Everybody, Grab a Piece of Real Estate on the Dance Floor!

I know a lot of brides out there think that they need to take dance lessons, or have some sort of fancy dance recital or routine or whatever. Guess what? No. You. Don't.

Here's the deal: The Candyman doesn't have dancing high on his list of his favorite things to do. He LOVES music. Dancing? Not so much. He's not a bad dancer at all. I really enjoy dancing with him, when it happens. I knew from the start that any sort of dancing requests would fall on deaf ears and honestly, I could care less about it. I don't think anyone else really does either, unless maybe you come from a family of ballroom dancers. Then, you might need to show out a little. I think if you just get out there and get your sway on, no one will care. What it is, like 4 minutes? Tops? People can be bored for 4 minutes while you stand in one spot and dance (sway) your first dance together as husband and wife.

What I do think is important is the song. A lot of couples don't have an official "song." That's OK. We happened to have a song. It's called Heavenly Day by Patti Griffin. Patti is one of my all-time favorite artists and I took The Candyman to see her at The Ryman (aka The Grand 'Ol Opry for you non-locals) in the early days of dating. To be truthful, I think The Candyman fell in love with me a little that night. :)

Here's "our song." Patti claims that it's the first love song she ever wrote - and it's about her dog. That's OK with us!

One suggestion that I have if you don't have a "song" is to look at different version of songs you really like. Do you have to have What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong that's been played and played and played and played and played and played at weddings for forever and a day? OK, then how about it a cover by any of the following:

The Flaming Lips

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Natalie Cole

Keb Mo'

Cold Play

Katie Melula

Celine Dion (*gag*)

John Legend (yum)

Beth Orton

Kenngy G (yeah, I wrote it, whacchu gonna do about it?)

Lovin' on The Candyman!

I have no idea what's going on here, but I thought it was a hysterical picture.

The Candyman is whispering sweet, sweet somethings!

The big finish! This is as fancy as we got with our dancing!

Even though I wasn't real happy with our DJ when all was said and done, we did make the most of it and I think those interested in dancing had a good time doing so. I know my dad and I had a grand time dancing to our Father/Daughter dance. I let him choose the song and he picked "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Still, Nash and Young. At first I thought it was a little corny, but then when I looked up the lyrics, I realized how perfect it really was. My dad is a really good dancer so all I had to do was relax and let him lead.

I have no idea why we're sticking our tongues out at each other. We just roll like that.

And of course, I dragged a bunch of people out to dance after our formal dances. There was an odd, sort of impromptu dance ambush by the waiters at Mere Bulles. It might be their schtick for weddings, but I thought it was awesome! They all came out with their sunglasses on and got down. It was really the one thing that truly surprised me since I had no idea they were going to do it.

Oh, by the way - our waiters were hot.

Gettin' down with Mom!

The Candyman is serious about this groove!

All I'm trying to say is HAVE FUN! It's a party, after all. If you think it's important to have a super-formal official first dance, then by all means, go for lessons, do whatever. However, if you're trying to stick to a budget, it's not one of those things that I think is a must have.  Then again, we blew a bunch of cash on our phat ride and that certainly wasn't important. We just wanted it. So go. Do your thing. Boogie.