When it came to choosing a first-dance song, we had to sort out my terror of being in the spotlight versus Mr. Dragon’s desire to do a swingin’ choreographed dance routine. The solution we settled on was learning a routine, from pros, but something slow. But in order to learn a routine, we kind of had to pick a song first…
Mr. Dragon is a CBC Radio 3 fanatic, so as he listens all day at work, he’s been noticing songs that might be good for a first dance. The first few he found seemed nice but then had horrible bad-relationship twists at the end, so we settled into a groove of him sending me song contenders and me looking up lyrics just in case.
Our goal was to make a short list of ones we liked, then pick our favourite. I let Mr. Dragon do all the initial choosing as he’s way more in tune with good music than I am—my iPhone is outdated by at least six months!
His first suggestion was “Safe and Sound” by Hawksley Workman, which, with its driving theme, seemed lovely for a couple who spends a lot of time together on the road.
The wipers clear the windshield of the rain.
My shirt sleeve dries your eyes the very same.
We fit together like the ignition and the key.
You’re safe and sound with me.You’re safe and sound with me,
Just like you always will, just like you always will be.
Then there was “I’m So Glad” by Royal Wood.
We may feel like folding
But as long as love is holding
The hands of me and you
The waves can be raging
For together we’ll be aging
And as long as I’m with youAt the end of a long, long day
There is not much more to say then love
I’m so glad I met you
While the lyrics of “I’m So Glad” are really lovely, it was the road-trip theme and the more upbeat melody of “Safe and Sound” that led us to choose that one as our song. We really do drive a lot!
Now all I have to do is call a dance studio and ask if we can come in for a lesson or two.
Did you already have “your song” decided, or did you have to search for one?
That song sounds perfect for you guys! We had to search for a song too, it was difficult to find something ‘perfect’.
That’s very nice song. We picked our song before there was a ring, we are crazy like that and that song is that special for us.
Great choice! I saw Royal Wood in Vancouver last month and they were awesome.
We had a funny thing happen with our first dance – because we had far too many choices, we settled on “L.O.V.E.” by Nat King Cole, which was short and cute. Then we went in for dance lessons to learn a slow foxtrot, but the song was too fast for us to pick up dancing easily. On our second lesson, we forgot to bring our music and the instructor suggested that we just use the CD that the last couple brought. The song came on, and it was Neil Young’s Harvest Moon. It was absolutely perfect, so much so that I got chills! We danced away and swooned. It very quickly became our song, by complete accident! But it was slow and lovely and now I have the most amazing memories of that song from our wedding. It was so funny that we couldn’t agree on a song but the song found us!
PS. Now I need to go listen to some Royal Wood.
@Mrs. Pony: Thanks! It’s hard to find one, isn’t it?
@Miss Toadstool: We didn’t really have an “our song” before, so I guess this can be it now. 
@Bias: I really like Harvest Moon! It was one of the ones I had in the back of my head but Mr. D ended up being the music guy for the most part — I thought I should let him have something.
Mrs. Dragon, Sioux Lookout/Brockville, ON Age and Occupation: 24, Journalist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Graphic Designer Engagement Date: August 22, 2011 Wedding Date: September 2012 Venue: Mother of the Bride’s Residence About Me: I moved to Northern Ontario for a job, expecting to be single for the year I'd be there. Within one month I was dating a co-worker, and now, more than two years later, we’re planning a wedding and I’m still a Northern girl. I’m a reporter and a photographer for a small-town newspaper, and I get to do all kinds of fun, exciting, and sometimes weird things at work. When I’m not getting the scoop, I’m cooking, adventuring, playing with our three black cats, or blogging.
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