Top (L-R):
Me dancing to Rufus Wainwright in my nightie (sparkly pink legwarmers not pictured) while playing kazoo and using a bra as my dancing partner, Mr. CC dancing while toasting marshmallows at a wedding reception, Mr. CC making his scary “smack dat ass” face (in mockery of course)
Bottom (L-R):
Me doing my only dance move in which I point my fingers in the air and shake my bon bon, Me doing the finger shaking dance move (yet again) while singing “It’s not unusuaaaaaaal to be loved by anyone” in Tina Turner attire, Me doing jazz hands with one of those plastic horn things on New Year’s Eve (keep in mind, we don’t drink, we’re just naturally this stupid)
Mr. CC and I had originally wanted to dance to “Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing” by The Magnetic Fields for our first dance, but after some consideration we decided to go with “Anyone Else But You” by The Moldy Peaches, made famous by the movie Juno. Last night we attempted to practice doing our first dance to it and quickly realized we have NO skills whatsoever, apart from the classic high school shuffle and sway.
Here are the lyrics to the song and a video on YouTube so you can give it a listen. And yes, there’s a line about shaking a turd out of the bottom of your pants, but that just makes me love it more..have I mentioned Mr. CC is a poop machine? Tis gross but true!
You’re a part time lover and a full time friend
The monkey on you’re back is the latest trend
I don’t see what anyone can see, in anyone else
But you
I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of a train
I kiss you all starry eyed, my body’s swinging from side to side
I don’t see what anyone can see, in anyone else
But you
Here is the church and here is the steeple
We sure are cute for two ugly people
I don’t see what anyone can see, in anyone else
But you
See the rest of the lyrics here.
Does anyone have any recommendations of a local Philadelphia-area dance studio where we can take some beginner lessons with the song we’re going to be using? I don’t want to go to a dance class and learn the waltz when it’s inappropriate for the style of song we’ll be dancing to. We just want to do something cute and coordinated (no hand-jiving please) without dressing it up with super serious dance moves. Plus, we are on a budget and can’t really dish out more than $50-100 to devote to dancing, which is a sad little budget, but it’s all we can afford at this point with all of the other expenses we have.
Your photo collage is too funny! I love it!
The only thing funnier than you as Tina Turner was Miss Pineapple’s comment! Very funny gals, very funny!
no suggestions, but I love that song! it’s so very cute… I like the doo doo part at the end in the juno version (no pun intended) 
My now husband and I went to Academy of Social Dance in Center City. One of the first things I brought up after we got engaged was wanting to take dance lessons, and as a surprise he bought me (although it was for both of us) a gift certificate for Christmas, it was a ‘Wedding Package’ 3 private lessons and 3 group lessons. I think it might have cost around $500, not cheap! While the lessons were good they CONSTANTLY tried to sell us more lessons. At our first appointment our instructor (John) told us we’d need at least 10 lessons, should come in at least 2x a week, etc. Also lessons were not an hour like they told my husband when he bought the package, more like 40-45 minutes (including a good 5 minutes EACH TIME trying to sell us more lessons). If you’re are looking to seriously take up dancing it’s probably a good place, otherwise try somewhere else! Good luck and please post where you end up going.
Do you have any dance-savy friends who could show you some steps?
Or how about a local college? If they offer a recerational dance class its usually taught by a student who may be willing to do some private lessons on the cheap.
N’aww, we’re considering “Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing” for our first dance. Either that or “The Book Of Love.” I have an obnoxious amount of Magnetic Fields songs in my wedding playlist. 
The Magnetic Fields are where its at. I always sing Book of Love to my FI. He’d never even heard the song but knew all the words just because of the frequency I get it in my head. Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing is great too. Good luck with the dancing lessons, as long as its fun for the two of you, that’s pretty much what counts.
We used Center City Dance. I think it was $250 for 5 classes -but we only needed 3 to learn our dance,a nd used the other two to learn swing. Our instructor was great.
Oh, Miss CC, after reading your post, I scrolled down my reader to find this post on ivillage’s “I Will, I Do” blog…It’s a casting call for “Rock the Reception”! The post reads…
“Over the past 6 months I’ve posted over a half dozen first dance videos from Thriller to Dirty Dancing to Baby’s Got Back. If you and your fiancé would like to perform a show-stopping dance at your wedding reception, but don’t know how to choreograph your first dance, you can apply for the new TLC reality show, ‘Rock the Reception’.
The show will pair engaged couples with ‘top notch choreographers who will turn your first dance to an unforgettable production.’”
Uh, perfect, no??
For more info, visit, http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/apply/getontlc.html#relationships
Yay for dancing Miss CC! From what I remember of the tempo of that song (work won’t let me access youtube so I can’t listen to it right now!), you’re either going to want to do east coast swing or perhaps rumba, which is a ballroom dance based on the box step you probably learned in middle school. Both are easy, accessible dances.
For maximum cost effectiveness, I recommend taking some classes and then possibly scheduling a private lesson with the teacher after you’ve taken a few classes. Classes will give you lots of basics to work with and a private would be where you would learn a fancy dip for the end of the song or polish up trouble spots.
If you’re interested in swing (which is the dance I do, not that I’m biased), there are tons of dances in Philly! Any weekend dance with a band or a dj will have a 45-min to an hour-long beginner lesson beforehand. The cost of the lesson includes the cost of the dance (usually about $15 pp).
Check out http://www.philESwingdance.com for a calendar of all swing-related dance stuff in Philly.
It appears there’s a swing dance this Friday the 27th at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave, Chestnut Hill section of Philly. There’s a basic east coast or “jitterbug” lesson from 7-7:45 and then a lindy lesson (which is another type of swing, a little more advanced) from 7:45-8:30. There’s a DJ from 8:30 to midnight. Cost is $10, and you get $3 off if you bring a student ID or baked goods!
It will probably give you a little taste of what swing dancing is like. Don’t worry if it’s hard at first, especially for your fiance. You’ll rotate partners in the class, which makes you learn faster, and really it’s a very accessible dance. People at swing dances are notoriously really nice too. Let us know how it all goes!
Oooooooh, I’m kind of tempted to do the swing dance thing. I can’t go this Friday but I have always wanted to learn and I recall Mr. CC saying the same, despite neither one of us having a lick of rhythm. It doesn’t help that Mr. CC is not at all flexible either haha. Do you use http://www.philESwingdance.com? Perhaps you’ll get to meet me and watch me making a fool of my candy-coated butt! Thanks for the awesome info
@Miss X:
Oh my goodness, that is the perfect find Miss X! I totally just applied heeee hee
OMG you in the Tina Tuner wig = PRICELESS!
That is all, I don’t know about dance lessons, I just had to comment on the picture
you have the best photos!
We’re using Society Hill Dance Academy over in Headhouse Square. You could give them a call to see if they can schedule one dance lesson (which is around $100) to teach you what kind of steps to do. Kind of like what another bee on here did in NYC.
*We are using SHDA and really like it so far.
Try swing dancing, it’s awesome! The dance I pointed you to recurs every other Saturday, I believe. I don’t habitually use http://www.phileswingdance.com myself since I’m from DC, although we have a sister site that’s exactly like it, except for, well, it’s all about DC swing dancing. Thankfully you do not have to be flexible (or really all that coordinated) to swing dance! And your song is pretty slow so that makes it easier. I like to say, if you can sing along to songs on the radio and walk in a steady beat then you’ve got enough rhythm to swing dance.
If you do end up trying it, don’t panic if you’re not instantly wonderful (particularly your fiance–it’s harder on the guys at first than the girls cause they have to lead), but give it a few weeks and you’ll see a vast improvement. Also, you can ask people at the dance where to take lessons locally. A series of lessons (at least in DC) would run about $100 pp for 8 weeks (so $12.50 per lesson pp) and you’d learn a lot of material, more than you’ll get in a pre-dance lesson on the weekend, which is going to be the same every week because it always starts from the very beginning. Have fun!
I am gonna say “good call” on the no-drinking thing. If you are already doing the nightie-kazoo-sparkle leggings-bra dance, you clearly have all the naturals opiates you need!
And please, please, please TLC casting people, pick Miss CC b/c THAT is gonna be GREAT television!!
no tips, because we have the same issue but I wanted to say I <3 that song. I brought it up to the Boy, and he was horrified I would debase our dance with soundtrack music (I think he’s just mad we can’t do anything from Kicking and Screaming or Say Anything).
I don’t know what your vehicular situation is, but if you can get out to the Narbertharea, there is an Arthur Murray school and we really enjoyed our six classes there, which was my 21st birthday gift from the fiance.
Okay, so your Tina Turner costume is pretty much the most awesome thing EVER!!
I just wanted to say a) I love the photos - hilarious!, and b) I love that song too. But I am not sure if it will be “our” song because I have to get used to the idea of our wedding song having the word “turd” in it.
@Miss Candy Corn: Oh, yea! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for dancing Candy Corns on TV! Good luck!
Wow, you’re choice of first dance song is AMAZING. I would use that song in a heart-beat but my fiance and I have already decided we want to pick a song in the count of 3. That’s how we roll.
Anyway, also, brilliant collage.
Miss Candy Corn, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: Senior Editor/Writer & Freelance Illustrator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Student
Engagement Date: September 1, 2004
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: May 6, 2008
Venue: Pennsylvania Museum of Archaelogy and Anthropology
About Me: I enjoy people watching (especially in New Jersey malls), obsessive collecting, drooling over contemporary art, browsing flea markets for vintage finds and eating an absurd amount of cheese. In my Philadelphia abode, I create mixed media artwork and one-of-a-kind home accessories in the company of my farmer-tanned fiancé, our Westiepoo (Betty White), our three rabbits (Cadbury, Willie Nelson and Applesauce) and our two frisky chinchillas (Ethel Funk and Maude).
if you hop on over to Pittsburgh, I’ll teach you to line dance for $5.95. Your dance options being “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” “Tush Push” or “Cowboy Rhythm.” you’re welcome