You've seen the photos on Pinterest and Instagram. The perfect Last Dance that the couple privately shares in their candle-lit ballroom surrounded by flower lined tables. It is a perfect moment before their wedding ends. When you saw these photos, you knew you needed a private last dance at your own wedding!

The unfortunate truth is, it won't be the way you dreamed. Your ballroom will look drastically different from the exquisite version you pictured. Its not because you didn't plan the decor well, or spend enough money on florals. It all comes down to timing.

At the end of the night, candles will be burning low, chairs will be pushed in every direction and the tables will be covered in plates of half-eaten food and unconsumed beverages. Although guests will be outside preparing for your Grand Exit, all their coats, purses and other personal belongings will be left behind, in their seats.

This is the secret. If you want to have a beautiful private dance, it shouldn't happen at the end of the night at all. Think of this private dance not so much as a "last dance" but as an opportunity to have a rehearsal for your First Dance - and cherish this moment, because it will be one of the few moments on your wedding day that you actually have to yourselves!

After your ceremony, all your guests go to cocktail hour. We take your family & bridal party portraits and begin bride and groom portraits while your planner or coordinator begins lighting your candles and filling water glasses. This is the time when your ballroom is in its most pristine condition, and most ideal for your private dance portraits! Just as cocktail hour is about to end, we will sneak the two of you into the ballroom and give you a moment to rehearse your First Dance, in private. I will photograph the two of you in this perfect setting, and then we'll hide you away while the guests enter the reception and prepare for your entrance. That is the secret to the perfect "Last Dance"!