Open Dance after Bride & Groom’s First Dance Before Dinner? Check Your Flow

Posted by in Wedding Advice | 0 comments

Altadena Town & Country Club Wedding (7)

Picking an “Open Dance” set or song before dinner can be done, assuming it provides the right flow.

I just finished a consultation with a Bride & Groom for their wedding and we discussed doing an “Open Dance” of one song with all of the guests immediately following their first dance, which is happening before dinner.  (As opposed to having the first Open Dance after dinner to start off the dancing portion of the night. )  Having everyone come out to the dancefloor before dinner is a nice way to change things up a bit, get everyone out of their seats and do something unique.

This bride actually attended a wedding recently where it happened, and the couple had picked out a specific first “open dance” song since it had special meaning to their families and close friends.

But it turns out that we decided against it. Why?

A few reasons . . . First, their Dance was choreographed with a special ending to the end of the song, meaning things would go to silence (along with an applause from the crowd.)  Second, the “first” open dance that the couple wanted was also a slow dance. It would have been a bit awkward to finish the first dance to silence, then start things back up again with another slow song only to go back to their seats right after. Had it been an uptempo song, it flows a bit better.  Finally, the Open Dance cut into the dinner hour and the couple wanted to get guests eating as quick as possible to party the rest of the night.

Had the all hands dance been uptempo to really change things up and/or the start of dinner not been as critical, it could have worked.  Or, had the all-hands dance been able to merge/blend in with the first dance along with something like “Please join the couple in finishing their dance” and then going into the second song, it would have been a better setup.

We ended up doing the first “open dance” song after the family dances and invited everyone out to the dancefloor following a more typical flow.

Either way, Remember to envision the overall flow, especially some of the smaller details when planning out each and every activity throughout your wedding.

Tags:, ,

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *