The bride’s guide to all things wedding dances..
This blog is for all brides and grooms to be and covers everything from how to decide what dance to do, choosing music, finding a dance studio and tips and tricks for enjoying your first dance.
Ready to take the next step? It’s time to find your perfect match of a dance studio and teacher that will make your wedding dance extra special. So, where do you start?
First, think about the best location for your lessons, close to home, close to work or somewhere in between? It’s also a good idea to give some thought to timing so you can book lessons when you are both full of energy and able to concentrate on your lesson, during the day, straight after work or after dinner are all popular times, in fact, one of our wedding couples have a standing lesson on a Friday and then head off for dinner to start their weekend on a bright note.
Get Googling and check out what’s available in your chosen location, you’ll probably find there is a mix including:
- Social focus dance studios
- Competitive dance-based studio
- Community or hire space studios
- At home lessons
Check out all the websites to get a feeling for prices and how they each operate. If there isn’t a dedicated page for weddings you may find wedding dances are not their main priority, also check out the profiles of instructors and see if they have instructors that specialise in wedding dances.
Put together a short list and give them a call. Here are some questions you can ask
- How long have they been operating? Are they purpose built dance studios or operate from a hired space?
- What are their hours and does that work with your time schedule?
- Is it one-on-one lessons or a group class with other couples? Trust us, group lessons are not the best way to learn your wedding dance!
- Can you “pay as you go” or do they sign you up for a contract? Hint, often contract studios won’t give you pricing over the phone
- Do they offer packages? How much do lessons cost? FYI, the average lesson cost is between $80 – $150 for 45 minutes to an hour
- What is their cancellation policy? Wedding couples sometimes need to cancel at the last minute due to appointments etc, so it pays to know if you will be charged if you give less than 24 hours’ notice
- Do they offer an introductory lesson? It’s important to make sure you get to meet the instructor and see the studio before you book your lessons. You also need to make sure your personalities click with your instructor, after all, you’ll be spending between 8 and 10 hours with them
When you contact the studios, here are a couple things they should ask you
- What is your vision for your wedding dance? This is important as it shows that the instructor is doing their research and will tailor lessons to suit you
- Have you thought about a music choice? If you haven’t, they should be able to help you choose something that works with your personalities and the instructor can choreograph steps to.
Ask yourself, will this be fun or is it all a bit serious? In my opinion wedding dances are a celebration, so learning should be light hearted and fun.
My last bit of advice; never let an instructor tell you what’s wrong or right or force you to do something that you’re not comfortable with. Your instructor should be there as your mentor and cheerleader. After all, at the end of the day it’s all about you and your partner.
For more information catch up with our previous blogs and find out more at www.sdcompany.com.au/weddings
My name is Dani Bliss and I’ve been choreographing and teaching couples their wedding dances for over 15 years. Last year I got married and experienced the wedding dance from a whole new perspective.
