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You’ve done the two hardest parts: found your forever dance partner, and chosen to have award-winning live music for your wedding! Now, the fun part: choosing the music. Of course, there are so many special moments to select songs for, but one moment stands out above all the rest: your first dance as a married couple. We at Around Town believe that choosing a first dance song for your wedding is a special decision, as it sets the tone for not just a memorable moment on your big day, but your marriage. So, we’ve compiled a few helpful things to consider when picking out your first dance song:

1. Meaning and Connection: Choose a song that holds personal meaning for both of you as a couple!  It could be a song that reminds you of a significant moment in your relationship, reflects your feelings for each other, is a personal favorite you both share, or is from a favorite moment in a movie or tv show you love. 

2. Sentimentality vs. Fun: Decide whether you want your first dance to be a sentimental moment or a fun and upbeat one! Some couples prefer a romantic ballad, while others opt for a more lively song to kick off the celebrations. Think about your vibe as a couple and take that into account when choosing the perfect song for the two of you! 

3. Musical Style and Tempo: Consider your musical tastes and preferences. Do you prefer something slow and romantic, or upbeat and lively? Choose a song with a tempo that suits your dancing style and comfort level.

4. Length of the Song: Opt for a song that is neither too short or too long. Aim for a duration that allows you to enjoy the moment without feeling rushed or dragging on, usually around 2 minutes! In good news, you chose to hire our live bands, which means we can easily and seamlessly trim a song to the length you need, and your guests won’t even notice! 

5. Danceability: Think about whether the song is easy to dance to or if it requires specific choreography. If you’re not quite so confident in your dancing abilities, choose a song with a simple rhythm that you can sway to effortlessly. 

6. Lyrics and Theme: Make sure to pay attention to the lyrics and theme of the song. You’ll want to be sure they resonate with your relationship and the message you want to convey during your first dance, so be careful not to pick a song that gives the wrong impression or could make your grandparents uncomfortable! 

7. Cultural and Family Traditions: Consider any cultural or family traditions that may influence your song choice. You may want to select a song that reflects your heritage or has significance within your families, or one that incorporates languages or musical influences that are important or meaningful to you and your loved ones. 

8. Avoiding Overplayed Songs: While popular songs can be appealing, consider steering away from overly cliché or overplayed songs to make your first dance feel more unique and personal. There’s nothing wrong with having the same first dance song as another couple, but it can be uncomfortable, especially in the height of wedding season, to hear the same songs each weekend. Here are some examples of songs that have become popular choices for first dances and may be considered overdone:

• “At Last” by Etta James
• “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran
• “All of Me” by John Legend
• “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers
• “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley
• “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith
• “Marry Me” by Train
• “You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne
• “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri
• “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton

While these songs are undeniably beautiful and romantic, they have been frequently chosen and may not feel as unique or personal for some couples. If you’re looking to avoid overdone first dance songs, consider exploring lesser-known or more unconventional options that still resonate with you as a couple. 

9. Practice: Once you’ve chosen your song, remember to practice dancing to it together to ensure you feel comfortable and confident on the dance floor. Even if you want to keep the dance simple, it helps to know what tempos to expect – especially if you’re thinking of trying to incorporate spins or dips! Don’t be afraid to set up your phones to record you from different angles as you practice so you’re sure you look the way you’d like to in the photos and videos of this special moment later on. 

10. Consult with Your Partner: Finally, and most importantly, make sure to discuss your options with your partner and choose a song that you both love and feel excited about dancing to as a couple. This is a deeply meaningful moment for the two of you together, and it should be one that you choose together for what it means to both of you!

While some wedding customs are going by the wayside, such as the garter toss and even the bouquet toss, one wedding reception tradition looks like it will survive the test of time: the cake cutting! And we here at Around Town Entertainment believe that this sweet moment is just as deserving of a soundtrack as the other special moments in your big day – and here’s why: 

Enhancing the Atmosphere: Music has the power to set the mood and atmosphere. By selecting a song that reflects your personalities or the overall tone of the wedding, it can enhance the ambiance and make the moment even more memorable!

Symbolism: The cake cutting ceremony is a significant moment in a wedding, symbolizing your first task together as newlyweds. Choosing a meaningful song can add depth to this symbolism and make the moment even more special! 

Personalization: Every couple has their own unique story and musical preferences. Selecting a song that holds personal significance to you, such as your favorite song or one that reminds you of a special moment in your relationship, adds a personal touch to the celebration.

Creating Memories: Music has a powerful way of evoking memories. By choosing a song that resonates with the two of you, your families, and guests, it can create a lasting memory associated with that specific moment of the wedding day. Like with your first dance song, or the song that plays for your first entrance as a married couple, this song will become one that immediately brings back a happy memory whenever you hear it in the future! 

Adding Fun and Entertainment: The cake cutting ceremony is often one of the most fun and light-hearted parts of the reception. Choosing an upbeat, whimsical, or very apropos song can inject an element of fun and entertainment into the moment, encouraging guests to join in and celebrate! Additionally, this moment can be a little awkward when it happens in total silence – music makes it feel like a fun or even choreographed moment! 

Photography and Videography: Music can enhance the visual storytelling of the wedding day captured by your photographer and videographer. Having a designated song for the cake cutting provides a soundtrack that complements the visuals, making the captured memories even more meaningful.

Overall, selecting songs for the cake cutting at a wedding reception adds a personal and emotional touch to the celebration, enhances the atmosphere, and creates lasting memories for the two of you and your guests! Now, you didn’t think we’d just suggest picking a song for our live wedding bands to play at this special moment and then not give you some carefully curated suggestions did you? Of course not! Incoming, hot off the press, are some of our favorite song choices for cake cutting, broken into categories and accompanied by our reasons for recommending them! 

On the Nose

Ideally, that’s not where the frosting is, but these songs certainly are! 

“Ice Cream” – This playful and sweet song by Sarah McLachlan adds a whimsical touch to the moment, with the added bonus that the song is quite literally about dessert! 

“How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” – A classic song, often performed by both James Taylor and Marvin Gaye, this song perfectly captures the sweetness and joy of being in love – and creates an adorable metaphor by tying it to the sweetness of your cake! 

“Sugar” – Maroon 5’s energetic and catchy hit adds a fun and lively vibe to the decidedly sugary cake cutting moment, making it a great choice for couples looking to infuse some excitement into their celebration. 

 “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies have similarly whimsical and playful lyrics, which can add a lighthearted and joyful atmosphere to the cake cutting moment. The song talks about sweetness and love, which are, again, fitting themes for a cake cutting moment! 

Let the Good Times Roll! 

The cake cutting is one of the best moments to incorporate a sweet, uplifting, up-tempo song, which is a nice contrast from some of the other often sweeter and slower moments of a wedding reception. These are some of our favorites that fit that bill! 

“Lucky” – Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait’s timeless duet is the perfect amount of sweetness – just like your love (and your cake)! 

“L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole is a charming, bouncy classic that really gets right to the heart of this sweet moment between you and your partner. 

“Better Together” by Jack Johnson is another bubbly, sweet song – and this one is very appropriate since you and your partner are quite literally cutting your cake together! 

“Love on Top” – Beyoncé. Queen B is always the right choice. That’s really all we have to say about this one – you simply can’t go wrong with something this classic. 

“You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne is probably the most brassy and boldly celebratory song on this list – so if your cake has sparklers on it, we can’t think of a better song pairing.

Zach and Julie met the old-fashioned way, like most couples their age… on Hinge! They met for drinks at The Binc in Brooklyn Heights in May of 2022 and ended up spending hours together that night. But… he was only in NYC for that month before moving to Texas for the next three years! They spent that month ordering sushi, getting to know each other and their friends, all while knowing it would come to an end when he headed to the Lonestar state in June. Despite having sworn off long distance, as the end of May neared, the two found themselves reconsidering – one visit to Texas later by Julie, they said “why not?” and took the plunge! They spent the following year flying between Texas and NYC, eating and exploring their way through innumerable cities, cheering on the Yankees; moving, grooving, and singing along at concerts; getting to know and love each other’s families, and spending hours and hours on FaceTime realizing they were meant for each other.

In May 2023, Zach flew to NYC to celebrate his birthday – where Julie “thought” she was planning a surprise birthday party for him with all of their family and friends. But little did she know, Zach was planning a surprise of his own. He had worked with her brother and their friends to reimagine the supposedly-surprise birthday party as their engagement party! On their way to the bar where the party was, they took a walk through Brooklyn Bridge Park and Zach got down on one knee and popped the question – and Julie said yes! The reverse-engineered double surprise party full of all their friends and family was just the icing on the cake, and was a testament to just how well Zach knows Julie: he knew she’d want to plan her own engagement party (even if she didn’t realize it at the time)! 

When it came time to plan their New York wedding, Julie and Zach chose to have Around Town’s Altitude Band provide the live music for their special day at The View at Battery Park! On one of those strange December days that started out somewhere in the 50s, but suddenly dropped into the single digits, just as the sun had set, the pair tied the knot in the beautiful second-floor room of The View, overlooking Battery Park, with the gorgeous backdrop of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty rising out of the water in the distance. Accompanied by Around Town’s oh-so talented pianist and violinist, the bridal party led the way down the aisle to a stunning rendition of “Kiss the Girl” from Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ – a sweet and very apt precursor to Julie’s entrance. Coming down the aisle to a positively swoon-worthy and tear-jerking “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, as Julie and Zach closed all of the distance of their relationship to come together, forever. Once the vows were exchanged, they made their way back up the aisle to Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True” – a perfect song for the celebration. 

Then it was on to the reception! The Altitude Band kicked off the party with a classic – ABBA’s “Mamma Mia” as the new Mr. & Mrs. grooved their way into the room. As a treat for themselves and their guests, Zach and Julie brought Altitude’s saxophonist in on the action, which elevated the whole vibe – especially since they cleverly slowed down a lot of the songs for their most important and special moments. Their touching first dance was a beautiful, stripped down version of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – a perfect song for two people whose love grew over lots of distance and lots of travel. Of course, the energy wouldn’t stay slow for long – not with an energetic Hora to follow it up! 

Julie and her father took to the floor with a gorgeous, ballad-like rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” and Zach and his mother followed it with a similarly slowed and poignant version of The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun.” One thing is for sure, this couple knows how to have a perfect and heartfelt moment with the people closest to them! Of course, these two also know how to party – and the Altitude Band really brought the heat with energetic bops galore. From Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” to DJ Sammy’s “Heaven” the dancing went til eleven o’ clock – with nary a mention of anyone named Caroline or how sweet she might or might not be for these Yankees fans! Of course, most appropriately, Calvin Harris’ “Feel So Close” played – reminding everyone of just how much distance, time, and space these lovebirds traveled and overcame to be together. 

Let’s say you’ve got a friend or family member with tremendous musical talent. Maybe they’re in a band or maybe they sing at karaoke every Wednesday night. Or, maybe you’ve only ever heard them sing along with the radio! Either way, you think they’re great. Asking them to perform at your wedding seems like a great idea, but when you search the internet for advice on how to ask, you find only one tip: don’t do it.

Asking loved ones to perform at your wedding is a dangerous game. If they agree and all goes well, you’ll have a lovely memory of your friend being a special part of your special day. However, if you aren’t careful, you could spoil your wedding and (more importantly) damage your relationship with your friend! We don’t believe you should avoid asking entirely, but we do think you need to ask with reasonable expectations. Here are a few dos and don’ts to guide you in asking your musical friends to perform on your wedding day.

Do Know What You’re Asking (and Make Sure They Do, Too)

When you ask your friend to perform at your wedding, you’re asking for a lot more than a simple song. There’s a lot that goes into a perfect show (just like a wedding), and it’s important that both you and your friend know exactly what is being asked of them.

For instance, does your friend need to provide sound equipment or will the venue have some on site they can use? Will there be time for a sound check or does the reception immediately follow the ceremony? Is your friend only performing one song, or acting as the evening’s entertainment—complete with emceeing duties? These details need to be hammered out before you and your friend agree to anything.

Of course, if your friend is a professional musician, they may already be aware of what “playing a wedding” really means. If this is the case, great! But it is still critically important that you establish expectations and understand how much time, effort, and money will go into this gig. If not, you’re almost certainly in for a world of stress and strained relationships.

Do Offer to Pay Them

When you hired your caterer, you agreed to pay them. When you bought your wedding dress, you paid the bridal shop proprietor. When you booked your venue, you definitely promised payment (and probably put down a deposit). But when it comes to “friendors”—friends we ask to be vendors, like musicians or photographers—we sometimes forget to pony up the dough. Let me say it loud for the people in the back: do not do that!

If you want your friend to perform at your wedding, you have to offer to pay them. It doesn’t matter if your friend is a working musician with years of shows under their belt or simply someone who can carry a tune— they always deserve payment for their time and talent.

Of course, there’s always a chance that your friend won’t accept payment. Maybe they’ll consider the performance their wedding gift to you, or maybe they just won’t take it to be nice. If that’s the agreement you come to, great! But offering to pay them proves that you respect their time and consider them a true artist, and every artist will appreciate that.

Don’t Pressure Them Into Performing

Have a cousin with an excellent singing voice? Is he always asked to sing at every wedding, first Communion, graduation party, and Christmas get-together my family ever?!

Over the years, does this cousin start turning down requests to sing? For him, attending a family event was no longer fun; he felt put-upon and annoyed by the pressure to perform. And guess what? Sometimes, musicians just want to kick back with their friends and enjoy a wedding without standing in the spotlight.

If you ask your friend to perform at your wedding and they refuse, let it go. There are a million different reasons why someone may turn down a chance to play the music they love, and no amount of “Please, please, please” and “But you’re sooo good” will change their minds—or if they do finally agree, they may feel resentful.

Don’t Micromanage the Music

So, your friend has agreed to play music at your wedding. You both know what that entails, and you’ve agreed on a fair price for the gig. Good work, but you’re not out of the woods, yet. Now your job is to toe the line between creative suggestions and creativity killer.

You probably booked your friend because you think they’re talented and you like their musical style. But as it is your wedding day, you definitely have special requests for their set: specific songs you want them to play, a general ambiance you want to create–that sort of thing. It’s perfectly reasonable to want these things (it is your day, after all), but it’s important to give these suggestions sparingly, so your friend doesn’t feel stifled by their performance.

Having a loved one perform at your wedding can be a beautiful way to include more people on your special day. And if you respect your musical friends and follow these tips, you’ll certainly get through the show with your friendship intact.