Fun Wedding Music Activities

Music is as much a component of a good wedding as food and drink.

You can have a wedding without music, but it’s likely it will seem a little quiet and dull. So whether you have a full live band, a string quartet, a DJ spinning tunes or recorded music from a boom box, it should be included.

But music’s not just for dancing. There are a myriad of activities you can plan around the music that will add an element of fun to your wedding.

Fun Wedding Music Activities
One popular idea is to play musical chairs. Sure, this is a fun kid’s game and you don’t want to insult your guests in any way, but you can have some fun with this version of musical chairs. The chairs can be just about anything, from chairs lined up from the food tables, to the floor, if you think your guests might be open to sitting on the floor (and then having to get up and down again). One fun option is to use the men as the chairs – they kneel on the floor, with one knee on the floor and the other bent. The women sit lightly on the men’s’ knees as they are playing musical chairs. When either the man or woman falls down, that couple is out, until one couple is left.

Some brides and grooms like to play musical chairs in order to give away the table centerpiece, which many guests like to take home. Instead of assigning a number and awarding the centerpiece to the person in possession of that number, you have each table play musical chairs until the person left standing is the one that gets to take home the centerpiece.

Wedding Music
How about a rousing game of “name that tune”? This is a game that’s best for a smaller, intimate wedding where everyone knows the bride and groom well. Prior to the wedding, whoever is planning the wedding should get a list of favorite songs of both the bride and groom. Create a CD of those songs, and then create a game of “name that tune”. Guests can be divided into teams and then be played just a small snippet of each song.

After guests hear that first snippet, they can then “bid” on how quickly they can name the tune. So one group might say they can name the tune in 10 seconds, while the other group might say 5 seconds. Once one group has bowed out, the other group will then have to “name that tune”. This is a fun game that gets everyone involved and which the bride and groom are particularly delighted by. More about Wedding Activities.

Varieties Of Latin Dance

Latin dance has become increasingly popular in recent years, with more and more people enjoying the various styles that comprise this genre of dance. The most popular are easily recognizable, at least in name. All have their origin in South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. If you’re thinking about taking Latin dance lessons, here is a brief description of the different styles to aid you in deciding which is best for you.

Rumba: The rumba has its origins in Afro-Cuban dance traditions. It’s a very slow dance, which accentuates the sensuality of the body’s movement. This is considered the most erotically charged of all Latin dances.

Samba: Created in Brazil, the samba is one of the most popular types of Latin dance to learn. The dance is typically performed in a partnership between a man and a woman and is characterized by signature arm and leg bending movements.

Salsa: The most popular Latin dance of all, thousands of people decide to take dancing lessons to learn the salsa every year. The dance is typically performed as a duet with a man and a woman, but each participant has solo dance steps that will need to be performed in time to recreate the dance perfectly. The dance is performed in a small area of the dance floor so that many people can participate in the dance at the same time.

Mambo: The mambo has its roots on the island nation of Cuba. Mambo is the “father” of salsa music, and the two share many similarities, though salsa is considered to be more complicated. The mambo is also unusual in its rhythm, in that it is quick-quick-slow.

Merengue: The merengue is a dance that hails from the Dominican Republic. The two partners hold each other in a closed position, with the hips of both the man and the woman moving in the same direction throughout the song. Interestingly, many people say that the dance was developed by a limping war hero who had to step that way due to his injuries.

Tango: The tango is another popular Latin dancing style that many people decide to learn from professional dance instructors each year. Originating in Argentina, this dance is one of the most difficult to learn because of the intricate steps that must be performed in time with the music and the fluid movements cause the participants to sway across the dance floor.

Whatever particular style of Latin dance you choose when learning dance; you’ll enjoy the numerous benefits of embracing this hobby. While it is a great way to pass the time, it also represents a wonderful way to exercise. Any of the above styles are also suitable to choose for your wedding dance lessons. This doubles as a great way to become closer with your spouse, learning the teamwork that can be taken back into the home. That’s something that everyone can appreciate!