Information on Wedding Waltzes

Wedding Waltz - What is the best bridal waltz?

Time and time again brides and grooms to be ask us what songs we could recommend as Wedding waltz. But of course the answer varies. Are looking for a slow waltz or a vienna waltz? Are there modern songs that you can waltz to? What about taking lessons with a dance instructor? Questions, questions; the opening waltz seems to be one of the biggest headaches. And quite a few couples are looking towards their first appearance as Mister & Mrs with mixed feelings.

If this is the case.. Take a deep breath. No stress - this is going to be the best day of your life. And we hope this little guide will help you find your own perfect waltz. If not, why not give us a call and we'll see what we can do!

Opening the dancefloor - The Bridal Waltz

The mobydisc DJ will follow any instructions you give. There are no fixed rules, but this is how the bridal waltz generally takes place:

Dinner was perfect - a few speeches and now you give the DJ a discrete sign that you're ready. The wedding DJ will make a short announcement and ask your guests to come to the dancefloor and form a circle. Now he will start the bridal waltz and you dance as long as you like. Then it is custom for the Bride to ask the Groom's father, and the groom the bride's mother. If you're not into that, the DJ can announce "All waltz" so that you are not alone on the dancefloor anymore. Usually every guest is taking part in something that remotely resembles formal dancing - who cares as long as everyone is having a great time.

Make sure to discuss the following with your DJ

What bridal waltz to play?
Would you like to dance the whole song alone? Or how long?
Should the DJ announce "Everybody dance"?

To help you find the right song we have listed our favourite waltzes and divided them by categories:

Would you like to listen to the tracks? We can not offer music directly on this site, but recommend the Amazon player on the right side to listen to the songs.

Do you know how to waltz?

We'll get in trouble with dance instructors by saying this, but a wedding waltz crash course doesn't seem to work too well. To master a waltz takes time and training. And you want to enjoy the day from beginning til end. There's nothing worse than being on the dancefloor with your eyes glued to your feet while you're trying to keep in time. So if you want to learn how to waltz, start early. If not... cheat. Here are a list of songs by ball room dance orchestras. They may not sound as good as a classical viennese orchestra, but they have a steady beat. Here come the Dance Orchestra Waltzes, all of them vienna waltzes:

Tanzorchester Klaus Hallen - Rosen aus dem Süden
Geoff Love Orchestra - Anniversary Song
Tanzorchester Klaus Hallen - Chim-Chim-Cher-ee

If you think these sound somewhat simplistic, you might be right. Not what you're used to from the Wiener Opernball. There are called concert versions and are a bit harder to follow:

Vienna Waltzes - The Classics!

Johann Strauß - Emperor Waltz
Johann Strauß - The Blue Danube
Dmitri Shostakovich - Waltz 2
Peter Tschaikowsky - Flower Waltz

Please note when listening to these that most Waltzes have an intro of up to two minutes. Your DJ will skip the intro to the danceable part. The downside of these waltzes are the changes in rhythm. Good dancers have no problem with that and as strange as it sounds, people without lessons get along perfectly. So that is our recommendation: Take one of these, because they sound right and just turn in circles. And if you are the bride, you will likely be wearing a long dress and no one can see your feet. So you'll look beautiful no matter what. Just get him not to step on your toes.

Slow Waltzes

No, this has nothing to do with using a pitch on a CD player and making a vienna waltz easier to manage. It's a completely different dance. While the Vienna Waltz has about 60 beats per minute, the Slow waltz only has a mere 30 bpm. Still, there's nothing wrong with a nice slow waltz; it's a beautiful dance and a lot easier to master.

Here are a few examples:

Hildegard Knef - Für mich solls Rote Rosen regnen
Geoff Love Orchestra - Anniversary Song
Olivia Newton John - Sam
Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Jackie de Shannon – What the World needs now
Frank Sinatra - Moon River
Engelbert – Last Waltz

Vienna Waltz - Moderne Songs

Would you have thought? "We are the champions" by Queen actualy is a vienna waltz! Truly, you'd have to be a harcore Queen fan to select that, but if not there are quite a few modern songs that you can dance to. Here are our examples:

Oasis – You've got the heart of a star
Alanis Morissette – Utopia
Phil Collins – Look Through My Eyes
The Beautiful South – One Last Love Song
Seal – Kiss From A Rose
The Corrs – Runaway
Cockney Rebel – Sebastian
Bon Jovi – Bed of Roses
Eros Ramazzotti – Se Bastasse Una Canzone
Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
Mecano – Hijo De La Luna (The original - often copied yet never done justice!)
Billy Joel – Piano Man
Bryan Adams – Have You Ever Realy Loved A Woman
Rihanna – Final Goodbye
Rroger Cicero – Hab das Gefühl verloren
Nick Cave – Where The Wild Roses Grow
Tom Jones – Delilah
Green Day – Working Class Hero
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
Sam Brown – Stop
Madonna – Hey You
REM – Everybody Hurts
The Platters – The Great Pretender
The Stranglers – Golden Brown
Roxette – Anyone
Toad The Wet Sprocket – Walk On The Ocean

Slow Waltzes - Modern songs

If you think those were a bit too fast, here are the slow ones:

Banana Fischbones – So Old
Curtis Stigers – I Wonder Why
Elton John – Can You Feel The Love Tonight
Rosenstolz – Tag In Berlin
Norah Jones – Come Away With Me
Simply Red – If You Don't Know Me By Now
Lionel Richie – Three Times A Lady
Journey – Open Arms

Crazy waltzes - Surprise your guests

So, you're not the romantic type who wants to glide over the parquet for seven minutes? You've got the whole night to spend in the seventh heaven of love... You'd rather get the party started?

Who says you have to dance through to the end. A couple started a trend with a youtube video that went viral. Now youtube is full of crazy bridal waltzes. You can have a look at the video here Brautwalzer einmal anders

Of course you do not have to stick to these titles. But if you want to create your own mix, there are dozens of ways. And your DJ or mobydisc is there to help. Just call us for your own personal "Blue Danube Highway to Hell" Mix