How to Pick something fresh for your First Dance Song

Everyone wants their wedding day to be unique, but if we’re being honest, as a wedding DJ, some things end up feeling played out once you’ve been to enough weddings. If you’re in the 27-35 age range, there’s a good chance that your wedding won’t be the only reception you attend in any particular year. Also, there’s a good chance you’ll see and hear a couple of things that you had already planned for your reception.

Avoiding songs stuck on repeat

Off the top of your head, you can probably rattle off about three or four songs that you’ve heard at least once before at a wedding. If not, search for the best songs for your first dance, and you’ll find them in the top 10 of 95% of the curated lists. (Think Christina Perri, Ed Sheeran, Etta James)

While there are limits to originality, when it comes to picking a song for your first dance, there is a MUCH deeper pool of music to select from than what you found when searching for the perfect first dance song.

We get how important creating a unique experience is, so we made a list of all the first dance choices of our clients over the past two years and picked out a few of our favorites that we only played once. The other requirements included:

The song must be easy to dance to
The lyrics to be appropriate for a first dance
There had to be AT LEAST one tear shed in the crowd (sometimes our own)

Taking a modern approach

The only way to make sure no one “steals” your song is to pick a song so new that no one heard it yet. While you probably shouldn’t wait until the very last minute to choose an appropriate song from the Billboard 200, selecting a piece from the previous year or so is a great way to choose something original. Our pick?

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Over and Over Again by Nathan Sykes & Ariana Grande

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Picking an underdog

As time goes on, classic artists become known for their hits rather than their music catalog as a whole. Sometimes if you dig a little deeper, you can find a few gems. Ella Fitzgerald is a staple when it comes to classic love songs, but when it comes to first dance songs, Cheek to Cheek, get’s most of the spins. Our Pick:

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The Nearness Of You · Ella Fitzgerald · Louis Armstrong

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These are just two selections of the millions of songs you could choose for this special moment. Even if these songs aren’t exactly what you’re looking for, we hope you take away some tools to find that perfect song for your first dance.