The First Dances are Important

Some of my favorite photos from every wedding come from the first dances. I've been to many weddings where its really the last time I see the bride and groom dancing together the rest of the night because they are both being pulled in different directions for hugs and chats and even when they are both dancing later in the evening its crowded around them and the photos are just different. During the first dances I'm able to get real connection and often times really emotional parents. I've photographed many fathers crying during the first dance and mothers wiping away tears in the background. Its a beautiful thing to ensure that in all of the hustle and bustle that you take a moment or two to dance with parents. I've probably photographed 200 weddings where the bride dances with her father to "Butterfly Kisses" or "I Saw Her First" or "My Little Girl" because after all those songs were perfectly written for first dances but Its also great when couples show their personalities by choosing lesser known songs to show off relationships. Last year I photographed a bride and her father dancing to "That's My Daughter In The Water" by Loudon Wainwrite III and it was a big hit. I overheard guests saying they had never heard that song and loved it. At another wedding I noticed the mother of the bride and her sisters all in tears during the first dance and later they told me that their father died the year before and the bride and groom danced to the same song that the bride's parents danced to at their wedding and it just took their mom by surprise. If they wanted to jerk some tears it definitely worked. Along with toasts, first dances are when I catch the most tears on a wedding day. So make sure you save a dance for some special people and jerk those tears.