Everyone is shortening their wedding dances these days. Heck, Brides and Grooms are shortening or eliminating practically everything. Here we are focusing on the wedding songs, first dance, parent dance, last dance. I am rarely a fan of shortening a wedding song. I covered the questions of whether or not to edit a wedding song in To Edit or Not to Edit Your Special dance Here I’m telling you not to, sort of.

Why is your Maine Wedding dance important anyway?

There are few bigger joys a father has than holding his daughter on the dance floor just a short time after giving her away at the alter. Holding his own wife on their wedding day might be one of them. Mom feels much the same way about holding her son on the dance floor the day he has chosen a partner in life. This embrace may be long or short, but it begins the tangle of feelings, emotions, and thoughts that run through a parents mind in that moment. Have a real conversation with your parent or spouse before making the decision to cut the song short.

There are really only 2 reasons to cut a song short:

Fear of emotions running high (crying) or

General fear of the spotligh

First we’ll take a look at ways to break the tension with a little levity.

Lighten up the wedding DJ!

One way to lighten the atmosphere is to start with a slow song and breakaway halfway through into a fast song. We can do that, maybe with a record scratch sound effect or something, and a short announcement so your guests know it’s planned. It can be a fun way to have your moment, then break the tension.

Another possibility is to use a fake out. Start playing a song like YMCA, or enter sandman, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Play just a few seconds of the song. You just want the guests to recognize the song, chuckle, and move into the song.

When your Maine DJ makes you the Main Attraction

If The spotlight is the concern, the best way to minimize the spotlight, and maximize guest enjoyment is to invite them to join you. It can be halfway through, right away, or any interval in between. The advantage to this style is it instantly creates a bond with you and your guests. It also begins to break what I refer to as the seat to dance floor barrier. People eat, they get comfy, they may even get chatty. That first trip out to the dance floor can be daunting, especially if no one else is out there. Why not get them used to making that trip? make them comfortable in knowing everyone will be out there with them.

I love you, in a short, sweet kind of way

If all of those options are just not enough reason to keep the full song, and you must cut the length of the song, we can do it. Shortening the song is the proper way to abbreviate a dance. The improper way is to “just fade it out”. Whether it’s a classic like Daddy’s little girl, or the newest Ed Sheeran song, songs have a rhythm, a cadence. You know when the song is finished.

When you fade the song out it looks unnatural. You have planned every other detail of how you will look in front of your guests. Why would you leave one detail out that makes you look awkward? Often you can find a spot in the tail of the song that blends into the section you want to cut. When it’s done right, all your guests see and hear and think about is you looking like a movie star on your wedding day.

More Maine DJ song Tips for your wedding

For more wedding song editing tips, check out these tips on when and how to choose and shorten your special wedding song. For more general event planning information, Check out our Home Page.

Thanks as always for checking in! I’d love to know your thoughts. Have I missed anything? Do you have questions about editing your own song? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

~Mike Mahoney, M&M Entertainment