Welcome to Wedding Ezine -The Online Magazine
Issue January 1-15, 2003
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our Brides and Grooms have danced the night away at their fairytale weddings! Let us help you plan Your 1st Dance and MORE! Offers the most full service Bridal Dance Packages. We hope you enjoy our Wedding newsletter, full of fun and useful information to help with your wedding day planning. Don't forget to book your wedding dance lessons!

Table of Contents

Click on a topic or scroll down.

1) A New Bridal Themed Wallpaper for your computer desktop!

Now your computer screen can be dressed up too! Simply right click your mouse on our background and tell your computer to save ("set") as wall paper, BUT be sure you have saved the current background on you computer desktop first, if you want to get it back! If the background does not show up immediately, right click on your desktop background and click on refresh.

2) A Different Celebrity Wedding Photo from Past or Present!

Dancing has always been the sport of both Princes and Nobles. For those of you who choose to dance at your weddings you will find yourself in Excellent Royal Company! The monarchs "tripping the light fantastic" below are Prince Joachim of Denmark & Alexandra Manley, Prince Haakon of Norway & Mette-Marit Tjessem Höiby and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway & Ari Behn.

3) Poems, Prayers & Promises

A romantic quote to elevate your mood or to help you find the right sentiment for your vows or ceremony.

"I will make you brooches and toys for your delight,
Of bird-song at morning and star-shine at night.
I will make a palace fit for you and me,
Of green days in forests and blue days at sea.

I will make my kitchen, and you shall keep your room,
Where white flows the river and bright blows the broom,
And you shall wash your linen and keep your body white
In rainfall at morning and dewfall at night.

And this shall be for music when no one else is near,
The fine song for singing, the rare song to hear!
That only I remember, that only you admire,
Of the broad road that stretches and the roadside fire

       Robert Louis Stevenson

4) Kim's Wedding Tips!

Picking The Song You Dance To ...

The Most Important thing about the song you dance to is that YOU love it. Pick a song that speaks to you as a couple, epitomizes your relationship or holds some special memories for you. Keep in mind that if you choose a really upbeat song it may be a swing which can add a fun element to your wedding but will not give you a formal gliding around the floor look. Never let anyone tell you not to dance to a specific song. I have had several students come to me from traditional studios where they were told they couldn't dance to the song they had chosen because it was too fast or too slow. Poppycock! A dance teacher can tell you if your song is easy or hard to dance to (that is part of their job), but YOU pay dance instructors to teach you how to dance. Period. You can have your friends and family listen to the words of your song to tell you if they think it is appropriate if you are unsure. BUT, go out and choose precisely the song you want regardless of what anyone says! It's your moment, your wedding and your memories!

4A)Wedding Dance Tip
PERILS of STANDARD STUDIO INSTRUCTORS:
One of the problems with selecting a standard dance studio or instructor is that wedding couples are traditionally seen as "lost leads." This is because the couple has a short term goal, which does not usually lead them to take very many lessons. Keep these facts in mind when you call or go into a studio:
1)"Free" lessons are worth every penny you pay for them and not one more. Most "free lessons" at dance studios are nothing but a means to get you through the door. You will spend a goodly amount of time learning about the benefits of dancing and about pricing, but you will learn very little about dancing. It costs a dance studio thousands of dollars to create a dance instructor and they do not give away private lessons for nothing! You will experience a stronger sales pitch than any used car salesman could possibly throw at you!
2)Generally, studios will not let you take only one dance. By splitting up your hours, you will feel less comfortable in any one dance. This makes you more likely to either buy more lessons or make your wedding dance less than perfect. The cold hard truth is that it takes about 5 hours to feel comfortable in any new dance. Anyone who promises that you can learn two or more dances in that time frame is more interested in selling you lessons than having you look good.
3)Because you are likely to be a small sale (less than 40 hours) you are often given to the most inexperienced instructors who know little more than you do. Dance lessons are are like any other service you will engage for your wedding. You have every right to ask how long your instructor has been teaching. Would you want to hire a chauffeur who just moved to the area, got his license last week and has never driven the limo before?
4)First Dance Impressions breaks the mold. None of this applies to us. Please call us or check out our web site to see how we are different!

5) A Wedding Tradition Explained!

"DANCING AT WEDDINGS"
Dancing at weddings has been a embedded in so many cultures that it is hard to say who came up with the idea first. In many cultures it was done in celebration as a group. One of the first recorded is the Hymenial Dance, which was performed at marriage festivals by young men and girls wearing crowns of flowers. This dance was expressive of the mirth and happiness of love and marriage. Often continuing until dawn of next day, the newly married couple were expected to watch it, if not participating themselves.
The Siganos, a dance in Crete also known as the "Dance of Theseus" is a wedding dance, led by the groom in a serpentine fashion, who thereby learns how to get out of the labyrinth of life.
One of the first modern ballets was produced on a grand scale in 1480, for the Duke Galcazzo of Milan, in honor of his marriage to Isabella of Aragon. It soon became the principal amusement for all great occasions at the European courts.
The Hagallah is a ritual middle eastern dance (or "belly dance") performed at weddings leading the "zeffa" or wedding procession. The men of the community/family clap and sing together showing their solidarity. Originally the dancer was often a member of the bride's family, and the other women could take turns playing the central role. The costume was a simple long dress with long sleeves and a scarf tied around the hips. Now it is more often the case that the dancer is a professional performer with much more elaborate costuming.
Today's practice of the bride and groom being the first to dance, kicking off the festivities, is the first symbolic demonstration of the couple truly being husband and wife. The guests watch the couple, seeing them"moving as one" before the world. This dance shows the happiness they hope to have throughout their wedded life.

6) This issue's Featured Vendor!

FIRST DANCE IMPRESSIONS

That's right! It's us! Click on the banner above to go to our home page. As our New Year's special we are offering a 10% discount to all couples who book their first appointment and send us a deposit before Valentines Day, 2003! Have you got two or even four left feet? Are you dreading that first dance where everybody will be staring at you? YOU CAN DANCE and we will prove it to you. You will not only enjoy dancing with each other but you will also impress your family and friends. Years later the guests may not remember what kind of flowers you had or which sauce was on the chicken but they will mention to everybody how great your first dance was if you take lessons with us! We make dancing fun and easy.

7) Special Events!

Our teachers run events and perform locally on a regular basis.

Click to view the latest issue of our bridal newsletter: Wedding Ezine-The Online Magazine for our current listings!

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