These First Dance Choices May End in Divorce

For many couples, choosing a first dance is straightforward: an artist you both like, a song you've had a particularly memorable moment to (keep it PG), or a track with lyrics speaking to your "story".

For other couples, it can be a last-minute rush to find anything suitably sentimental and lovey to mark the moment.

But a survey by onbuy.com suggests that a little more caution might be necessary before accidentally opting for a song that – statistically – is likely to lead to relationship disaster!

Read on for the first dances to lose, or jump to the ones to use.

Written for the 1D boys by Ed Sheeran, this chart-topping, swooning hit from 2012 seems like a perfect choice for a madly-in-love couple. Sadly, for 75% of those who chose it, those little things weren't enough to make a difference.

This catchy, laid-back favourite from 2008 might get your guests humming along at the time, but be warned – 61% of couples who enjoyed a Jason Mraz ukulele moment at their reception ultimately decided they didn't want to belong to each other after all.

Gary Lightbody, the lead singer of Snow Patrol and the man who penned this 2006 synth ballad, referred to this track as "the most pure and open love song I've ever written".

Well, 56% of the couples who chose it for their first dance will wish he'd never put pen to paper. If you spend a lot of time chasing cars, eventually you're going to end up in a crash. Ba dum tss.

Birdy's delicate piano cover of Bon Iver's Skinny Love proved a huge hit in 2011. But for 54% of couples who chose it for their first dance, love did indeed prove more skinny than supersize. If only they'd read the lyrics.

Inseparable from the Toy Story franchise that it was written for, this feel-good 1995 Randy Newman track is a first dance favourite. Unfortunately the survey reveals that for 52% of couples who chose it. they were better off leaving things as friends after all.

It's a soaring, lighters-in-the-air declaration of helpless devotion – guaranteed to have guests swaying arm-in-arm at the reception. However, a quick fast forward and 49% of couples have free fallen right out of love with each other.

Maybe if they'd stuck with the Tom Petty 1989 original, their fortunes might have been different.

Written by crooner Michael Bublé for his then girlfriend Emily Blunt, this is a fun, swinging declaration of love to twirl along to with your newlywed.

But despite the uplifting key change, 49% of those who chose it saw their relationship go from everything at once to nothing at all. Just like Buble and Blunt.

This gospel-tinged love song is full of undying promises and future plans – ideal for a first dance, you might say. Unfortunately 49% of couples who selected this song decided they definitely couldn't stay with each other after all.

This generation-spanning classic is a hugely popular first dance choice with couples, reminding them why they fell in love in the first place. Sadly, almost half of them couldn't help falling back out of love either.

The Suffolk-based hit machine's 2017 chart-topper was remixed with big name artists ranging from Beyonce to Andrea Bocelli. Unfortunately no amount of reworked versions was enough to rescue it. For 42% of those who chose it, their spouse fell far short of perfect.

That table is your Pride Rock and your friend's baby can be a stand-in Simba. Recreate this Disney favourite from 1994's The Lion King at your wedding reception because it's proved a roaring success (you're welcome) with couples across the country.

77% of couples who hit play on this Elton John ballad report still being in a happy marriage to this day.

A funky, joyous celebration of a song that, quite rightly, puts the bride front and centre of the first dance (the "she" in the song actually refers to Wonder's newborn baby, but let's put that aside for a minute).

75% of couples who danced their way into married life to Wonder's 1976 classic are still blissfully wedded.

Swinging its way into many a wedding dance since its release in 1964, this Sinatra favourite has proved the bedrock of many successful relationships, with 74% of couples who chose the track reporting relationship success.

Another Disney classic, this time from the 1992 animated smash, Aladdin. The lamp really works – 71% of couples who serenaded each other with this first dance report a successful marriage to this day.

With vocals as smooth as caramel and a sentiment to bring a tear to even the hardiest of your wedding guests, this 1961 release has rarely been topped for class, raw emotion and power.

So powerful in fact, that 71% of those couples who chose it have remained happy ever since. We might have the perfect first dance choice – at last!

Those gorgeous Irish lads had to feature somewhere and this tender belter from 2006 is just the ticket for a memorable first dance.

70% of couples who plumped for it are still happily staring into each other's eyes to this day, swaying along, oblivious to the world around them, in a bubble of joy. B-E-A-Utiful.

No less than a third entry for Disney in the happiness top 10 – this time from 1999's unforgettable Tarzan. The song won an Oscar for Phil Collins, and 70% of couples report a winning marriage off the back of it.

Written and recorded especially for 1998's blockbuster Armageddon, you might think this song would spell out disaster for any couple choosing it for their first dance. And yet 69% of said couples tell us this song was the catalyst for a happy life together, forever and ever.

Elton John's first single to chart has paved the way to relationship success for 64% of couples who chose it. It may be quite simple but boy is it effective. You can tell everybody that this is the song to start married life to.

The 64% of couples who chose this song really are better together. With its gentle, plodding acoustic cheeriness set to light up the room, it sets the tone for a life of love and happiness. Nice one, Jack.