Daniel Green is the front man for an events cover band – Me And Mr Brown. In that capacity, Dan gets to go to a hell of a lot of weddings. Every week, we’ll be bringing you a fresh piece of insight by Dan on weddings, and the wedding industry. Take it away, Dan…

The first dance at a wedding; that most sacrosanct of personal moments in life. I guess that when you are growing up and thinking that one day you may tie the knot, the image of some sort of first dance will creep through one’s mind.

The first dance remains a pivotal part of a modern day wedding. It’s often the part of proceedings that the grooms we have worked with fear the most. I imagine them lying awake at night in a cold sweat dreading the fact that they will, for a few minutes at least, be subjected to the gaze of their guests as they put in some moves on the dance-floor.

My philosophy on first dances, when I get asked about what one should do is simple…..just chill the f**k out.

I’d say that 30% of brides and grooms we play for go to dance lessons to prepare their first dance. I find this figure incredibly high. What is this? The 1930’s or something?! I come from the “hold her tight and sway” school of thought when it comes to the first dance.

Again, as with so many other posts on this blog, I really do risk the danger of shooting myself in the foot with these thoughts. I really don’t mean to offend- these are just my own personal thoughts but in my opinion the following should all be banned when it comes to opening the dance floor at one’s wedding;

1. Dance lessons.; why the f**k would you go through potentially hours of mind-numbingly dull, highly pressured, unpleasant, uncomfortable, argument-inducing dance classes. It’s your wedding day- the happiest day of your life. Why have a pre-coordinated dance routine lined up slap bang in the middle of the evening, which you have to spend the whole day worrying about?
2. Those CRAYZEEEEE first dances; Please stop these immediately now. The amount of people who asked me to play the first thirty seconds of Jason Mraz before changing it into 50 Cent or something similar is getting ridiculous. These types of first dances were brilliant up until now but it’s time folks to knock these on the head. It’s been done to death, it’s not funny or spontaneous any more so please stop it.
3. Jason Mraz- please just ban him now from all first dances.

Brides and grooms often ask me what their first dances should be. The answer is that I don’t have a clue- it’s such a personal choice. It must be a song that means something to you, not to me. The best first dance I ever heard was Johnny Clegg’s “Dela” at a wedding we played in Clarens a couple of years back, followed closely by the Pointer Sisters’ “Jump” which was so out there and such a breath of fresh air.

Still looking for your better half, with whom to share that first dance? You can meet your potential bride or groom to be on Yes Dates.