Many couples are a little nervous about the first dance and dancing to a 3 or 4 minute song with just the two of them on the floor for that whole time, or to be precise it's usually the groom that is less than enthusiastic abut this prospect!

However there are many options to ease any anxiety over this:

After a set period of time that we have agreed beforehand I will call others to join you on the dancefloor. Usually this is after around a minute but some grooms have asked for this to be done after only 30 seconds!

If you do go for this option, let me know who you want to be called onto the floor to join you? Just the parents? Bridal party? Or everyone?

Additionally, there are options for the introduction of the first dance.

If you're quite an extrovert couple then you may prefer to be standing near the edge of the room, at which point I'll introduce you and work the crowd into a frenzy, whooping and hollowing as you walk through the crowd onto the dance floor to begin your first dance.

Many couples though prefer a much more low-key introduction, where they're standing next to the dancefloor at which point I simply introduce them and get everyone clapping as they walk onto the dance floor to begin their first dance.

There are other ways the first dance can be done, this is just to give you an idea of a couple of options.

More and more couples are doing a special routine for their first dance, probably because of Strictly!
For a few weddings over the last few months the Bride & Groom have asked me to edit a few tracks together to use as a first dance, along the lines of starting with a very slow traditional first dance track, and then after around 20 seconds you hear a scratch sound as if I'd scratched the needle across the record! and then suddenly going into something very upbeat, and then having 5 or 6 different style songs (each played for around 20 to 30 seconds) which the B&G do a special routine to.
Doing this can really stoke the atmosphere up and get the crowd going crazy and sets up a great night. 

This is definitely something worth giving some thought to. This can be a very special moment for many dads; they've just 'given away' their little girl, so to have a special dance with their daughter after the first dance can be a very special moment, especially so when the father and daughter are very close, and even more so if dad has paid for everything!

Most people planning a wedding have never done so before but get bombarded with advice from a lot of different people which can get overwhelming, but in my experience, one area that often gets overlooked are the seating arrangements.

Great attention is given to keeping people apart that don't get on, or possibly matchmaking two people etc! But in doing all of this it is incredible how often the end result is that the eldest people in the room are seated right next to the speakers/PA system. The problem with this is that the eldest people often have the most sensitive ears, and a volume that seems very low to someone in their 20's or 30's can be quite loud to someone in their 70's, 80's or 90's. So it's a good idea to try to seat any elderly people as far away from the speakers as possible for their comfort and also so that if you are having any background music, that it won't be at so low a volume that no one at the other end of the room will hear it.

There's also another good reason to have the eldest people seated towards the back of the room; If space is tight and you have tables on the dancefloor during the wedding breakfast, those tables will need to be moved at some point for the dancing to commence. If you put the younger, hipper party animals nearer the front on the tables that have to be moved, after dinner they'll either be at the bar or will want to be dancing, so you'll have no trouble getting them to move. Whereas elder people will not only generally take longer to move, but they also won't appreciate it!

Other points to consider; if you're booking a DJ you almost certainly want the dancefloor to be as busy as possible all night, if that's the case the following will help greatly:

Try to have the DJ located as close to the dancefloor as possible. If the DJ is located a long way from the floor it can then mean lots of unsightly cable and tape having to be placed all along the floor/carpets to make it safe and sometimes can also make it a little harder to the guests up onto the floor.

Don't have the DJ located too far from the bar. people naturally congregate around the bar area and so if the DJ is close to that area it very much helps the atmosphere.

If the bar is in a different room then ensure that the venue doesn't have their own music playing in the bar area. The venue will sometimes do this with good intentions, but it doesn't help in trying to get a lot of people onto the dance floor and will just make some people very reluctant to leave the bar area.

Putting a little extra thought into the layout of the room can make sure the night is absolutely fantastic rather than just 'OK'!

The two most important suppliers at your wedding are the caterer and the entertainment, because these are the only two that your guests will actually remember, especially in a few months/years time. And of these two, most of the time the entertainment is going to be the most important... if you ask most people what they remember from events/weddings they've attended, they'll remember the events where they had a lot of fun the most!... and your guests will have a lot of fun IF you choose the right DJ.

Some facts to ponder:

• Within one week after their reception, 78% of Brides say they would have made the entertainment their highest priority!
   
• 72% of all brides say they would have spent more time choosing their reception entertainment.

• The vast majority say they would have spent more of their budget on the entertainment.  
   
• During wedding planning, Brides say their highest priority is their attire, followed by the reception site and caterer - reception entertainment is among the least of their priorities.
   
• When asked, 81% of guests say the thing they remember most about a wedding is the entertainment. 
   
• 65% of all couples that chose a band to entertain at their wedding, said, if they had it to do over again, they would have chosen a DJ.
  
  * Source: Bride & Groom magazine 

A Wedding Arch and a Wedding Circle are two ways of ending your night.

Wedding Arch:
Is where your guests make two lines facing each other with their arms raised forming an arch, usually from the dancefloor towards the exit doors. The bride and groom then walk slowly through this arch saying goodbye to every person before they leave.

Wedding Circle:
A similar concept, but all of the guests form a giant circle on the dancefloor. The bride & groom then start at one point in the circle and move in opposite directions saying goodbye to everyone in the circle and giving each person a hug, until the bride and groom both meet back at the point they started from.

Generally the Wedding Circle is a much better option and a more lively way to end the night.

I'd estimate that these are requested at around 40% of weddings these days.

There are a few things to bear in mind with the traditional throwing of the bouquet.

It is obviously not a tradition that you have to follow and many brides understandably would rather keep their very special bouquet, however, what some brides do is throw "a bouquet" rather than "THE bouquet"! in other words they have another small bouquet ready to use for this part of the evening as the throwing of the bouquet is more about the action rather than it having to be the actual bridal bouquet.

In the last few years the vast majority of brides have requested the Beyonce song "Single Ladies" to be played during this section of the night, but if you have another track that you would prefer please do let me know.

Regarding the timing for this. Some Brides choose to do this during the day, especially at venues that have grand staircases. Others will have it at some point during the dancing.

IF you plan to throw the bouquet during the evening and you are having a buffet in the evening, then often the best time to do it is at the point when most of the guests have finished eating the buffet, because this can be a great way of getting everyone back on to the dance floor.