Ahhhh your first Dance – a tradition that stems back from goodness knows when, and one that you seemingly have to include whether you’re a trained dancer or, like many of us, have two left feet. If the thought of dancing with your new spouse in front of everyone fills you with dread then you’re in luck! It’s the 2020s now and thankfully, it’s perfectly OK to throw tradition out of the window and do something else entirely. Yep! You don’t have to have a first dance! Hooray!

If you’ve chosen not to put yourself through the awkwardness of a slow dance while everyone watches but still want to stick with tradition, why not consider an upbeat first dance song instead? It will make it far more likely that your friends and family will want to join you as soon as possible to get the party started, so you might only end up dancing alone for a few seconds.

First Dance Alternatives

If you’re reading this post, it’s probable that you’d rather do pretty much anything than suffer through an unnecessary first dance, so read on to find out some super alternatives!

Simply Don’t Have One!

This is the simplest option of them all. Just skip the first dance altogether. Put on a banging party tune and get the party started straight away. Your guests will be more than happy to hit the dance floor, especially if you explain to them that you’d rather start partying than have them witness an epic fail of a dance.

Play A Game

If you want to entertain your guests, why not opt for a game instead? You could play the Wedding shoe game, a scavenger hunt or something totally different. Why not become famous couples and try to guess who you are using yes/no questions? There are so many options available, all of which are great alternatives to a first dance and will provide a fun experience for everyone.

A Wedding Party Dance

If you like the idea of a dance but can’t fathom the thought of it being just the two of you, why not ask your wedding party to dance along with you? You could choose a traditional first dance song and simply ask your wedding party to join you or inject some fun by choreographing a routine instead if everyone’s up for it! To give you some ideas, here are our favourite wedding dance routines.

Karaoke

Perhaps you and your partner are singers instead of dancers and would prefer to serenade your guests with a song instead? You could hire a karaoke machine or even better, hire a band that offers Bandeoke! It’s just like karaoke, except you’ll have a live band accompanying you, and then your guests can have a go too! It’s such a fun type of wedding entertainment that everyone will probably not even notice you haven’t had a first dance!

Bandeoke Heroes

Indulge In Your Hobbies

Do you and your partner have something that you really enjoy doing together or a hobby that means a lot to you? Why not indulge in your passion as a first dance alternative? You could have a Lego building competition between you and your partner (or even include all your guests as well), a light saber fight, a Mario Kart competition or a Guitar Hero duel – whatever makes you tick as a couple can be incorporated in a fun and engaging way into your wedding and will make for a fantastic alternative to a first dance.

Have A Sparkler Party

Wait until it gets dark (easier said than done in the height of summer, we know!) and ask your guests to line up facing each other to create a pathway for you both to walk through. Give everyone a sparkler and take a glittering walk as a married couple towards your dance floor and get ready for some serious partying! You could play an awesome wedding entrance song to get everyone excited for what’s to come. This option provides a stunning photo opportunity as you can see below.

Martin Brunel Photography

Have A First Cocktail

If you like a drink, the idea of creating your own special cocktail for your wedding day is very appealing! You could have fun playing around with ingredients before your special day and create this delicacy yourself, or choose a tried and tested recipe and rename it in honour of your nuptials. Cocktail hours are becoming a really popular option to follow speeches and make for the perfect opportunity for this unusual alternative to a first dance. Be the first to sample your delicious concoction by linking arms and have a drink as your nearest and dearest cheer and clap. Then they can join you in a toast to your marriage!

Share A Slide Show

This is such a cute idea! Create a slideshow of your lives together, starting with your first date, all the way through to your wedding day! (You can always get a tech-savvy usher to take some photos of as much of your day as possible and add them into the show last-minute.) You can include images of important moments throughout your relationship, including photos from your engagement, holidays, family photos and anything else that shows how happy you are as a couple. You could even go back further and start with baby and childhood photos. By making a slide show you can still choose a sentimental song to play as the backing track. If you choose this option, keep the presentation to the same length as the song you’ve chosen, and don’t choose a song that’s too long! Otherwise you might get a few guests who get distracted and end up on their phones instead. Three to four minutes is ideal.

Have A Special Song Performed

If you have a song that means something to you but just can’t bear to dance to it, you can still have it performed so you get that special moment without the embarrassment. Live music always feels more magical than the original recording and if you hire a wedding band or an acoustic soloist or rock and pop duo they will normally learn a special request for you free of charge, then play you through an exciting evening of unforgettable live entertainment. Perfect!

Kiki James

How Do I Hire Wedding Entertainment?

Whether you’re choosing an alternative to a first dance or not, you simply can’t beat the atmosphere created by live musicians at your wedding. If you’d like to hire a wedding band, musician or entertainer for your special day, you can find the best acts available for hire by browsing the fantastic selection of talented artists at Entertainment Nation. Simply click the link below and choose from the most exciting wedding entertainment around. Fill in the enquiry form on the profile of the act you love, and we’ll get back to you ASAP!

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