THE LAST DANCE

The Last Dance of the evening is traditionally a slow dance done by the Bride and Groom. 

Some Questions To Consider:
1. Do you want to do an official Last Dance?
2. What song should you choose for your Last Dance?
3. How can you modify the Last Dance to make it different?


1. Do you want to do an official Last Dance?
Why you might want to do this:
A. It’s traditional.
B. It’s romantic, and the parents especially love to see it.
C. It officially closes the reception.

Why you might not want to do this:
A. You are going to have a very basic, non-traditional type wedding.
B. You don’t dance slow - for anything.
C. You are very shy, and a Last Dance out in front of your guests would cause undo hardship/anxiety.

What most couples do:
Most couples do a Last Dance, but the way they do it varies quite a bit. For more on this see Question 3 below.


2. What song should we choose for our last dance?
Some possible choices:
a. Repeat your First Dance song.
b. A slow song whose lyrics hold a special meaning for you two.
c. A song that was a second choice for your First Dance song.
d. Choose a song from your DJ or MC's list of First Dance songs.
e. A slow song that’s currently popular as a First Dance song.
f. A song that fits your theme. (eg. Swing Era: “The Way You Look Tonight” - Frank Sinatra; Country: “I Cross My Heart” - George Strait; Flowers: “Kiss From A Rose” - Seal; Beach: “Sea Of Love” - Honeydrippers).
g. Take dance lessons and try a fast Last Dance song, or a ballroom dance.
h. If you chose a slow song for your First Dance, try using the dance version of that song (if one exists)
In some cases, a dance version of a popular slow dance song will be created specifically for club play. If you’d like to choose this option, ask your DJ or MC if one exists.


3. How can you modify the Last Dance event to make it different?
Some possible choices:
a. Have your guests form a large circle around you on the dance floor (called a “Friendship Circle”) as you do your Last Dance.
b. Have your guests join you in your Last Dance, either from the beginning, or 1/2 way through the song. They can join from a Friendship Circle or from their tables. 
c. If you are changing out of your wedding attire, have the DJ announce you back into the hall, and proceed to the dancefloor to do your Last Dance. This works best if you are announced back into a Friendship Circle.
d. Do not have the DJ announce that you are going to do your Last Dance. Have him/her announce only that “the next song will be the last dance of the reception.”
e. As mentioned in the First Dance section, if you are using bubbles for your First Dance, maybe your DJ/MC can hand them out again for your Last Dance, and you can do your Last Dance on a bubble filled dance floor. This will work best with your guests in a Friendship Circle formation.

If you are going to use a Friendship Circle, and you are not going to have your guests join you in the Last Dance, you can have the DJ/MC ask the crowd to hold the circle formation after your dance is done, and you can proceed to move around the circle, going from person to person, saying goodbye and thanking them again for joining you on your wedding day. Although this is not a replacement for the receiving line or for visiting tables to thank people, it can be used if you feel that you won’t have enough to time thank everyone for coming during the course of the reception.


What most couples do:
Most couples do not change out of their wedding attire. They use a friendship circle. They have a formal announcement that this will be the Bride and Groom’s Last Dance. About half will have the crowd join 1/2 way through their Last Dance. About 25% will have the crowd join them from the beginning of the song. If they use a friendship circle and they don’t have the crowd join, they almost always take the opportunity to go around the circle and say goodbye to their guests.