I'm looking for your input.
I am becoming more and more frustrated in my current and 9 to 5 desk job and it's got to the point where it's now or never that i do something with my dance training(some of you may know i already do choreography for am dram in my spare time).
A friend of mine has come up with the idea of becoming a wedding choreographer for the couples first dance. What it means is a couple can have something specific for them and surprise there guests, another special memory for the big day.

What i would like to know is, would you have/would you pay to have someone choreograph your first dance together?

if not any of you got any better ideas and please dont say teaching :biggrin:

Thank you for your time

luv lotts x

When we got married.... we actually had dance lessons! So yes - a very good and popular idea.

Our first dance was "We have all the time in the world" by Louis Armstrong - and we did a very sexy rumba! Our families and friends didn't know that we would be doing this, so the looks on their faces really made it very special indeed.

Vik... perhaps you should consider this also :razz:

What i would like to know is, would you have/would you pay to have someone choreograph your first dance together?



Well, I am a well-known cheapskate living in a very cheap place to live in the US. So that said, I would put forth $50.00 US for a dance choreograph. Then, depending on the lesson times to learn it... maybe $20.00 for each hour session. (Around here piano and singing lessons are about $10.00 an hour)

I am sure in some parts of the world people would pay a lot lot more to come up with the memories/special time.

Good luck... sounds like a great idea!

In short, yes Lotts!

When we got married we were planning on what TF and her hubby did but we had to move our wedding up a year so didn't get around to it, that's beside the point though! I think it's a great idea and, along with some good advertising, it could pull off the ground.

Do you have time in the evenings? I always think it's better to build up the business partly while you're still working so you don't leave your job and then have nothing. If that makes sense. Plus, it could turn out that people want appointments evenings and weekends anyway cos it's more convenient.

/me wishes Lotts all the luck in the world :biggrin:

Vik... perhaps you should consider this also

I don't dance. I CAN'T dance! I am probably the worst dancer in the world, with the possible exeption of Mr. Vik. I feel silly dancing, and I look silly dancing. The only time I dance is with the kids and babies in my class, but that's just running around, jumping, spinning and being silly, really.

Lotts, you'd really have your work cut out with us, lol.

It's a nice idea, I know I am dreading our first dance - I guess I would consider this as an option, but you would have to get your advertising spot on (in wedding magazines etc) because it's not anything I would actually do any research into myself - I just wouldn't think about it.

/me goes into a panic

ohgodohgodohgod I have to dance next May in front of eeeeeeeveryone :(


My only useful advice is go for it. Do something you love to do - work shouldn't have to be horrible. If it doesn't work out, at least you will have tried.

In short, yes Lotts!

Do you have time in the evenings? I always think it's better to build up the business partly while you're still working so you don't leave your job and then have nothing. If that makes sense. Plus, it could turn out that people want appointments evenings and weekends anyway cos it's more convenient.

* Facey;92389 wishes Lotts all the luck in the world :biggrin:

Very good advice Facey

Hmmm...not sure about career advise, this sounds more like business advice.

ok, firstly, many pple may love the idea, i know i do, but...cost comes into it ALOT!
what you charge has to cover your traveling, hourly rate, equipment used and rent for the premises used. So...DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB YET!
lol...you will make a loss believe me, if you have a few customers, your prices will be high, in the course of time, more customers=lower prices.
I personally, would ask around wedding planners, see if they have advertisements that they could recommend you on, make yourself known to these pple and your service may become an add on.
(this may be a cheaper option than having your own lflts made up)

Seasonal, weddings i assume would mainly take place during warmer months.
so work may not be around all year, (id keep the teaching in mind tbh)

How about, you dancing at the weddings/functions..pple always need an ice breaker to get up and dance.

be warned though, starting a new business is tough.

well sorry is some of my advice sounds negative!
bear these expenses in mind and go for it!

good luck.:biggrin:

thank you all for the great advice and being so supportive. my friend who suggested the idea had already thought of everything you guys came up with(which is great cause i'm useless at serious business stuff). i'm glad to see you think it's a good idea. i needed to know if it was something the majority of people would like.
i'm planning of doing it in the evenings so i can carry on working whilst it gets off the ground.
i'm actually doing a freebie as a tester for a friend of a friend.so we're going to see how that goes.
at least i know where to come if i need some free business advise.:biggrin:

That's an awesome business idea. Many people wouldn't think of it though, so in the beginning you'll need clever advertising. Maybe also notify everybody you know that you're going to do this. Those people may know couples who are planning to get married, and they'll tell them about you. Once you've done a few of them, people will probably tell friends about it, etcetera. Word of mouth advertising is really strong, and free of course.

I don't know what people look at (magazines, websites, etcetera) when they are getting married, but maybe you know better. Make sure you advertise there too. That's expensive though. Maybe just put a poster on your window -haha.

But be aware that starting up a business is not easy. I'm sure there is something in the UK that can provide you with all the rules concerning tax and income and such.

And yeah, as was said, keep your job for a while, maybe combine it with private dancing classes or something? If you do that, people will get to know about your wedding choreography thingy via that too.

Good luck! Sounds like a nice adventure.

got my first "client" on monday. here we go,lol

Best of luck, Lotts :)

to help me with this business could you guys give me an idea of what you would pay for a service like this and how many hours you would expect to do?

many thanks :biggrin:

Without knowing i'd guess at £100-£120.
When I was getting married I was being told the cost of this and the cost of that and it all seemed astronomical! In the end you just agree to pay whatever.
How does that compare to your ideas me old fruit?

As i said before, it is not what customers wish to pay, it is how much cost you incur!
the price you charge must cover you cost's, lol...customers will want it for nothing!

you need to find your competitors, call them and ask as a customer, what they charge!

please look into registering for vat carefully, you only need register if you earn over £65,000 per annum
but... if you buy equipment you are paying vat on all items, do not register and you can't claim vat back
register and you will have to pay vat every quarter, but can claim all your vat back at the end of the year!

Dog eats dog, but vat man eats you...urgh!

I give private English lessons, I charge by the hour, and I charge €30. This is about what people expect to pay for private lessons here - I presume it would be the same for dance lessons. Taking into account cost of living, wages, the exchange rate etc, it translates to about the same in pounds. What I do is meet people for 15 mins, free of charge, to talk about what they want from the lessons, costs, time etc etc. This time can really sell a lesson - once people know it's free they are more likely to come, and once they meet you etc, they are more likely to sign up. Show they some easy steps too so they go away feeling like they already learned something.

As for how long the course should be, I think it would depend on the person. They can keep coming for as long as they feel they need it. This is what I do in my English lessons - it might not translate 100% into dance lessons, but I hope it helps.

for anyone that cares we have out web site up running it's www.confettichoreography.com would really like to know what you think

by the way it's not quite finished yet

Oh thats a very classy website. Just enough info, I think. It would be nice to have some recommendations on it too once you get going, but I guess you would have thought about that already.

One teeny detail is in this paragraph:

"Whether you want to be Fred and Ginger or learn a few basic moves. Having your own special dance routine choreographed just for you is a real personal touch to your wedding day and will really impress your family and friends."

I would have a comma instead of a full stop after 'moves'.

Further feedback - I'd really emphasise the learning something new together part of it. I think this aspect of it complements the idea of a first dance very nicely as I think a lot of couples would like that notion, especially during the stress of organising the wedding. I love how fun you made it sound. I would honestly be booking you up if I lived in the area.

Best of luck with it.

thanks vik. we have our first recommendation on its way. maybe i could talk you through the first dance instead :-)

As you know I'm already married, however I would be interested in learning the 'robot'. Do you teach that? If so how much for a beginner?

I really like the site, but it would benefit from being spread across a couplafew pages. What software was used?

Be nice to see your work... how about some vids on the site when you have some :) You might get some top one ones if some clients have pro cinematographer chappies or chappesses.

Oh, and 'Everlong - Foo Fighters'? Excellent recommendation :D

One thing that I do think detracts from a business is a sole mobile number... I don't know why, but it lacks establishment for me... Does anyone else think that when they see contact details, or am I just weird? If I see a landline number I feel much more comfortable.

One thing that I do think detracts from a business is a sole mobile number... I don't know why, but it lacks establishment for me... Does anyone else think that when they see contact details, or am I just weird? If I see a landline number I feel much more comfortable.

I agree with that. If I'm after a service (or goods) and I only see a mobile number I just assume its a bit dodgy.

yeah i agree about the mobile number, but neither of us were confortable giving out our landlinesat this stage, it is something we are looking at to doing in future
and we are hoping to get videos on there too.
i have no idea what software was used. one of my blokes mates did it for us he a web designer and he knocked it up for us quick and cheap.
it's just something to get us going as people usually like to look at something before they phone. i know i do