The
lights dim and bodies huddle together around the dance floor. A DJ calls the
attention of the masses to the couple at the centre of the action, introducing
the newlyweds to the audience for their first dance. It’s been a long day: some
people have been up since the crack of dawn travelling or beautifying or just
unable to sleep with the excitement.
A
beat pounds through the room, bass rippling through the sprung floor as
coloured lights flash schizophrenically and dance across a sea of faces
breathless with anticipation. The couple sidle into one another’s arms,
awkwardly at first, before losing themselves to the romance of the music as
their bodies meld together as one.
Image Credit: KB Image Photography, via ISPWP
The
song blossoms into a well-known refrain or perhaps remains obscure to the ears
of the audience, but the weight of the lyrics and poignancy of this particular
song at this particular moment is of paramount importance to the couple
shuffling together, lost in the words they whisper to each other and the jokes
they share concealed beneath the level of the music.
And
then, just like that, the culmination of months of planning, scheming, dreaming
and waiting seems to explode into a cloud of relief that floats up from the
newlyweds. The adrenaline, the emotion and the chaos of the best day
ever collide and subside as the music
belts out. Two hearts beat faster in tandem, knowing that they’ve done it –
they made it to the altar and they completed their vows. They’re married. It’s
surreal and brilliant and magic and all wrapped up in a bow of marvellousness
in this first dance.
Image Credit: Dennis Drenner, via ISPWP
I’ve
lost track of the amount of people who have told me that they were completely
in control of themselves during the wedding ceremony but found a rogue tear
escaping down their cheek during the first dance – and I’m talking about both
newlyweds and wedding guests.
It
seems to me that the emphasis is, rightly so, on the momentousness of the
wedding ceremony and the words that are exchanged therein. As a result, it’s
often the case that by the time the DJ announces the first dance people don’t
realise what a euphoric moment of release it can be.
Image Credit top: Elizabeth Messina + Image Credit Bottom: Holland Photo Arts via ISPWP
Now,
I’m no fool. I know that part of the reason that a lot of people are emotional
by 8pm is due in no small part to the fact that a considerable quantity of
champagne and wine may well have been consumed! But, be that as it may, as the
token sober person in the room, the strength of feeling that surrounds a couple
as their friends and family gather around them on the dance floor is undeniably
powerful and moving.
For
a moment you might feel like a bit of a numpty with dozens of pairs of eyes
watching you shuffle self-consciously around together, but my advice to you is
to let it go. Let every stress you’ve been holding in the run up to your wedding
melt away in that moment. Revel in the embrace of your partner; luxuriate in
the feel of their arms around you and the smell of fragrance in the nape of
their neck. Let the lyrics of your song infiltrate your brain and bind you with
their significance.
Image Credit: Anna With Love
Most
of all, take time to look up and glance around at the faces of your loved ones
on the periphery of the dance floor. I guarantee that each and every one of
them will be feeling their hearts swell as they silently bestow the pair of you
with every good wish for your future. You’ll never be surrounded by more love
than you are in that moment.
I'd love your thoughts on the first dance. Is it something that terrifies you or something you might even be taking lessons for. Newlyweds – was the first dance the experience you always thought it would be? Anyone avoiding it all together?
Emma
You might also want to read the feature 'What is your first dance track and why?'
