Anniversary Dance | Flipping the Tradition

In a recent blog post, I wrote about things you can ask your DJ for to make sure you get the best images and that post got me thinking about the way that events at the reception can vary at a wedding reception. Whenever someone has flipped a tradition, it always catches my attention.

Everyone knows about the traditional anniversary dance. The DJ calls all of the married couples to the dance floor. Year by year, couples are asked to sit down, leaving the last remaining couple to dance and share advice with the new bride and groom about how to have a long and happy marriage.

“I quickly realized how intuitive this small change was”

I recently shot a few weddings where the traditional anniversary dance was flipped. In these weddings, the DJ’s would start the anniversary dance by asking the guests which couple had been married longest. That couple was invited to the dance floor to start the anniversary dance. From there, they counted down in years married, constantly adding couples to the dance floor. At first, I was confused, but after seeing this a few times, I realized how intuitive this change was.

“It turned the anniversary dance into a visual representation of what marriage creates”

I, being the relentlessly sentimental person that I am, couldn’t help but get a little teary eyed. Instead of making couples feel like their marriage wasn’t as valid as someone who has ten years on them, this simple change turned the anniversary dance into wonderful visual representation of what marriage creates. It starts with two people falling in love, and grows. It creates new generations, new loves.

Not only do I feel like this small change to the anniversary dance was a better way to celebrate marriage, but also, it left the dance floor full and ready to start the party. Most of the time, the anniversary dance is the last “event” before open dancing. The traditional way invites guests to the dance floor, only to reward their participation with sending them back to their seats. With this new way, you are giving people a reason to get people on the dance floor and a reason to stay there!