The best wedding dance floor openers to kick-start the party

You’ve said I do. The photo shoot is done and dusted. You’ve made your first entrance as husband and wife. If you have a bridal party, they’re probably ready for the formalities to be over and to start making some memories on the dancefloor. No doubt your wedding guests are ready to start the party vibes too.

Your Dance Floor opener can often be overlooked with so many important moments and traditions in every wedding. The bride and groom should ensure they take advantage of the opportunity to make their dance floor starter epic. After all, your wedding day is your day to shine, so why not focus your planning on making all moments iconic?

How? With a killer dance floor opening tune to set the tone for the rest of the night.

Speeches are done, and your romantic first dance has left all your guests with a tear in their eyes; now it’s time to lift the mood and set the vibe for the rest of the night- Cue that all-important Dance floor opener song. This is the song that gets everyone up and dancing, so it’s pretty important! 

PHOTOGRAPHY HEY JACK

How to execute the best dance floor introduction

 To ensure your dance floor opening execution is seamless we suggest during your first dance –when you’re putting those two left feet to work – you should invite your guests onto the dance floor. This way everyone is up and out of their seats when the song change hits referencing the opening of the dance floor.

There are various approaches for song selections for this moment. Some couples include a song with instructive lyrics that demand “let’s get the party started” or “everybody dance now”. Other couples may opt for a less forceful approach and select a well-known song to make people want to get up and bust a move. Of course, there’s also the approach of slowing things down and making the dance floor opener a unique, intimate moment that infuses even more romance into the evening. You may decide this is your style and continue to waltz around the dancefloor with your guests to a sweet and sensual song.

From oldies to modern hits and classical to rock, there are many genres to navigate in finding your perfect starter song. Even some of the biggest party-rockers will find narrowing down their song list to just their number one a challenge. Once you have chosen your perfect song, you’re only halfway to making your dance floor stater one to remember. To make the process easier, we’ve drawn on our reception experience and created a:

 Step-by-step guide to kick your wedding reception into high gear

Step one:

Pick your perfect tune. Consider the rhythm, your vibe, the lyrics and how easy it is to bust a move. You may need to test out a few songs at home so you can assess what moves it allows- this is also the time to practice that showstopper dance move!

PHOTOGRAPHY HEY JACK

Step two:

Prep your photographer; this is a fantastic moment to capture on camera or video, so you’ll want to get the shot prepped. perfect tune. Consider the rhythm, your vibe, the lyrics and how easy it is to bust a move. You may need to test out a few songs at home so you can assess what moves it allows- this is also the time to practice that showstopper dance move!

PHOTOGRAPHY HEY JACK

Step three:

Execution. Here you need to prepare your performer. If you have opted for a wedding DJ or wedding live band the sax and instrumentalists usually join at this significant moment to get the dance floor going. Timing is crucial here too; you may find starting your tune from the chorus or when the beat kicks in or, maybe just before it drops will provide the best dancing atmosphere to leave your guests cheering and grooving.

If you’re struggling to make it past step one, the wedding musicians here at Hey Jack are here to help. Below we have included a list of our favourite tunes to make an entrance and several songs that have proven to be wedding hits.

PHOTOGRAPHY HEY JACK

Dance floor openers we love

1. Get The Party Started – P!nk
2. Gonna Make You Sweat – C & C Music Factory
3. Dancing Queen  – ABBA
4. I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Whitney Houston
5. Cant Stop The Feeling – Justin Timberlake  
6. Jump (For My Love) – The Pointer Sisters
7. Wannabe – Spice Girls     
8. We Found Love – Rhianna, Calvin Harris
9. Celebrate – Pitbull
10. Murder On The Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis-Bextor
11. Dancing In The Moonlight – Toploader
12. Hey Ya! – Outkast
13. Let’s Get It Started – Black Eyed Peas
14. DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love – Usher, Pitbull
15. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
16. Forever – Chris Brown
17. Pump It – Black Eyed Peas
18. Dynamite – Taio Cruz
19. Let’s Get Loud – Jennifer Lopez

PHOTOGRAPHY HEY JACK