Growing up as a dancer, Danielle Crowe always knew she wanted to incorporate a performance into her wedding.
So, when the 28-year-old lawyer got engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Nick Meyer, the couple began brainstorming ways to bring that dream to life while still keeping a traditional wedding dance. After some discussion, Meyer -- also a lawyer -- suggested transitioning into a Dirty Dancing routine after their classic first dance to "Everything" by Michael Bublé.
"Obviously, you can't do the dance without the lift, and I didn't want to add another thing to my list of stresses for the day," the bride tells PEOPLE exclusively. "But, as always, he convinced me it would be fine, so we started practicing in July 2024."
"Before I agreed, though, I told him we needed to see if we could actually do the lift. If we couldn't, it was off," she adds. "We started by practicing with Nick lying on the ground and holding me up, then moved to standing. To be honest, we nailed it on our first try, so once I saw that, I agreed we could do it."
Leading up to the couple's wedding, the pair, who live in Dubai, taught themselves the choreography from YouTube in their apartment, without any professional help. Apart from a few small adjustments -- since Meyer, who is "a big guy," isn't quite as nimble as Patrick Swayze -- they stuck closely to the original routine.
"We had originally planned to learn the choreography for the first two verses and do the lift in the second chorus," Crowe explains. "But we decided that one verse was enough for us. In total, we spent about 15 hours practicing."
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As for her reception dress, Crowe had been planning to wear it for years, always envisioning herself dancing in it at her wedding. "When we decided to do the Dirty Dancing routine, it became clear I couldn't do it in my actual wedding dress."
"I still wanted to wear my wedding dress for the real first dance, so we started brainstorming how to work in a quick dress change for the performance," she says. "Being an ex-dancer, I knew it was possible, and luckily my wedding dress had a zipper instead of buttons, so all I needed were my two bridesmaids to help me get in and out of it."
Eventually, October arrived, and it was time for the wedding in Greyleigh, Kiama, about 90 minutes south of Sydney, Australia. After saying "I do," the couple took to the dance floor for their first dance to "Everything" by Michael Bublé. They then smoothly transitioned into their surprise choreography.
Crowe adds that her dress change took less than 20 seconds.
"Walking out after my dress change and doing that first move in the dance, where I spin out from Nick, was the best part," she says. "The energy from our guests was incredible, and it was honestly one of the best feelings."
Nick adds, "For me, the best part was those brief two seconds where Danielle came out, and I didn't have to do anything because everyone was looking at her. The rest of the dance was a blur because I was so stressed about that damned lift."
But as soon as the couple hit the first move, Crowe says she felt at ease. And as the dance went on, they continued to hit every move perfectly, except for a minor slip-up on the first lift.
"Nick would like it on record that I'm to blame for the first lift failing because I didn't push off the ground," Crowe jokes. "However, I would like it on record that it was no one's fault -- his right hand just slipped on the beads of my dress, and there was nothing anyone could have done."
"In any event, straight after the dance, my brother came up to me and said, 'Dan, it always takes him a second time to get it right,' and I think that says it all," she adds.
"I was just thinking how amazing it all was and laughing to myself, thinking about how all our guests must have thought this was hilarious," Crowe continues. "I honestly think I had accepted my fate in regard to whatever was going to happen with the lift, so unlike Nick, I didn't really think about it until just before it happened."
The next morning, the couple was inundated with videos of the dance from their guests. Already active on TikTok, Crowe decided to post the full performance, not thinking much of it. Then, the video went viral, garnering more than 2.1 million views and 700 comments.
"I don't think it hit us until we woke up and realized Michael Bublé had seen and reposted the video," she says. "Having both grown up listening to and loving his music -- it was honestly the best wedding present ever. We were staying with my parents, so we ran down to show them. It was a hilarious morning."
"We were already on such a post-wedding high, so seeing so many people sending us beautiful messages just added to the whole experience," she continues. "It was such a nice extra buzz to have after the wedding."