LOLAH Entertainment

Live Music & DJ for High-End Events & Weddings

First Dance Songs for Your Wedding (Even If You’re Shy)

LOLAH, Bay Area wedding singer, playing acoustic guitar under string lights

A while ago I played a wedding for a lovely couple who planned everything themselves, with no wedding planner. They had a hundred things on their plate. The bride told me she was a little shy and nervous about all the attention. I kept nudging them to choose a first dance song, but it kept slipping down the list. On the wedding day, they still hadn’t picked one, and in the end, they skipped it.

Skipping is fine if it’s what you want. But honestly, as a wedding musician and DJ, I was a little disappointed when they decided to skip it, because the first dance is one of my favorite parts of the whole day. So I figured this post might give you some inspiration.

First Dance Tips for Shy Couples

  • Keep it short. A first dance usually lasts 1 minute to 1 minute and a half. I fade the song before it ever feels long.
  • Invite everyone in. Halfway through, I can invite your wedding party and guests to join you. The spotlight moves off you.
  • Skip the choreography. Holding each other and swaying is enough. Guests remember how you look at each other, not your footwork.
  • Set the mood with lighting. Soft lights or Dancing on Clouds, a low fog across the floor, make the moment feel private even in a full room.
  • Choose live music. When I sing your first dance live, I watch you and follow your pace. If you want to end early, I end with you.
Hailey and Mike's first dance in low fog under string lights at Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley, with fog and lighting by LOLAH
From a wedding I played in Napa Valley: Hailey and Mike’s first dance at Domaine Chandon. My team ran the fog machine and lighting for this moment. Read their wedding story. Photo: Tiffany Singh Photography.

First Dance Songs I Sing Live

These are songs from my live repertoire. Each one sounds softer and more personal with just a voice and a guitar.

SongArtistWhy it works
Can’t Help Falling in LoveElvis PresleySlow and timeless. Works for every age in the room.
Kiss MeSixpence None the RicherLight and sweet, for couples who want happy, not heavy.
Tennessee WhiskeyChris StapletonSoulful and slow, very easy to sway to.
Love Me Like You DoEllie GouldingModern and romantic.
AngelsRobbie WilliamsA big, emotional chorus.
Beautiful ThingsBenson BooneA current pick with a lot of feeling.
So Easy (To Fall in Love)Olivia DeanWarm and soft, a newer favorite.

Here is how Can’t Help Falling in Love sounds live:

Can’t Help Falling in Love, sung live by LOLAH

Live music for your wedding

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I sing your first dance live, then keep the night going with a full DJ set. Weddings across the Bay Area, Napa and Monterey.

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More First Dance Songs I Sing Live

  • God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
  • Come Away With Me, Norah Jones
  • Everything, Lifehouse
  • When You Say Nothing at All, Alison Krauss
  • Always Remember Us This Way, Lady Gaga
  • Perfect, Ed Sheeran
  • Love Story, Taylor Swift
  • Lover, Taylor Swift
  • A Thousand Years, Christina Perri
  • Make You Feel My Love, Adele
  • All of Me, John Legend
  • I’ll Make Love to You, Boyz II Men
  • I Swear, All-4-One
  • Lucky, Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat
  • If I Ain’t Got You, Alicia Keys
  • Just the Way You Are, Bruno Mars
  • Yellow, Coldplay
  • Die With A Smile, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
  • Until I Found You, Stephen Sanchez

More First Dance Songs for 2026

Modern

  • Risk It All, Bruno Mars
  • Golden Hour, JVKE

Classic

  • At Last, Etta James
  • La Vie en Rose, Édith Piaf
  • Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra
  • Better Together, Jack Johnson
  • My Way, Frank Sinatra

Country First Dance Songs

Country is one of the most searched first dance styles, and it’s easy to sway to. Tennessee Whiskey from my live list above is a favorite. A few more:

  • Amazed, Lonestar
  • Bless the Broken Road, Rascal Flatts
  • Speechless, Dan + Shay
  • Die a Happy Man, Thomas Rhett
  • H.O.L.Y., Florida Georgia Line
  • 10,000 Hours, Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber
  • Then, Brad Paisley
  • The Painter, Cody Johnson

Unique First Dance Songs

Want something your guests haven’t heard at every wedding? These are softer, less expected picks.

  • Bloom, The Paper Kites
  • Turning Page, Sleeping At Last
  • Lovesong, The Cure
  • Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
  • First Day of My Life, Bright Eyes
  • Sea of Love, Cat Power
  • Still Into You, Paramore

First Dance Songs My 2026 Couples Chose

These came straight from this year’s wedding plans and the playlists my couples shared with me.

  • Would That I by Hozier, for a barn wedding with a starry-night theme
  • Die With a Smile by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, at a Napa Valley wedding with fog rolling across the dance floor
  • Speechless by Dan + Shay and You’re Still the One (the Teddy Swims version), on a country couple’s shortlist
  • Promise by Romeo Santos and Usher, the bachata song one couple played right after their first dance
  • Dandelions by Ruth B., Forever by Noah Kahan and Ordinary by Alex Warren, from a couple in their late 20s
  • Let There Be Love by Nat King Cole, A Sunday Kind of Love by Etta James and Have I Told You Lately by Van Morrison, from a jazz-loving couple in their 60s and 70s
  • Wedding Dress by TAEYANG and First Love by Hikaru Utada, from a Hong Kong couple’s wedding playlist

Want more? My Top 100 wedding songs list has 20 more first dance classics. And when the first dance ends and the party starts, here are 70 dance songs for your reception. Planning the parent dances too? Here are my father daughter dance songs.

Imagine your first dance, performed live

Found your song? I can sing it live with vocals and guitar while you dance, a moment your guests will feel rather than just hear.

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First Dance Questions

How long should a first dance be?

Usually 1 minute to 1 minute and a half. Most songs run three to four minutes, so I fade yours at a natural spot, or play the whole song if you love it.

Do we have to do a first dance?

No. Some couples skip it, and that’s okay. You can also invite everyone onto the dance floor with you from the first song, or save a private last dance for the end of the night.

Can you sing a first dance song that isn’t on your list?

Yes. Tell me early and I’ll learn it. A song that means something to you two is always worth it.

Can we have a live first dance and a DJ after?

Yes. That’s my Signature Hybrid. I sing live for your ceremony, cocktail hour and first dance, then move into a full DJ set for the party, with no break in between.

Have your date and a song in mind, or still deciding? Check my availability and we can figure it out together.

LOLAH

LOLAH is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and DJ based in San Jose, California, and the founder of LOLAH Entertainment. Music has been part of her whole life: she built a following in Vietnam’s indie rock scene as the frontwoman of White Noiz before bringing her career to the Bay Area in 2017. She has shared stages with international acts such as The Vaccines, Frank Turner, Heavy Tigers and Antigone Rising, and has performed at hundreds of weddings, corporate events and private parties for clients including Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Cisco. Her voice and powerful guitar playing captivate audiences wherever she goes. She has been featured on CBS and FOX News and recognized by Content Magazine, and her original songs have been played on radio stations across the US, including KFAI and KSVR, and streamed on Spotify. With her band, LOLAH & The Travelers, she brings the same energy to festivals and dance floors across Northern California.