Weddingbee

Thanks for all your kind comments on our iPod disaster, everyone! As long as I mentioned my much-obsessed-over playlists, here they are. If they can help anyone else’s song-choice process, maybe they’ll serve some purpose!

But first a story/tip. By now, most everyone knows the standard music advice like “pay attention to the lyrics” (some seemingly romantic songs are actually quite depressing when you listen to the words), and “choose short songs” (you don’t want to be dancing for ever … and ever … and ever). But one that’s often overlooked is to pay special attention to the START of each song.

This is particularly true for key songs like processionals, recessionals, and the first dance. People respond best if the song catches their attention from the start. For example, for our recessional, we considered “So Happy Together,” by the Turtles. But there’s a whole verse before it hits the happy, uplifting chorus. By then we would have been down the short aisle and gone.

My dad once told me a story that’s the ultimate illustration of this phenomenon. Back in his younger days, some friends chose as their recessional a popular song at the time — “Joy to the World,” by Three Dog Night. The chorus — “Joy to the world, all the boys and girls” — was fitting. But if you know the lyrics, you may know what’s coming next: The guests were spectacularly confused when the couple was introduced, they turned to make their grand exit, and the FIRST line of the song burst jubilantly forth. That’s right: “JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG”!

Keep it in mind, dear readers. Keep it in mind.

And without further ado, the playlist:

Love Songs (Pre-Ceremony)

• I’m in the Mood for Love — Vera Lynn (from Lolita)
• I’ve Got a Crush on You — Steve Tyrell
• Night and Day — Sondra Lerche
• I’m Glad There is You — Sarah Vaughan
• The Nearness of You — Norah Jones
• Let There Be Love — Nat King Cole
• You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To — Sheila Jordan
• I Concentrate on You — Fred Astaire
• You Go to My Head — Frank Sinatra
• All of My Love — Eric Bibb (cute wedding-y lyrics)
• I Could Write a Book — Dinah Washington
• Crazy He Calls Me — Dakota Staton
• Let’s Get Lost — Chet Baker
• Sea of Love — Cat Power
• Beyond the Horizon — Bob Dylan
• Hello Love — Blossom Dearie
• Unforgettable — Aretha Franklin

Processional

• Wedding party: Pachebel’s Canon in D (on six-string guitar, for a bit of a change)

• My entrance: Mendelsohn’s String Symphony No. 4 — Andante

Recessional

• Higher and Higher — Jackie Wilson

Cocktail Hour

• My First My Last My Everything — Barry White
• Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You — Andy Williams
• From Me to You — Bobby McFerrin (Beatles cover)
• Beautiful People — Bobby Vee
• Hey Julie — Fountains of Wayne
• Ain’t That a Kick in the Head — Dean Martin
• I Will be Blessed — Lisa Ekdahl
• My Baby Just Cares for Me — Nina Simone
• Knock Me a Kiss — Roy Eldridge w/ Anita O’Day
• You’re Gonna See a Lot of Me — Lisa Ekdahl
• Beyond the Sea — Royal Crown Revue
• Love Makes the World Go Round — Deon Jackson (from Something’s Gotta Give)
• What a Little Moonlight Can Do — Billie Holiday
• At Long Last Love — Bill Henderson
• 1963 — Rachael Yamagata
• Close to You — Barenaked Ladies (Carpenters cover)
• White Wedding — Herman’s Hermits (Billy Idol cover!)
• My Love Is — Diana Krall
• God Only Knows — The Beach Boys
• I’m a Believer — The Monkees
• You You You You You — The 6ths
• Deed I Do — Diana Krall
• Book of Dreams — Dion (Springsteen cover w/ wedding lyrics)
• I Say a Little Prayer — Dionne Warwick
• Dream a Little Dream — Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
• I Only Have Eyes for You — The Flamingos (this one creeps out Mr T b/c of an old Buffy episode!)
• The Way I Am — Ingrid Michaelson
• Till There Was You — The Smithereens (Beatles cover)
• Exactly Like You — Carmen McRae (also a great first dance song)
• So Much in Love — Timothy B. Schmit (from Fast Times at Ridgemont High)
• Ma Cherie Amour — Stevie Wonder

Dance Time

• First Dance: Can’t Help Falling in Love — The Eels (a beautiful, heartfelt version of this classic)
• Parent Dance: You Are the Sunshine — Stevie Wonder
• We Want the Funk — George Clinton
• Boogie Shoes — KC & The Sunshine Band
• Twistin the Night Away — Sam Cooke
• Everlasting Love — Cal Carlton
• Friday I’m in Love — The Cure
• I Don’t Feel Like Dancing — Scissor Sisters
• Hot Stuff — Donna Summer
• Wake Me Up Before You Go Go — Wham!
• Dancing With Myself — The Donnas (Billy Idol cover)
• Crazy for You — Madonna
• Dance Little Bird — a/k/a THE CHICKEN DANCE!
• Little Child — The Replacements (Beatles cover)
• Mambo Italiano — Lido Brothers sampling Rosemary Clooney
• Sexbomb — Tom Jones
• A Little Respect — Erasure
• Shake Your Groove Thing — Peaches & Herb
• Come Rain or Come Shine — Billie Holiday (another great first dance choice)
• For Sentimental Reasons — Nat King Cole
• I Want to Take You Higher — Sly & The Family Stone
• Play That Funky Music White Boy — Wild Cherry
• Surrender — Cheap Trick
• One Way or Another — Blondie
• Nowhere With You — Joel Plaskett
• Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own — Bruce Springsteen
• I Melt With You — Modern English
• Can’t Help Falling in Love — reprise, with the Elvis verison
• We’re All in the Dance — Feist (Mr T discovered this beauty in the credits to Paris, Je T’aime. We loooove it!)

• Showering for the Shower
• Watercooler