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After attending my friend’s wedding on Labor Day weekend I got thinking about wedding songs. What did you dance to? What have you heard that you liked? As well as songs for the Bride and her father, and the Groom and his mother. Around here country songs are popular for weddings, there are a lot to choose from and their message is simple and straight forward. This isn’t my style, I’m not one for the obvious. I like something a little more unique, but that still fits the moment. I’ll post some of my selections later, I wanna see what you guys like first.

(BTW this is my 200th post, and still going strong!)

We had a lot of dorky/cheesy songs at our wedding.

For instance, "our song" is Madonna's Crazy for You (long story), so we didn't want to dance to anything else.

Other songs that we played:

Bridal Party Dance - I'll Stand by You - The Pretenders
Father/Daughter Dance - Unforgettable - Nat King Cole w/ Natalie Cole (I surprised my dad with this one and he loved it)
Mother/Son Dance - Through the Years - Kenny Rogers
Cutting the Cake - Don't Worry, Baby - The Beach Boys
Bride/Groom entrance to the reception - Wouldn't It Be Nice? - The Beach Boys (I love the Beach Boys and these two songs, so I really wanted them played)

Other songs I had to have played:

For me and my sisters - Build Me Up, Buttercup (there's a story behind this one, too)
Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra (this was my parent's wedding song, and since we got married 30 years and 5 months after they did, we wanted to have them dance to it as a tribute to them)

Soooo.... yeah, I'm not cool at all.

And I really wanted Des'ree's Kissing You as our first dance song, but that song is incredibly sad and didn't fit the occasion. But I do love it.

Song: Kissing You
Artist: Des'Ree

Pride can stand a thousand trials,
The strong will never fall.
But watching stars without you, my soul cries.
Heaving heart, it's full of pain.
Oh, oh, the aching.
cause I'm kissing you. oh.
I'm kissing you, oh.

Touch me deep, pure and true.
Give to me forever.
cause I'm kissing you. oh.
I'm kissing you.

Where are you now?
Where are you now?
cause I'm kissing you.
I'm kissing you. oh.

My brother and his wife danced their song to At Last - Etta James. That's always a popular one.

Megs wrote: We had a lot of dorky/cheesy songs at our wedding.

For instance, "our song" is Madonna's Crazy for You (long story), so we didn't want to dance to anything else.

Other songs that we played:

Bridal Party Dance - I'll Stand by You - The Pretenders
Father/Daughter Dance - Unforgettable - Nat King Cole w/ Natalie Cole (I surprised my dad with this one and he loved it)
Mother/Son Dance - Through the Years - Kenny Rogers
Cutting the Cake - Don't Worry, Baby - The Beach Boys
Bride/Groom entrance to the reception - Wouldn't It Be Nice? - The Beach Boys (I love the Beach Boys and these two songs, so I really wanted them played)

Other songs I had to have played:

For me and my sisters - Build Me Up, Buttercup (there's a story behind this one, too)
Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra (this was my parent's wedding song, and since we got married 30 years and 5 months after they did, we wanted to have them dance to it as a tribute to them)

Soooo.... yeah, I'm not cool at all.

Megs, those are all great songs and so perfect for each group of people!

My sisters and I keep telling/threatening my boyfriend about having "the family dance" at our wedding receptions. Remember the show Rags to Riches? And how Nick had the Dee-lites do a performance for the girls in the pilot? My sisters and I know the whole dance, and whenever we hear "One Fine Day," we do the dance. When we go to 50s style restaurants (Johnny Rockets, Ed Debevic's, Corvette Diner), we request the song just so we can do the dance.

Oh my god! this is like, fate, or something...

I'm getting married next summer and I've been trying to decide our first dance song, as we don't have a 'song' really (we're just not that kind of couple, or something...). Mr. S and I have such varying musical tastes that it's really hard.

I loved your choices Meg! Unforgettable is a really good idea and I'm definitely going to have that one in the mix somewhere - I love those old songs.

I went to a wedding a few weeks ago where the first dance was 'nobody does it better'. It sounded very james bond but then both the bride and groom love james bond so that was OK.

Mr. S is of the opinion that the first dance should be a power ballad. I was trying to pick a Jewel or Indigo Girls song (power of two sprung to mind) but he didn't think them 'powerful' enough. Ho hum. I just can't think of any ideas and would really love something that's not too well-known but completely beautiful. I'd love suggestions - cheers Nothingman

Plus I've been having the lyric quandry too - there are gorgeous songs out there but the lyrics are completely sad. 'Break Me' by Jewel, for example... not really appropriate for a wedding.

And I went to another wedding a few weeks ago (it's the wedding season, I suppose) and they had NO DANCING! What? It was weird but it worked well as they had a casino instead...
This just isn't an option for us as we love throwing shapes on the dance floor Calvin & Hobbes style far too much.

candygirl wrote:

Megs wrote: We had a lot of dorky/cheesy songs at our wedding.

For instance, "our song" is Madonna's Crazy for You (long story), so we didn't want to dance to anything else.

Other songs that we played:

Bridal Party Dance - I'll Stand by You - The Pretenders
Father/Daughter Dance - Unforgettable - Nat King Cole w/ Natalie Cole (I surprised my dad with this one and he loved it)
Mother/Son Dance - Through the Years - Kenny Rogers
Cutting the Cake - Don't Worry, Baby - The Beach Boys
Bride/Groom entrance to the reception - Wouldn't It Be Nice? - The Beach Boys (I love the Beach Boys and these two songs, so I really wanted them played)

Other songs I had to have played:

For me and my sisters - Build Me Up, Buttercup (there's a story behind this one, too)
Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra (this was my parent's wedding song, and since we got married 30 years and 5 months after they did, we wanted to have them dance to it as a tribute to them)

Soooo.... yeah, I'm not cool at all.

Megs, those are all great songs and so perfect for each group of people!

My sisters and I keep telling/threatening my boyfriend about having "the family dance" at our wedding receptions. Remember the show Rags to Riches? And how Nick had the Dee-lites do a performance for the girls in the pilot? My sisters and I know the whole dance, and whenever we hear "One Fine Day," we do the dance. When we go to 50s style restaurants (Johnny Rockets, Ed Debevic's, Corvette Diner), we request the song just so we can do the dance.

Hee. My sisters and I have a dance to Build Me Up, Buttercup, too. We request anywhere we can just to do the dance!

Starbug, I also wanted Van Morrison's "Someone Like You". I always thought that was a great first dance song.

I foresee some Elvis songs since getting hitched at a drive-thru wedding chapel in Vegas is my preferred wedding experience. My as-yet-to-be-named wife might have something to say about those plans.

A wedding with a fat asian Elvis singing in broken english, is very memorable. But I can't see a Tomspeed wedding happening without a whole lot of Mac.

The Mac songs "Crystal," "Landslide," and "Beautiful Child" would make good wedding songs.


Crystal
(Stevie Nicks)
Buckingham / Nicks
Fleetwood Mac / White Album
Stevie Nicks / Practical Magic soundtrack

do you always trust your first initial feeling
special knowledge holds truth...bears believing

i turned around and the water was closing all around like a glove
like the love that had finally, finally found me

CHORUS:
then i knew in the crystalline knowledge of you
drove me through the mountains
through the crystal like and clear water fountain
drove me like a magnet
to the sea
to the sea

how the faces of love have changed, i'm turning the pages
and i have changed, oh but you, you remain ageless

(repeat chorus)


Landslide
(Stevie Nicks)
Fleetwood Mac
White Album / Live / Boxed Set / The Dance / Very Best of Fleetwood Mac

I took my love and I took it down
Climbed a mountain and turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
'til the landslide brought it down

Oh, mirror in the sky -What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin'...ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
I don't know.....I don't know

Well I've been afraid of changin'
because I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder, even children get older
And I'm getting older too....

So, take my love...take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
and if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills...
well the landslide will bring it down
The landslide will bring it down


Beautiful Child
(Stevie Nicks)
Fleetwood Mac
Tusk

Beautiful child
Beautiful child
You are a beautiful child
And I am a fool once more

You fell in love when I was only ten
The years disappeared
Much has gone by since then
I bite my lip, can you send me away
You touch
I have no choice
I have to stay
I had to stay

Sleepless child
There is so little time
Your eyes say yes
But you don't say yes
I wish that you were mine

You say it will be harder in the morning
I wait for you to say, just go
Your hands, held mine so few hours
And I'm not a child anymore

I'm not a child anymore
I'm tall enough
To reach for the stars
I'm old enough
To love you from afar
To trusting... yes?
But then women usually are

I'm not a child anymore
I'm not a child, oh no
Tall enough to reach for the stars
I will do
As I'm told
Even if I never hold you again
Even if I never hold you again

starbug wrote:Mr. S is of the opinion that the first dance should be a power ballad. I was trying to pick a Jewel or Indigo Girls song (power of two sprung to mind) but he didn't think them 'powerful' enough. Ho hum. I just can't think of any ideas and would really love something that's not too well-known but completely beautiful. I'd love suggestions - cheers Nothingman

Plus I've been having the lyric quandry too - there are gorgeous songs out there but the lyrics are completely sad. 'Break Me' by Jewel, for example... not really appropriate for a wedding.

Hmmmm, I agree. Even the Jewel songs with nice lyrics aren't very power ballad/first dance-ish. It's hard to find a song that you both love, that is appropriate, AND is danceable. I remember reading an online article about how some of the songs people choose for their weddings are lyrically very sad or the opposite of a wedding's "we'll be together forever" sentiment (like "My Heart Will Go On").

I remember when I saw My Best Friend's Wedding and Kimmie was making a big deal about how they didn't have a song. I didn't think awwww, that must mean they shouldn't be together. It's funny how in middle school and high school, every couple has a song because everyone goes to the school dances, but a lot of older couples don't have a song like that (or they choose it themselves).

candygirl wrote: I remember when I saw My Best Friend's Wedding and Kimmie was making a big deal about how they didn't have a song. I didn't think awwww, that must mean they shouldn't be together. It's funny how in middle school and high school, every couple has a song because everyone goes to the school dances, but a lot of older couples don't have a song like that (or they choose it themselves).

My husband and I have a song only b/c we went to a Winter Formal when we were in college, and it was during that slow song that he said that he was falling in love with me. Ok, let's all say it together: AWWWWWWWWW.

I hate it that that's "our song", but we had our reception in the same hall as the one our Winter Formal was at, so it seemed right to dance our first dance as a married couple to it.

I agree with you, though. I don't think it means anything it you don't have a "song".

The Mac's "Silver Springs" would also be a good wedding song. IMHO it's a power-ballad type of song, too. Stevie and Lindsey singing together....There are other groups besides Fleetwood Mac?

Silver Springs
(Stevie Nicks)
Fleetwood Mac
The Dance/ Boxed Set / Very Best of Fleetwood Mac

You could be my silver spring
Blue-green colors flashing
I would be your only dream
Your shining over ocean crashing

Don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you
Baby I don't want to know

So I begin not to love you
Turn 'round, see me running
I say I loved you years ago
But tell myself you never loved me no

And don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you
Baby I don't want to know

Oh no
And can you tell me was it worth it
Baby I don't want to know

Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me

Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me

I follow you down 'till the sound
Of my voice will haunt you
(Give me just a chance)
You'll never get away from the sound
Of the woman who loves you
(Was I just a fool)

I follow you down 'till the sound
Of my voice will haunt you
(Give me just a chance)
You'll never get away from the sound
Of the woman who loves you
(Was I just a fool)

Ahh wedding music,

At our wedding my wife and I danced together to S'Wonderful written by Ira Gershwin and sung by Ella Fitzgerald. This was an extremely romantic moment for my wife and me...

...until we received heckling from my sister-in-law "Ya call that dancing? Whose leading?"



Ahh yes a sign of things to come.

Later my sister-in-law declared, "Jesus, can you guys have any sappier, romantic music?"

To which I responded, "Okay at your wedding we can play speed metal."



Later on the dance floor all danced to "YMCA" and "New York, New York"

All in all it was a blast.

Starbug congrats on your impending nupitals. I always like that phrase "impending", like this is some harbinger of doom or something. Seriously I hope you guys have a blast.

LanceMan

Well my fiance and I have already picked the "bride-groom" song for our wedding and its going to be "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls.