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We did our first dance right after our grand entrance to Stand by Me by Ben E. King.
We took traditional ballroom dancing classes, but we never finished all of our lessons because planning and life got in the way. Instead, we resorted to YouTube for instructions. We decided that we had DIYed so much for our wedding already, why not our first dance as well? You can search for other couples who danced to the same song, or wedding first dances, or even Dancing With the Stars videos. I got tons of inspiration from watching a bunch of videos.
We knew we didn’t have the time, nor the energy, to pull off something so choreographed and polished. So we focused on “less is more.” We choreographed the following four “tricks” into our dance.
(1) The Simple Underarm Turn
(2) The Lift
I couldn’t find a good video for simple ballroom lifts, so we watched this dance (which we LOVE) over and over again. Check out their lift at the 2:10 mark—we copied them.
(4) The Dip
We planned to end the dance with a dip, but Mr Hot Wings got spontaneous and threw a dip in at the start of the dance as well. So here’s the first dip…
and the last dip.
We really loved the end result. I highly recommend this method. My only advice is this…
KISS—Keep It Simple Stupid! Less is more when it comes to doing your own choreographed first dance.
Did you teach yourselves any dance moves for the wedding?
*All photos by the ever fab Hanssie Trainor unless noted otherwise*
Do you need to catch up with the hotness?
We ARE!! It is a great way to relieve stress and spend quality time together too! My brother took some dance lessons and he is our instructor..helping us keep eith the beat. It’s so much fun to do this and we can’t wait to see the end results. =)
We’re doing this to. I only thought of it the other day so went on youtube straight away. Looking at doing the foxtrot. We were going to do a dip kiss outside the church but when I saw the youtube clips I thought it’d be better to do as part of the first dance.
Aw, those are great photos! We were going to plan out our first dance, but in the end we decided not to - and it was perfect!
Great minds think alike because this is what we did, but didn’t practice really at all. Oops.
I just noticed in this post (no idea why I didn’t see it before): I have the same dress! It will prob look better on you, but…;)
Congrats: you look wonderful!
I think your lift was my favorite part. Way to rock those ice skating skills!
Gorgeous! I love the idea of keeping it low-stress (who wouldn’t!) and elegant.
We started lessons a few weeks ago and I LOVE it! It is so much fun and a great way to connect and burn off some pre-wedding stress!
Love the photos and love the song! What a great approach to the first dance!!
*BOWING DOWN* I’m beyond impressed, Mrs. HW. Your dance photos are wonderful!
I’m a sucker for the dip (so romantic)! Mad props for learning these moves on your own. You both look great and so confident!
You two are so cute! I love that you worked a LIFT into your first dance—I am so impressed 
Hot Wings - you’re awesome! Thank you thank you thank you for writing this post. We want our first dance to be special but don’t have time for lessons and planned on YouTube-ing at home. Mr. PaC is excited now that we have some “dancing cheats” to help me get over my dancing aversion.
I love the self choreography! We were going to take lessons but actually I love that Mr. M. got to be spontaneousness because he threw in a dip and a twirl all on his own. 
Wow, I’m impressed! We normally just do the sixth-grad sway with a turn or two thrown in for good measure.
HW, you are awesome! I’m jealous of the fact that you guys learned dance moves
Love your first dance song! We took one lesson but decided against the expense of more. We may need to check out a couple of these tricks!
I am seriously impressed and grateful for this post! We bought a groupon for 6 dance lessons, but we might not get to use it due to conflicting schedules. All I want is to learn the basic steps of the waltz or foxtrot and throw in a few turns and a dip to end it all. You have given us a great alternative if we end up not being able to use the groupon!
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Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San Diego Age and Occupation: 28, Professor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Instructor Engagement Date: December 20, 2008 Wedding Date: August 2010 Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood Restaurant About Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
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