What was your first dance like?

DH and I just slow danced. No special choreography or lessons. Although we did "practice" a few nights before the wedding.

We slow danced... I swing danced later and I tripped on my dress and my partner (one of the groomsmen) also stepped/slid on my dress... I think it depends on what kind of dress you have. A waltz might be nice, but idk.

It was one of the only times we got to be ALONE uninterrupted. I didn't want to talk through it but we did chat a little, quick dancing wouldn't have allowed that. They have waltzing videos on YouTube so you could just practice in your living room.

We did private lessons, but did not do a choreographed dance. We picked a song and learned to dance to it, and also practiced at home. It went well I think

If you do private lessons, you'll probably get more out of it than a group class. Group classes are good if you generally want to learn how to ballroom dance, but if you want to specifically learn how to dance in a specific style then I would always recommend private. They are more expensive, which is why I recommend practicing inbetween to make the most out of each lesson. I think we only had about 5-ish lessons and we were fine.

We took lessons and I'm glad we did. We did a group class for Swing and Hustle, and my best friend and her husband took that class too. That was very useful. For our first dance, we had four private lessons with the same instructor as the group class. She incorporated some swing steps and also taught us some foxtrot. We did pretty well except for the fact that I kept stepping on my own dress. It's very different than dancing in jeans. We were cracking up every time one of us tripped on the dress, so the pictures ended up looking really good.

Oh, also I had a second dress for the reception (cultural) but I also specifically picked it so that I could do the Viennese waltz.

Having a heavy skirt is ok, as long as it is well bustled.

We just slow danced and he dipped me at the end. No regrets there - I think it would have been fun to choreograph it but neither of us like being the center of attention so we didn't want much pressure. It was still sweet and romantic.

I was a ballroom dancer for years and H did cotillion, so we didn't take lessons, we really just needed to brush up on our skills. We did do a full Viennese waltz with spins and dips, but again, that was pretty familiar to me, so I wasn't worried about doing it in a large skirt. The main thing is to make sure it is bustled properly so you aren't tripping over it! It's also nice to practice to the actual song you'll be dancing to so that your feet can figure out the rhythm and movement of the song. Remember that your first dance is a special, intimate moment between you and your FH, even if there are dozens of people watching you; don't worry too much about impressing other people, and do what you feel comfortable with!

We took lessons and ended up not using them. We just didn't have enough time to practice. We just slowed danced. It literally felt like we were the only 2 people in the room...until our kids interrupted us (on purpose) and we closed it as a family dance.

I've been considering doing just one private lesson. Not to choreograph anything, but I think it would help us "move" a little bitter. We've practiced a couple of times, and FH just literally sways like we're in 8th grade...we'll see. May not have much time to schedule it at this point!

We did a slow dance, no lessons although we also practiced a few times in the kitchen in the month leading up to the wedding. That alone was super helpful if you decide not to pursue lessons. Neither of us have any formal training, and I'm probably just like your FH, completely hopeless!

We sort of did the middle school waddle I guess, but mixed it up by switching up our hand position throughout the song. Sometimes my arms would be around his shoulders, sometimes we were hugging, and sometimes one of our hands would be together like in traditional dancing. DH spun me a few times (which we practiced in the kitchen) and he did a dip at the very end.

Awesome! I think we may try like an intro package with a couple private lessons and a couple group classes and see how we feel from there.

We couldn't dip because DH had had back surgery and he was still sore from it, over a month later. We waddled because I didn't want to hurt him.

Some friends of mine were gifted with lessons and had full choreography for their first dance. I thought it looked great (no real formal dance training/experience), but afterwards they mentioned they messed up a lot. The skirt shouldn't make a difference as long as it's bustled. But if you'd be paying for the lessons, and don't have a lot of ballroom dancing experience, it may not be worth it.

We wish we would have started sooner! I think we started back in March for this weekend. We also would have done longer lessons (double sessions) in the beginning to accomplish more - 45 minute lessons are tough productivity-wise, and I ended up choreographing about half of it myself because we only had our instructor's choreography brain during our lessons. We also should have practiced between lessons to retain what we learned and not to waste precious lesson time reviewing. We still need lots of practice and we're running out of time, but it's been fun! Was expensive though.

I'm also concerned about quite a lot of dress...

ETA: I've been dancing most of my life (so I guess that's like 35 years) and FH was in musicals as a kid and in high school and college.

Our friends did dance lessons and I was not a fan of their first dance! They were definitely thinking/concentrating/counting steps. It wasn't romantic AT ALL. Do you and FH ever slow-dance at weddings? Even if you just sway a bit, and he spins you around every now and then, that's plenty. I'm of the opinion that the first dance is for YOU, not for your audience. During our first dance, even though we did a first look, it was our first real moment *alone* after we were married and it was very special to have that special time alone on the dance floor! We pretty much just swayed to the music, but DH does have one "signature" dance move which is a spin and dip, so we busted that out near the end of the song on a whim, and our guests loved it! I would say try to find a happy medium between choreographed dance and adding in a few moves.

I agree with PP that if I did dance lessons, I think it would look fake and forced. I know us, and we would be concentrating and not having fun! But we are pretty bad dancers definitely the 8th grade swaying is our signature move. We'll probably just wing it!

We also just slow-danced. It seemed more intimate to me than having to worry about what steps we were going to do next. We sang to each other a little bit too and like others have said - we did a little twirl in between and a dip in the end. It was perfect in my eyes. But everyone is different.

We actually did a full blown choreographed dance. I've been performing since middle school, so I wasn't worried about suddenly forgetting the steps. The thing I found interesting though is how connected it made me feel to DH. It was like we were the only two people in the room. People seemed to like it, but even if they didn't, it was such a special moment between us that I wouldn't do it any differently. ETA: we actually did 2 dances. Technically, our first dance was the stand and sway in my wedding dress. To open the dance floor, we did the choreographed dance, and I was in a shorter dress that I didn't have to worry about stepping on.