How Long Should First Dances Be?

Have you been to a wedding when the first dance took 4 minutes? And then the bride danced with her dad to a full song, and so did the groom and his mom?  By the time this was all done, 12 – 15 minutes have passed? While sentimental, this can really cut into your wedding day timeline and be a long time for guests to stay attentive.  So, How long should the first dances be?

We understand you want to have that first dance with your partner, and maybe (depending on family dynamics) you’ll also want to have a dance to honour your parents.  Your partner may want to do this as well.  The trick here learning how to be efficient with your time, keep all the emotional significance, and also get some great pictures.

Have your first dance for 3 to 4 minutes.  It’s your day, take your time!  For the parent dance, have one of you start, then your partner can join with their parent after a minute.  After one more minute of dancing, we suggest inviting your guests to join you! Everyone is on the dance floor in 7 minutes or less!

Do you want a choreographed first dance? Or maybe a mashup that starts romantic and turns into a rap battle? Both options are a lot of fun probably reflect your personalities and are therefore important.  There is no right or wrong way to hold these dances – do what suits you best!

Need to be more formal?  Keep the separate dances with each parent but let us help you choose shorter songs or create shortened edits of your parents’ favourite song that is less than 3 minutes.

First dances are usually something important to do first so the party can start afterwards.

If you have your first dance when you are introduced, you will get to the party quicker after dinner.  Then, when your parents come up to give their speech, you dance with them right after their speech.