Oh, Christen and Ben. These long-time love birds came to me just a few short weeks before their wedding for two lessons of first dance preparation. Luckily, they were already pretty confident dancing together and just needed help pairing the right steps with the music.

They also brought me a challenge: Christen and Ben had a long list of first dance songs and each song had a significant meaning to the couple. I think this probably happens often, but unfortunately, you can’t dance to multiple first dance songs at the same time. That’s the thing with the first dance–there’s just one. So, do you eliminate the song that was playing when you had your first kiss? Or, your favorite love song by your favorite band? Or, the one that reminds you of the butterflies from the very beginning of the relationship? It can be really tough to narrow it down.

Once I listened through all six (or was it eight?) songs in the running, I was able to separate them into two styles of dance based on the timing. Christen and Ben decided it wasn’t a good idea to learn two very different styles of dance in the weeks leading up to the wedding (smart cookies!), so that eliminated half of the first dance songs. Then, once we began practicing basic steps and timing with the remaining songs, Christen and Ben decided to share their first dance to “You and Me” by Dave Matthews Band.

In the end, I think it was an awesome first dance song choice for Christen and Ben. For a couple who has traveled the world together and survived, (nay, thrived!) and are genuinely excited to be parents some day, this song was a perfect testament to their relationship before marriage and the adventure to come.

Congratulations, Christen and Ben!

Wanna pack your bags, Something small
Take what you need and we disappear
Without a trace we'll be gone, gone
The moon and the stars can follow the car
and then when we get to the ocean
We gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes

You and I, we're not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky
We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world
To the end of the world

We can always look back at what we did
All these memories of you and me baby
But right now it's you and me forever girl
And you know we could do better than anything that we did
You know that you and me, we could do anything

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yeah, yeah
Two of us together, we could do anything, baby
You and me together yeah, yeah
Two of us together yeah, yeah
Two of us together, we could do anything, baby