Wedding Blog

I. Love. Bon. Jovi.

I know it’s such a Jersey thing, to be a Bon Jovi fan, but I can’t help it! I have just about all of their hits, and I even faithfully buy their new albums. When Living on a Prayer comes on, my arms instantly shoot up to start pounding the air and my head instinctively bangs up and down. It just never gets old.

While Mr. Martini and I were talking about our “soundtrack” for the wedding, we started shooting back and forth titles of well known love songs. Then suddenly he asked, “What about Bon Jovi?”

I responded, “What about Bon Jovi? He doesn’t really have many love songs…”

He answered, “What about Always, or Bed of Roses, or I’ll Be There for You?”

I replied, “Those aren’t really love songs at all.”

Then it got me thinking.

I’ve been to four Bon Jovi concerts and every time he performs these songs, all the ladies scream bloody murder (including me) and take their bras off (ermm.. not me). In fact, at my second Bon Jovi concert several years back, I actually witnessed a proposal! No joke, Bon Jovi “selected” a girl from the crowd and brought her up on stage. All of the sudden her boyfriend came out from backstage and got down on one knee to propose to her. Through tears she said yes, and they proceeded to hug and slow dance while Bon Jovi sang Bed of Roses.

At the time I was intoxicated with Bon Jovi’s voice (Ok, fine. Maybe it was the beer), and I thought it was one of the most romantic things a guy could ever do. Later I realized – wait a second… Bed of Roses is not a love song, at least not to me. Sure it seems like one; Bon Jovi croons “I want to lay you down in a bed of roses.” But in the same song he also says, “‘Cause a bottle of vodka is still lodged in my head, and some blonde gave me nightmares, I think that she’s still in my bed.” Say wha??? It’s sweet when he says, “Now as you close your eyes, know I’ll be thinking about you,” but he also says, “Tonight I won’t be alone, but you know that don’t mean I’m not lonely.” I’m sure that song meant something dear to them, but it didn’t seem like a very good first song for us to dance to.

Who can forget the romantic chorus of Bon Jovi’s Always?

And I will love you, baby - always
And I’ll be there forever and a day - always
I’ll be there ’til the stars don’t shine
Till the heavens burst and
The words don’t rhyme
And I know when I die, you’ll be on my mind
And I’ll love you - always

But in the same song the following lines are also sung:

Its been raining since you left me, now I’m drowning in the flood

Now your pictures that you left behind, are just memories of a different life

When he holds you close, when he pulls you near, when he says the words you’ve been needing to hear, I wish I was him ’cause those words are mine, To say to you ’til the end of time

And then there’s everyone’s favorite, the classic I’ll Be There for You. I have to admit my heart fluttered more than once while listening to his words:

I’ll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I’ll be there for you
I’d live and I’d die for you
Steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can’t say what a love can do
I’ll be there for you

Perfect first dance song, or so it seems. In the same song he also sings:

I guess this time you’re really leaving, I heard your suitcase say goodbye. Well as my broken heart lies bleeding, you say true love, it’s suicide.

Still, I definitely wanted to incorporate a Bon Jovi song into our wedding somehow. I’ve already requested that our band sing Living On a Prayer… this of course is an absolute must. But it’s a song for everyone to go nuts to and have fun to. I wanted one Bon Jovi song that would be about us. But how?

I decided in the end that I am going to ask our band to play Bon Jovi’s Born to Be My Baby as our entrance song. It’s fun, it’s upbeat, and the lyrics have nothing to do with the bad breakups that he can’t seem to stop singing about.

As for our first song? The possibilities are endless. I think I’ve narrowed it down to about 50 of my favorites. Not kidding. Mr. Martini and I don’t really have a “song”, so I’ve been on a mission to find the perfect love song with the perfect lyrics. I thought it might be fun to post a few audio clips of some of the songs that are at the top of our list. Unfortunately we have to make some final decisions soon, as the band needs all our information about three months before the wedding. Because of that, I’ve been on “love song” overload these past few days.

I like this song. It’s simple, meaningful, and already on the band’s repertoire. We are allowed to request three songs that are not on the list, but we have to provide CDs and sheet music for each song three months prior to the wedding date. Note: the song above is a remake of the original Lonestar version, sung by Duncan James.

OK. I have to admit that this song is super high up there as possibly becoming our first dance song. Right around the time I was obsessing over New Kids on the Block in junior high school, I was at the mall with my now MOH and happened to come across a sign outside a music store that claimed Firehouse was inside signing their album. We had no idea who Firehouse was, but they seemed pretty popular, so we decided to stand in line. We actually bought their cassette tape so that we’d have something they could sign, got free posters, awkwardly said hello to these crazy-haired men, and went home on our merry way. Little did I know that this was the band that would eventually sing one of my favorite 80s rock ballads of all time. I’ve always thought to myself - if I get married one day, I will dance to this song with my love of a lifetime. I brought up the idea to Mr. Martini, and he actually liked the idea. when I thought it would be rejected like a guy trying to penetrate a “girl circle” in the middle of the dance floor at a club. I guess we really are meant to be!

This was my FSIL’s first dance song. When I first heard the lyrics, I didn’t think there was a song that was as romantic as this one. Here’s a little trivia for you - our wedding date is the same exact date as my FSIL’s! She joked that she was upset at losing two babysitters on all their future anniversaries. We think it’s hilarious because it was definitely not planned at all, and we didn’t know it was their wedding date until the venue was already booked. How funny would it be if we used the same first dance song as well?

This was the first song that Mr. Martini sent to me, during the super long AIM conversations that counted as our pre-dating period. We were swapping our favorite songs, and he really only sent it to me because he thought it was just such a great one. I didn’t realize until later what the lyrics were saying. I truly love this song.

The first time I heard this song was when Mr. and Mrs. Monkey danced to it at their wedding. I almost fainted from the cuteness of the song! For months after, it was on repeat 24 hours a day and even now it’s still one of my top faves. I could steal the song idea (heh heh), but I would never be able to come up with a dance that is remotely close to the cuteness of their first dance to this song.

I spend a lot of money on iTunes. Once every couple of weeks I like to browse their top 100 downloads for any good, recent hits. I heard this song and immediately fell in love with it. I made Mr. Martini listen to it and he liked it too. If we decide on doing a choreographed dance for our first song, it will definitely be to this one.

How did you pick your first dance song? Does your song have sentimental meaning to you, or did you try to pick based on what the song lyrics meant to you?