When would you have your First Dance?

I'm doing ours when we enter the reception. We don't have a cocktail hour, so it's ceremony at 4.30pm, and we'll do our bridal party/bride & groom entrance at about 5.30, and then go into our first dance. Dinner will be just after, then we will do the other dances/speeches right after dinner, ending with the cake cutting, so that if older guests want to leave (although the wedding only starts at 4.30, so I'd be surprised if people are edging out the door before 7.30.....) all of the 'stuff' is done... and then we'll do the bouquet and garter toss about 30 minutes into the dancing, so my photographer can leave by 9pm...

I'm hoping that as long as my Fiancé is okay with it - we will go straight into dancing. This will also give everybody a chance to get their drinks while we dance (we aren't having a cocktail hour, we are going straight to the reception from the ceremony at the same venue).

We are still deciding. I'd always thought we'd have our 1st dance right after dinner but I can see the pros to being announced and going straight into our dance. I'd save my Father Daughter dance etc till after dinner for sure. Something to think about... Depends also if we're done with photographer on time.

We will be doing ours right after our reception entrance. This way everyone is at their seats and not at the bar, and then we have more time for the speeches and dances during dinner.

Our goal is to do it right after we are announced/grand entrance. but depending on timing it may happen after dinner.

we are doing speeches during dinner. and parents dances after dinner.

After dinner and speeches. To kick off the dancing.

We will be doing ours after dinner. It’ll be the part where we start to lead into the dancing portion of the evening, starting with my fiancé and I!

I've seen two scenarios here :

1) Couple do their first dance right after their big entrance, right before dinner.
- I liked this because guests didn't have to sit through a string of special dances after dinner (mother/son, father/daughter, etc.) and potential games.

2) Right after dinner.

Though traditional, I have lots of questions and concerns with the 2nd scenario. Like the timing has the potential of creating a bottleneck of "events" the couple needs to do before people can hit the dance floor (cake cutting, first dance, parent/kid dances, games). The couple could also spread some of the things out throughout the evening, but I don't know how I feel about stopping the party for an activity.

Traditionally, cake cutting is the "acceptable queue" for people who want to leave early. If you don't have a cake, then I would agree that the first dance would replace it as the acceptable queue.

Right at the beginning for us! We are going to enter the reception to one song and break right into the first dance then! It's the beginning of the night and an exciting time with all the introductions! People will already be paying full attention so we thought it would be the best!

We will do ours after. The speeches will be during dinner. We will likely have the father/daughter dance and mother/son dance during dessert though!