The prospect of attempting to waltz with everyone watching may give you the jitters. Luckily, a few non-intimidating, private dance lessons can come to your rescue, transforming what might have been an embarrassing moment into a truly romantic interlude.

This all-important first dance should be planned with as much care as your flowers and your vows. Schedule lessons and select your tune months in advance, so you can relax and enjoy your shining moment on the dance floor.

Here’s how the first dance typically works: The bride and groom make a grand entrance to the emcee’s announcement. (For a personal touch, ask the father of the bride or the best man to handle this honor instead.) After the bride and groom dance for one to three minutes alone to their chosen tune, they separate to pull in their parents and attendants. Next, the couples separate again to invite other wedding guests onto the dance floor. And now the party has officially begun.

Dance instructor Simone Coonrod of the Moving Beat Studio in Montclair says she “loves working with couples at this enchanted time of their lives. Their first steps may feel awkward and come with nervous giggles. But as they build confidence and meld as a couple, they start to relish moving to
their favorite melody.”

Coonrod works privately with engaged couples to choreograph the foxtrot or waltz, swing or Latin, or even rock steps to their chosen love songs. “The goal of a first dance is not to perform,” Coonrod explains, “but to connect gracefully with each other and, most of all, to cherish the moment.”

Sometimes the bride and groom treat their parents or their entire wedding party to dance lessons, as a way to break the ice and include them in wedding preparations.

One couple approached Coonrod with the dream of dancing Viennese waltzes to a string quartet. They loved learning how to lift and turn, ended up spending most of their reception on the dance floor—and departed that evening for a honeymoon in Austria. For this couple, dancing brought them joy on their wedding day, and a pleasurable pastime to share in their new life together.