Why the Anniversary Dance is a FUN Inclusion at Weddings + 50 Songs
At weddings, celebrating the love you have for your partner with family and friends is half the fun!
Coming up with interactive ways to keep your wedding guests engaged is part of the wedding planning process. To this end, you might consider including the anniversary dance in your wedding.
The purpose of the anniversary dance is to celebrate all of the married couples at your wedding and honor the longest-married couple for the love they share.
The anniversary dance benefits a wedding in many ways:
It makes your married guests feel included and celebrates their marriages.
Provides marriage goals for you and your guests.
You can get some great marriage advice from your guests that have been married the longest.
More photo opportunities and happy memories to look back on.
An engaging way to fill the dance floor and get all your guests energized for a night of partying.
Read on to learn how the anniversary dance works, explore fun variations on the dance and see our compilation of 50 romantic songs that are perfect for celebrating everlasting love!
Table of Contents
How The Anniversary Dance Works
Your DJ starts the anniversary dance by inviting all married couples to the dance floor to dance with you newlyweds for a song or two.
Over the course of the dance, the DJ will politely ask couples who have been married for less than 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, and so on to leave the dance floor. The DJ will keep removing couples until only you, the newlyweds and the longest-married couple remains.
To make the anniversary dance extra meaningful, ask the longest-married couple if they have any advice for maintaining a loving marriage. (They have the most experience after all!)
When To Do The Anniversary Dance & For How Long
The anniversary dance is traditionally the third dance of the evening, it follows the first dance and the parent’s dance. This dance would precede the bouquet toss and cutting of the cake.
The real question to ask yourself is if you want the anniversary dance to precede opening the dance floor to all your guests or not. Your DJ could either start the anniversary dance right after the main wedding dances or let everyone dance for a bit before inviting all the married couples to the floor.
The anniversary dance typically lasts for 1-2 songs, 3 to 6 minutes.
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Enjoyable Anniversary Dance Variations
The Bouquet Dance
Is the idea of tossing a bouquet at your friends not doing it for you? The anniversary dance can be used as an alternative to throwing a bouquet.
This variation of the anniversary dance is called the bouquet dance. At the end of the anniversary dance, the couple that has been married the longest shall receive the bouquet.
The bouquet dance is a great way to further engage and honor your guests in a fun event.
The Reverse Anniversary Dance
The reverse anniversary dance can be a fantastic way to open up the dance floor for your guests.
This dance starts with the newlyweds dancing together on the floor, perhaps with their parents. The DJ will start to invite more couples to the dance floor based on the number of years they have been married. At the end of the dance, all of the married couples will be dancing together.
50 Anniversary Dance Songs That Celebrate Everlasting Love
A good anniversary dance song is all about timeless and enduring love! Older songs cater to couples who have been married for decades, but any song about everlasting love can be a good choice.
Our compilation of 50 love songs uses gender-neutral language, making them inclusive to any wedding crowd.
Fleetwood Mac - You Make Loving Fun (Alternative)
Sam Smith - Latch (Alternative)
The Carpenters - We've Only Just Begun (Folk)
Ray LaMontange - You Are the Best Thing (Folk)
Alan Jackson - I'd Love You All Over Again (Country)
Alan Jackson - Remember When (Country)
Kenny Rogers - Through the Years (Country)
Shania Twain - You're Still the One (Country)
Tim Mcgraw - You Just Get Better All The Time (Country)
Frank Sinatra - It Had To Be You (Jazz)
Frank Sinatra - Love Is Here to Stay (Jazz)
Michael Bublé - The Best Is Yet to Come (Jazz)
Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E (Jazz)
Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole - Unforgettable (Jazz)
Adele - Make You Feel My Love (Pop)
Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love (Pop)
Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings (Pop)
Celine Dion - Because You Loved Me (Pop)
Christina Perri - A Thousand Years (Pop)
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time (Pop)
Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (Pop)
Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Pop)
Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up (Pop)
Rod Stewart - Have I Told You Lately (Pop)
Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply (Pop)
Sonny & Cher - I Got You Babe (Pop)
The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody (Pop)
Al Green - Let’s Stay Together (R&B Soul)
Ben E. King - Stand By Me (R&B Soul)
Billy Withers - Just The Two of Us (R&B Soul)
Etta James - At Last (R&B Soul)
John Legend - All of Me (R&B Soul)
John Legend - Stay With You (R&B Soul)
Lionel Richie & Diana Ross - Endless Love (R&B Soul)
Natalie Cole - This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) (R&B Soul)
Sade - By Your Side (R&B Soul)
Stevie Wonder - Overjoyed (R&B Soul)
The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You (R&B Soul)
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (R&B Soul)
Jason Mraz - I’m Yours (Reggae)
Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes - (I've Had) The Time Of My Life (Rock)
Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (Rock)
Elvis Presley - Can’t Help Falling in Love (Rock)
Edwin McCain - I'll Be (Rock)
Jay and The Americans - This Magic Moment (Rock)
Journey - After All These Years (Rock)
King Harvest - Dancing in the Moonlight (Rock)
Orleans - Still the One (Rock)
The Beatles - When I’m Sixty Four (Rock)
The Eagles - Best of My Love (Rock)
Bay Area Wedding Dance Lessons with Steps to Love
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We are expert wedding dance choreographers and we can help you become totally confident to dance with your partner. You’ll be ready to dazzle your guests and truly enjoy yourselves during the big moment of the most important day of your lives together!
