben Platt
38. 10,000 Hours (Piano Version) – Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
39. Lover (First Dance Remix) – Taylor Swift
40. Best Part of Me – Ed Sheeran
41. Lifetime – Justin Bieber
42. Joy of My Life -Chris Stapleton
43. Your Song – Elton John 
44. Reflecting Light – Sam Phillips
45. Nothing Can Change This Love – Sam Cooke
46. Prayed For You – Matt Stell
47. I’ll Follow You – Shinedown
48. Best Part of Me – Ed Sheeran & YEBBA
49. Fall into Me – Brantley Gilbert
50. From the Ground Up – Dan + Shay
51. You Make It Look So Easy – Eric Church
52. If You Love Her – Forest Blakk & Meghan Trainor
53. Yours – Ella Henderson 
54. Blessings – Florida Georgia Line
55. Baby I’m Yours – Arctic Monkeys
56. My Side of the Fence – Dan + Shay
57. Love Someone – Lukas Graham
58. Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton 
59. A Face to Call Home – John Mayer
60. The Bones – Maren Morris
61. Wherever you will go – The Calling
62. I Get To Love You – Ruelle
63. Promise To Love Her – Blane Howard
64. Always Remember Us This Way – Lady Gaga
65. A Million Dreams – Greatest Showman  
66. Cowboys & Angels – Dustin Lynch
67. Give Into Me – Garrett Hedlund & Leighton Meester
68. Falling Like the Stars – James Arthur
69. You’re My Best Friend – Queen
70. Better Together – Luke Combs
71. Darling – Roan Ash
72. I Am Yours – Andy Grammer 
73. Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
74. You Are The Reason – Calum Scott

7 Tips to Have a Magical First Dance

Let’s set the scene: your wedding DJ calls your name and asks for you to head to the dance floor. You’re standing there with your new spouse, under the spotlight, while family and friends start to crowd around. It’s time for your first spin around the dance floor as a married couple. Check out these 7 tips to make that moment truly magical. 

1. Choose A Meaningful Wedding Song

Select a song you both love and one that keeps an easy beat, especially if you’re beginning dancers. When your song lasts longer than the usual three minutes, ask your DJ to fade the ending. Remember: frazzled dancers don’t dazzle. 

2. Take Professional Dance Lessons

Group lessons can be intimidating, but private lessons remove the pressure of dancing for an audience. Your instructor will teach you according to your ability level. With private instruction, beginners can quickly master the basics with confidence. Dancing, like music, lifts the spirit and is so much more enjoyable when shared with your significant other. 

3. Decides Who Follows & Who Leads

Gender no longer has anything to do with your decision. Choose the pattern that makes you comfortable. There’s nothing wrong with following a simple lead. Being able to follow the leader creates confidence in the follower and makes a more pleasurable dance for the leader, too. If you’re feeling brave and brassy, create a dance that switches leads once or twice during the routine.

4. Surprise Your Guests!

A pre-planned (choreographed) dip or a twirl makes a splashy statement without the tricky toe work of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. These moves are not only easy, but they offer impressive photo opportunities for still shots and videographers. When you look at them in the future, your photos will take you back to these moments with pride and a satisfied chuckle.

5. Plan Your Entrance and Exit on the Dance Floor

Will you clasp hands and kiss before you begin? Will you sashay in from the left and leave to the right? Whatever you decide, be sure to tell your camera operators where and in what direction you will start and finish your dance, as well as any choreographed moves you plan to make. That way, they can prepare to capture the moment in its best light and with the correct angle.

6. Get To Know Your Dance Floor

Check out the floor you will dance on. Make sure you know its dimensions. Some styles of dancing (like Foxtrot) require a bigger space. Other styles like nightclub two step don’t require much space. Have a good idea of the size and shape your wedding reception dance floor will be so that you can practice and get used to dancing in that amount of space.

7. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice on a busy dance floor in a public place. You can also practice at home, of course, (preferably in front of a large, floor-length mirror), but you also need the experience of dancing in front of an audience. Practice your routine at least a couple of times per week, for several weeks, until your feet seem to move without much help from your mind. Concentrate on having fun, and your guests will jump to join you on the dance floor.

Ready to hire your own Wedding DJ?

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all wedding DJ, and we get that. What you want on your wedding day is important to us, that’s why we invite you to be a part of the process. Come to our office and get to know different Wedding DJs by watching video profiles until you find the perfect fit!

At Mike Staff Productions, we’ve built our whole business around reclaiming the fun in your wedding planning. Ready to start?