By the end of such a huge celebratory day as a wedding (and after a few drinks!), everyone’s ready to get up there and strut their stuff on the dance-floor, but finding music to suit everyone’s tastes can be a nightmare. Do you play something modern and up-to-date? Do you go for dance tracks, 90’s bangers some of the old classics to please the older crowd? Or do you go for something a little bit different altogether?
Scottish tradition is to ensure everyone gets up and dancing with a traditional ceilidh – a bit of group folk dancing to ensure that everyone is of equal footing. They can undoubtedly be great fun but which should you go for? Disco or Ceilidh? Let’s find out…
In the Red Corner, representing the disco dance-floor (well, if you’d ever seen her Snoopy Dance you’d definitely proclaim her queen of the dance-floor!) It’s Dom “The Tog Bride”
In the Blue Corner, fighting for the traditional Ceilidh, having lived in Edinburgh for five years he’s no stranger to a bit of traditional scottish dancing (although he did have a tendency to forget the instructions immediately after the first 3 steps!) It’s Matt “The Gormless Groom”.
Disco Vs Ceilidh….
FIGHT!
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Dom: Everyone loves dancing to the tunes they know but unless they are Scottish or Irish they might possibly be put off slightly by the idea of a ceilidh and a style of music and dance they’re not used to.
Matt: Having been someone who hadn’t experienced a ceilidh before I can assure you they’re wonderfully inclusive and a lot of fun. Yes some of the Scots may have learnt a lot of the steps at a young age but there’s always an instructor to tell you the steps as you go along and you swap partners so many times you can see other people doing it and just copy them. You soon get into the swing of it, or if not someone will swing you anyway!
Dom: Ceilidh’s are very much a Scottish/Irish tradition though and however well they may work in their native countries, trying to expand them to other places would be much more difficult.
Matt: I agree that they have a proud heritage and are traditional particularly to Scottish weddings, but having seen lots of Englishmen joining in with them boisterously at Scottish weddings I think they could work in any wedding environment, as long as you get the right band!
Dom: But if you get the right band or DJ for a disco style dance-floor it’s also amazing! You can create quite a rock and roll environment and let people really cut loose and enjoy themselves without worrying about learning steps or following formal dance structures.
Matt: Ceilidh’s are not exactly like English formal dancing though! There are no tangos or foxtrots here, it’s a fun, lively dance that can often turn pretty raucous!
Dom: Kids might struggle more to follow the instructions for the dances though and more elderly guests might not be able to keep up the pace, whereas on a normal dance-floor you’re much more free to do whatever you want to and join in without having to do too much dancing!
Matt: Everyone’s always looking to make their wedding just a little bit different… a Ceilidh is definitely memorable and sets your wedding apart from the others!
FINAL REMARKS:
Dom: The disco dance-floor is always a fun place to be with crazy dancing, everyone singing along to the tunes they love and, particularly when there’s a live band playing, it’s quite possible to come up with a playlist that get’s everyone up and dancing and enjoying themselves.
Matt: Ceilidh’s are something that you don’t get to do all the time and can be loads of fun and a real experience. They’re a great ice breaker as throughout the dance you change partner and can end up dancing with lots of different people. There’s also no reason not to have a mix – a bit of ceilidh dancing followed by a disco or even interwoven throughout the evening.
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So those are our thoughts but what are yours? We’d love to hear your comments and you can also place your vote on the Disco Vs Ceilidh debate below!
All images by York Place Studios.
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