After having to write some text for a bridal magazine recently, I thought it would be a good idea to do a bit of research and have a look back at the stats and see how things have changed for us as a First Dance company over the years. And what I found really surprised me.

When we started in 2002, the trend was to just do anything apart from sway awkwardly. No-one was familiar with the concept of learning a First Dance, or even learning how to dance – the embarrassed shuffles was just part of every wedding I had ever been to. Then, in 2005 You Tube was created and everything changed! Comedy dances, take-offs of popular dances, parodies, the ‘start off slow and go into something no-one was expecting’ dance craze went mad. All inspired by couples in the US.

However, recently we have noticed a shift in what couples want from a first dance. Now that people EXPECT a First Dance, the majority of couples now want to go the other way and just dance properly! No-one wants to go back to awkward days of impersonating a couple of teenagers at the end of a school disco, but most people now want to shy away from a choreographed routine – which makes it look a bit ‘staged’. Natural, off-the-cuff dancing is what most couples want now – just so long as they don’t trip over and look good!

But we all know what happens with fashion – it will always come back into vogue at some point. It’ll be interesting to see when the comedy surprise dance makes a come-back onto the wedding dance floor…