Dancing Like The Stars

Today's the day. You'll be standing up in front of everyone important in your life and promising your love and devotion to your sweetheart. Maybe you've written your own vows or maybe you'll be repeating time honored traditional phrases. You've been to at least one rehearsal and have practiced your lines. After all, you don't want to fumble this close to the goal line.

But, did you remember you will also be dancing in front of everyone, too? Are you going to make your wife proud and help her look graceful - or will you step on her toes while you shuffle and sway like slow dancer at a high school prom?

In today's world, dancing has made a revival - and according to a recent university study, a man who knows how to dance is more desirable to women. So, if you want to impress your guests and have your new wife giving you extra long stares on and off the dance floor, dust off your dress shoes and head down to the local dance studio for a few lessons.

One Groom's Unique Idea
I proposed to my then-fiancée that we take dance lessons. We signed up to learn a typical wedding foxtrot - but also wanted to learn some other moves, too. You see, I had a plan.

For the five weeks leading up to our wedding, we took dance lessons twice a week. It was great fun for each of us to get out of "wedding prep" mode and go let loose. We had an individual instructor and he spent an hour with us each night teaching us the basics and then weaving those moves into a five minute dance routine. We would come home and practice in our garage (we needed a big enough space to move) and laughed at each other as we attempted to master our steps.

When our wedding day came and it was finally time for our first dance, I escorted my bride onto the dance floor to gentle applause. We started out fox-trotting to Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight - and glided around the room to subdued "ooo's" and "ahh's". Then my plan went into action. The music screeched to a halt with the sound of a needle sliding off a record. My wife and I did our best acting job and looked at each other like we didn't know what was going on. Then Ricky Martin and some hot salsa music began to blare and I spun my wife out of our embrace and we began to shake it Latin style. The wedding erupted. People started screaming, hooting, whistling and clapping. I remember looking over and seeing my sister jumping up and down with her hands over her mouth. We ended our number with the "death drop" - a move where I flung my wife from my left side, across my body and down to the floor, keeping her head about 2 inches off the ground. The crowd got even louder and my wife jumped into my arms. The plan worked and we had a memory that will last our lifetimes. Our friends still tell us that was the best wedding dance they ever saw.

Looking Your Best
You can't do your best if you don't look your best. But that doesn't mean traditional and stuffy. "While today's formal wear is still pretty standard, how some people wear it is not," says Jerry Klein of A Better Deal Tuxedos. Traditionally, strollers and cutaways are used for daytime weddings, tuxedos and white tie and tails for more formal evening affairs. However, people are breaking with tradition based on their own style choices and accessories are becoming a way to customize - such as Windsor ties with vests and using colored accents to bring a personal flair. Manufacturers, like Ralph Lauren, are responding with variations on the traditional garments, using pin stripes and larger stripes, lighter fabrics along with the introduction colored shirts. "Reds, browns and bright, springy pastel colors are some of the styles we're seeing," says Greg Goodwin with Friar Tux Shops, "but we've done special things for those looking for even more of a grand entrance, including special requests from snowboarders to skiers to skydivers."

The groom's formal wear is best ordered at least three months in advance. Some men choose to buy a tuxedo, rather than rent (which can be 30-50% of buying one). Whether you rent or purchase, insist on the proper, tailored fit. Pick up your attire one week before your wedding to insure it fits perfectly, and if more alterations are needed, you will have ample time to have them completed.