Need a First Dance Song? Here Are Seven Local Wedding DJs’ Favorite Tracks
All guaranteed to have your guests reaching for tissues.
Photo via Getty Images
Choosing a first dance song can often be one of the trickiest decisions to make for your big day. Should you choose something top 40? An oldie but goodie? A song no one has ever heard of? (Ah!) To help narrow the list, we’ve consulted some of the region’s top wedding DJs, who shared their all-time favorite first dance numbers.
“Latch” by Sam Smith
“This song is an acoustic version of the original by Disclosure [featuring] Sam Smith. With the beautiful arrangement of the song, you can’t help [but get] goose bumps. After playing it for a groom at a details meeting a few weeks before the wedding, he started to tear up and the couple changed their first dance song on the spot.” -DJ Danny Walsh
“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli
“It’s a song I personally love, though honestly no bridal clients have selected it yet. This song harkens back to a simpler time: 1967, the year of living easy, the Monterey International Pop Festival, the first Super Bowl. With light harmonies and melodies, it’s dreamy, optimistic, romantic, and ethereal. The lyrics describe falling in love with someone: ‘You’re just too good to be true/I can’t take my eyes off of you.’ It’s a song that has lasted time and time again—even over 50 years later, it’s that song that everyone recognizes and sings at the top of their lungs with much fanfare and panache. It’s a song that brings a kiss to the heart and a smile to the soul—fitting for that perfect moment when two partners take their first steps.” -DJ Deja
Michael Jerome Browne’s cover of “This Must Be The Place” by Talking Heads
“His version is breathtaking. This lesser known cover has all the elements of a great first dance song: a stripped down arrangement with guitar and vocals, lyrics that inspire beautiful imagery, and a perfect fade-out spot right around the three-minute mark. I played this at a recent wedding, and there was not a dry eye in sight.” -DJ Joe Kaszuba, Fine Tune Entertainment
“Yours” by Russell Dickerson
“I am not really a country music fan, but this is 100 percent my favorite first dance song. To me and so many of my clients, the song captures the true feeling of what it means the be completed by another human being. So many songs say ‘I love you,’ but ‘Yours’ shows the vulnerability of a man who feels truly blessed to have found his love—and isn’t that what it’s all about?” -Jimmie Espo, 617 Weddings & Events
“At Last” by Etta James
“It’s a timeless song. The lyrics, “At last/ My love has come along/My lonely days are over/And life is like a song,” capture the true essence of love. It’s perfect for a first dance and has consistently been one of my top 10 most-requested first dance songs over the past 15 years. I haven’t had another song, besides Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ stay on top of the list for that long.” -Mike Amado, Entertainment Specialists
“Beyond” by Leon Bridges
“This one is my favorite right now. I love everything Leon Bridges does [because] his sound is so unique. It has that blend of classic Motown and modern R&B that sounds amazing, plus ‘Beyond’ has a great melody with vocals and lyrics that truly fit the romantic mood.” -Nick Ferrington, Beat Train Productions
“Not With Haste” by Mumford and Sons
“From the very first line, ‘Your eyes/They tie me down so hard/I’ll never learn to put up a guard,’ this song describes love in such a beautiful and powerful way with messages of freedom and joy. The last line, ‘And I will love with urgency, but not with haste,’ so beautifully reflects the sentiment of a wedding: a public outpouring and an urgent display of love that is the beginning of a long journey. I also love how the buildup of this song reflects the tone of an actual wedding. It starts off very soft and romantic and, by the end, builds up and makes you want to sway back and forth in a big circle with people you love.” -Nora Jordan, DJour Entertainment
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