In this article cycle, we will post interviews with some of our wedding couples to help you better understand the preparation process as well as what to expect from the dance on the big day. You can see the dance video at the end of the article!

Dance style: Rumba

Song: “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green

Amount of Lessons: 5H + 2H rehearsal rental

Photography: Georgia Panagi

1. How did you pick a song for your first dance?

We had another nostalgic song in mind that we realized would probably be
too complex to dance to given our skill level (sorry James Blake!), so we
made our original song, “Can’t Believe The Way We Flow,” a “must play” on
our DJ playlist instead, and started looking for other songs meaningful to
us. We’d listened to the song that we landed on – the classic “Let’s Stay
Together” by Al Green – a lot early on in our relationship and the lyrics
say everything we ever could’ve wanted to say on our wedding day, so it
felt like a natural choice. By the time we actually started dancing to the
song, we knew it was perfect.

2. What was the most important requirement for your wedding dance?

We wanted to have fun together on the dance floor, not look like
complete idiots out there, and dance to a song that was meaningful to us!

3. How many months in advance did you start? Did you have a dance experience before?

Neither of us really have much dance experience! We did five dance lessons
prior to the big day, starting about three months before the wedding.

4. What was the biggest challenge for you preparing the dance and how did you overcome it?

Our biggest challenge was that our apartment isn’t quite big enough to
properly dance in, so we had trouble practicing as often as we wanted. We
practiced in our apartment as much as we could though and ended up renting
a couple hours of Brooklyn Dance Lessons studio space to fill the gap!

5. Did you feel comfortable on the dance floor on the day of the wedding?

Yes! It was definitely still super nerve-wracking to be dancing in front of
so many people but having a routine to follow that we’d practiced together
made us so much more comfortable.

6. Tell our future couples what to expect from the wedding dance on the day of!

There will be people cheering you on, which is so different from what
practice is like, but as long as you focus on your partner and the routine
you’ve practiced so many times, you got this!

7. How did you feel after the performance on the day of?

Heart racing, can’t-believe-we-actually-just-did-that, and some relief!

8. What advice can you give to the couples?

Maria was honestly more flustered than she expected doing the routine in
her dress. Although Maria practiced in similar shoes (and even once in her
wedding shoes themselves), in hindsight, we would’ve started using the mock
skirt during practice earlier to get a little more used to having that
extra fabric between Maria and Jeff. If that helps anyone else out who
might be worried about the difference between whatever clothes you’re
practicing in and your wedding day outfit, that would be our advice!

9. Are you going to dance after the wedding?

Maria got Jeff a date night private dance experience we still have to cash
in, so that’s the plan! Plus, Maria promised in her vows to always dance
with Jeff, even if it’s just in the kitchen 🙂

You can see their dance below: