One of the biggest fears of any bride and groom is interaction at their wedding reception. Why? because they are scared that the DJ will do something foolish or dis-tasteful to embarrass their guests. Weddings need more interaction than ever, however, we have to do it in a tasteful matter that will involve almost everyone and be fun at the same time.
The Anniversary dance, if done correctly, will not only pack your dance floor but is a very tasteful icebreaker that involves almost everyone (married) at your wedding. Sometimes you will never see “all” of your guests dancing, but this will guarantee at least “all” of your married couples are out there dancing at least one song at your reception.
What we do differently... After making a few announcements that you are inviting everyone to join the bride and groom on the dance floor for the anniversary dance, you play a classic song to start and then start excusing those in order of marriage. We usually start with 8 hours or so (find out ahead of time when the bride and groom said I do) that usually gets a laugh. Then, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, and so forth. BUT>>>>>>>> WE DO NOT excuse them from the dance floor, we (you must repeat this 3 to 4 times) excuse them to form a circle around the dance floor in a circle to salute the longest married couples.
As we get down to 40 years and over, there is an amazing atmosphere that develops of ooohs, ahhhs and applause each time we do the countdown and get higher. When we have 1 couple left we finish the dance out to “Young at Heart by Jimmy Durante,” get the couple's name, and ask how many years they've been together. We do announce it and sometimes ask for some advice for the newlyweds.
NOW……………after doing all of this you didn’t realize one thing……….WE HAVE A PACKED DANCE FLOOR already in a circle.. what do we do…….Right into an awesome song for all ages. Sometimes we us the twist, sometimes we do Shout, and sometimes we use Old Time Rock N Roll.. These are songs that everyone knows and likes and is GUARANTEED to keep at least 40 to 50% of your group dancing.
The above way is just how we do it. It is a great way to get everyone involved and keep the evening moving. In most cases brides and grooms do not want to do the garter and bouquet anymore, therefore we use this as an alternative. If they have the bouquet as an extra, we have them present that to the longest-married couple. In some cases, we have had brides and grooms present bottles of wine, champagne, and even some unique things.
Good luck and contact us for more information on some of the ways we can help with tasteful interaction at your wedding reception.