by Chenay Jordan

Created on: July 07, 2008

How many weddings have you been to that the bride and groom choose the song "At Last" by Etta James to dance to for the first time?

Chances are probably more than a few. Ironically, even though the same song is played over and over at every matrimonial event you attend, every event is different.

For the bride and groom to be, the first dance is one of the most special moments at their wedding. It is the first time they get to hold one another while a special song plays and they can gaze into one another's eyes as "husband and wife." However, a lot of couples don't know how to pick their first dance song and end up with the ever faithful "At Last."

Here are some simple tips to ensure that your first dance is unique to your relationship and personality and that you will remember it for all eternity.

Most couples dream of wowing their guests with a complicated choreographed dance (like a waltz, tango, jive, or rumba) to a great song with loud applause and fantastic pictures. Unfortunately, most of these couples also don't know the steps for these dances and dance lessons are time consuming and pricey in the midst of planning the big day. You can buy videos that teach you the basics but after a couple trysts of dragging your fianc out to the middle of the dance floor (which is really the living room) out the window goes the dream of the incredible first dance as you both aren't coordinated, patient, or dedicated enough to pull this off (I know this from my own experience in 2007).

So, the first tip is: forget about making up an elaborate, choreographed dance, just dance! Besides, when the big moment arrives and you take your places on the dance floor for the first time, you will be so nervous that anything you did manage to perfect will be lost forever in a never ending brain fog.

That isn't to say don't practice at all, but just relax and get used to dancing with your mate if you aren't the dancing types and forget about impressing your guests, they don't care, they are just ecstatic to see the new couple dancing together for the first time as husband and wife.

Once you are comfortable with the fact that the first dance is really just for you and your new spouse (and NOT for your guests), then you need to start discussing what song you want to use. There are a number of questions you can ask yourselves to start narrowing down your choices, here are a few:

What are our favorite love songs?

What are our favorite songs, period?

What is the "theme" of our wedding? (That

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