From Etta James to Fleetwood Mac, here are our favourite first dance songs...
There will be a hundred moments from your wedding day that’ll make you randomly smile for the rest of your life, from your walk down the aisle to the heartfelt speeches that leave you with teary eyes. But the one you’ll cherish the most is your first dance, your favourite people encircling the dance floor as you and your soul mate lock eyes and forget anyone else even exists. Romantic, personal and unforgettable. That’s what a first dance is all about – and why you need to find the perfect song to mark this moment in your love story.
The hiccup is: there’s so many love songs to choose from. Do you go slow or fast? Classic or unexpected? Old or new? The options are almost-endless.
That’s why we’ve done some research, put our heads together and rounded up what we believe to be the best first dance songs for your weddings, including some traditional slow jams and upbeat bangers. Ready? Because it’s time to turn Alexa all the way up and enjoy a kitchen disco for two as you find the perfect song for you:
Classic First Dance Songs
“Your Song," by Elton John
Our favourite lyrics: "I hope you don't mind that I put down in words, how wonderful life is while you're in the world."
"Everything," by Michael Bublé
Our favourite lyrics: "And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times, it's you, it's you, you make me sing, you're every line, you're every word, you're everything."
“At Last,” by Etta James
Our favourite lyrics: “At last my love has come along, my lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah.”
“Unchained Melody,” by The Righteous Brothers
Our favourite lyrics: “Oh, my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch.”
"The Way You Look Tonight," by Frank Sinatra
Our favourite lyrics: “Lovely, don't you ever change, keep that breathless charm, won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you, just the way you look tonight.”
Alternative First Dance Songs
“500 Miles,” by Sleeping At Last
Our favourite lyrics: “But I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the man who walked a thousand miles, to fall down at your door.”
“Home,” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Our favourite lyrics: “Oh, home, let me come home, home is wherever I'm with you.”
“Everywhere,” by Fleetwood Mac
Our favourite lyrics: "Can you hear me calling/Out your name/You know that I'm falling and I don't know what to say"
“It Must Be Love,” by Madness
Our favourite lyrics: “As soon as I wake up, every night, every day, I know that it's you I need, to take the blues away.”
“Rewrite The Stars,” by Zac Efron & Zendaya
Our favourite lyrics: “What if we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine. Nothing could keep us apart. You'd be the one I was meant to find.”
Rock First Dance Songs
“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” by Aerosmith
Our favourite lyrics: “I could stay awake just to hear you breathing, watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you're far away and dreaming. I could spend my life in this sweet surrender, I could stay lost in this moment forever, every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure.”
“Just Like Heaven,” by The Cure
Our favourite lyrics: “Dancing in the deepest oceans, twisting in the water, you're just like a dream, you're just like a dream.”
“You Really got Me,” by the Kinks
Our favourite lyrics: “See, don't ever set me free, I always wanna be by your side. Girl, you really got me now. You got me so I can't sleep at night.”
“She Drives Me Crazy,” by Fine Young Cannibals
Our favourite lyrics: “She drives me crazy, like no one else. She drives me crazy and I can't help myself.”
“Heroes,” by David Bowie
Our favourite lyrics: “I, I will be king and you, you will be queen, though nothing will drive them away. We can beat them, just for one day. We can be heroes, just for one day.”
Soulful First Dance Songs
“Crazy Love,” by van Morrison
Our favourite lyrics: “I can hear her heartbeat for a thousand miles and the heavens open every time she smiles."
“Stand By Me,” by Ben E. King
Our favourite lyrics: “No I won't be afraid, oh, I won't be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me."
“Baby I Need Your Loving,” by Four Tops
Our favourite lyrics: “Some say it's a sign of weakness, for a man to beg. Then weak I'd rather be, if it means having you to keep.”
“River,” by Leon Bridges
Our favourite lyrics: “Been travelling these wide roads for so long, my heart's been far from you, ten-thousand miles gone.”
“Turn Me On,” by Norah Jones
Our favourite lyrics: “Like the desert waiting for the rain, like a school kid waiting for the spring, I’m just sitting here waiting for you.”
Upbeat First Dance Songs
“You Da One,” by Rihanna
Our favourite lyrics: “You da one that I dream about all day, you da one that I think about always, my love is your love, your love is my love.”
“My Love is Your Love,” by Whitney Houston
Our favourite lyrics: “Cause your love is my love and my love is your love, it would take an eternity to break us and the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us.”ic
“Groove is in the Heart,” by Deee-Lite
Our favourite lyrics: “The chills that you spill up my back keep me filled, with satisfaction when we're done, satisfaction of what's to come, I couldn't ask for another.”
“I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” by Arctic Monkeys
Our favourite lyrics: “Stop making the eyes at me, I'll stop making the eyes at you, what it is that surprises me, is that I don't really want you to.”
“Feel So Close,” by Calvin Harris
Our favourite lyrics: “I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal. Your love pours down on me surround me like a waterfall. And there's no stopping us right now, I feel so close to you right now.”
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