16 Nov Couple of the month: Melanie and Zachary
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: Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto – Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)
Amount of Lessons: 10
1. How did you pick a song for your first dance?
Corcovada has been one of my (Melanie’s) favorite songs since I was a kid. I grew up in a Brazilian household, always listening to Samba and Bossa Nova. When Zach and I met, we bonded over our mutual love of music and shared tons of our favorite songs with one another. I shared Corcovado with him, and he added it to a playlist he made of songs we both loved, just for fun. I had always wanted to dance to this song with the love of life, and when the opportunity finally arose when we got engaged, it was a no-brainer what the first dance song would be!
2. What was the most important requirement for your wedding dance?
That it felt natural, and fit our personalities. We wanted something that was relatively simple, but also somewhat impressive to our friends and family. Zach has two left feet, so it also needed to be kind of easy and doable!
3. How many months in advance did you start? Did you have a dance experience before?
About two months. We signed up for 10 hours of lessons, and we probably practiced a few times a week for about one month before the wedding. Melanie had about 15 years of dance lessons and experience – Zach had none.
4. What was the biggest challenge for you preparing the dance and how did you overcome it?
Fitting the practice into our schedule. We really wanted us to do as well as possible on the big day, and when it became clear in our 3rd or 4th lesson that the lack of practice was holding us back, we decided to commit. We ended up doing about 20-30 minutes of practice 3 or 4 nights a week for the last month and it really helped!
5. Did you feel comfortable on the dance floor on the day of the wedding?
Yes! All the lessons helped Zach a lot, so he even had fun dancing at the party. We kept doing spins and dips all night!
6. Tell our future couples what to expect from the wedding dance on the day of!
Because of Alyona and BDL, we both were so excited for our dance. We really felt confident because of the great instruction and our practice. We felt free, and able to connect with each other during such a special moment instead of stressing over moves. Truly, it was one of our favorite moments from the whole wedding day.
7. How did you feel after the performance on the day of?
It was so fun. We knocked it out of the park! Our friends and family thought we looked great.
8. What advice can you give to the couples?
Make sure you practice, a lot, consistently, over a decent period of time! This will go a long way towards making you feel confident and comfortable. Pick a song that you both truly love. Keep it to 2-3 minutes MAX. And remember, mistakes happen – just have fun and go with it!
9. Are you going to dance after the wedding? 🙂
We haven’t yet, but hopefully that will change down the road.
You can see their dance below:
Book your dance lesson here.