Lately the hottest YouTube video making the rounds features a Minnesotan wedding party dancing down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever.” (Note: their wedding took place before Brown was arrested for domestic violence, so that choice of song’s not nearly as insensitive as it sounds.) The bridesmaids wear sunglasses and twirl their (artificial) bouquets around, the groomsmen toss programs into the air like confetti, the groom does a somersault and another guy walks on his hands, and the bride herself dances down the aisle where she is joined mid-way by her waiting groom. The video’s garnered millions of views, the wedding party has been invited to re-enact the dance on the Today show, and now the contestants on the Australian version of “Dancing With The Stars” plan to emulate it on their show. Bloggers are eating it up, too: Jezebel called the video “moving” and “awesome,” Lemondrop dubbed it “the best wedding entrance ever,” and the New Yorker’s Vulture said it was “the best piece of musical theatre you’ll see all year.”

So I’m wondering if I’m the only one who doesn’t find the video kind of irritating.

The “aisle dance” strikes me as the logical extension of a very annoying trend: the first dance “surprise.” Search “funny first dance” on YouTube and you’ll get dozens of videos, all featuring couples slow dancing to Sinatra or Louis Armstrong when, suddenly, Sir Mix-A-Lot or the Village People comes on and the couple “spontaneously” rocks out.

Now, I know that, for everyone except the principals themselves, the first dance can be a snooze. There’s only so long you can watch two people somewhat eptly half-waltz around a square of parquet to the tune of “At Last” or “From This Moment On” until you start wondering when they’re going to start the salad course already, or gauging how soon you can hit up the bar again without people thinking you’re a lush.

But, the thing is, the first dance isn’t about entertaining your guests. (You do that by providing them with food, music, a place to dance, copious amounts of alcohol, and sartorial choices to nitpick.) It’s a chance for you and your new spouse to enjoy the fact that, after months of waiting, you’re finally married, and for the more sentimental of your relatives to get teary-eyed and snap pictures. Disrupting that moment to break into the “evolution of dance” montage just strikes me as a bit too hip and ironic. It’s a move for couples who say that weddings are stodgy and traditional, but who secretly want the pageantry and the big shindig.

And so the Minnesota couple seem even more too-cool-for-school. Yes, they were having fun, but I’m wondering what their parents and grandparents thought, or if their dance extravaganza affected the mood of the ceremony itself. Or if, ten years down the road, the couple might wish they’d opted for less pizzazz and more decorum. Or if, heaven forbid, this trend catches on and people start hiring themselves out as Wedding Aisle Dance Instructors or Wedding Viral Video Coordinators. (“‘Thriller’? That’s been done. ‘Y.M.C.A.’? That too. How about “I’m Too Sexy”? Ooh, and the groomsmen can strip off their shirts – they’re too sexy for their shirts, get it? That ought to get us at least half a million hits. Your groomsmen do have nice abs, right?”) [P.S.: This author is already cashing in on the "creative receptions" trend -- because it's not acceptable any more to have a reception that's "just okay."]

I mean, sure, everyone does the boring traditional walk-down-the-aisle thing. But traditions exist for a reason: because people like continuity and a sense of ritual around important moments in their lives. Things like exchanging rings and reciting vows aren’t mere cliches: they link you to history and to everyone who’s gotten married before you. Yes, these moments are repeated at almost every wedding you’ll ever go to. That’s what gives them meaning. And if they’re moving and enjoyable for the guests, it’s usually because the guests care about the people involved — not because they find it dramatic or surprising to watch two people stick gold bands on each other’s fingers.

I can see one bright side to this video, though: twenty-five years from now, when the music of the ‘00s sounds as dated as ABBA, this couple will have a great artifact to embarrass their kids with!