Mrs. Penguin is kicking off our Real Wedding Playlists series with her winery wedding playlist for cocktail hour and dinner. Classic Italian crooner vibes all around! Got a playlist you’d like us to feature? Check out the details here and at the bottom of this post.
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Type of playlist: Cocktail hour and dinner
The vibe: We asked Mr. Penguin’s brother Paul for a little help picking out some songs with an “Italian-American” vibe to play during dinner at our reception, since the winery we were getting married at had a Tuscan theme. We thought Paul would be the expert to turn to since he has both a love for music, and a love for Italy. It didn’t all have to be sung by Italian Americans, but we wanted the music to all fall in the same genre. Rather than shove a couple ideas our way, he sat down and made this amazing comprehensive list (with notes!), and I thought I’d share it with all of you in case you’re looking for similar music…because even if you’re not getting married at a Tuscan winery, Sinatra is always in vogue!
What did you want your guests to feel when they heard the music at your wedding? A little bit of ’50s lounge vibe, with mostly songs that everyone—young and old—would recognize (and could sing along to).
What songs/artists were on your playlist?
Funiculi Funicula – There’s a 3 Tenors version of this, or at least Pavarotti that’s good, a must have.
Tu Vuo’ Fa L’Americano – The Talented Mr. Ripley version is by Adriano Celentano, who’s huge in Italy now, but I think the original is by Renato Carosone.
Bella Notte – This is the song from Lady and the Tramp when they eat spaghetti.
Eh Cumpari – Julius LaRosa, this one still gets the little kids in Italy going.
Swinging on a Star – Bing Crosby, probably Bing’s best, swingingest song
Play a Simple Melody – Bing Crosby
Beyond the Sea & Mack the Knife – I’m not sure he’s Italian, but both theseBobby Darin songs are great. … read more
Ah, music—the soul of any good party! Benjamin and I always agreed that we would hire a DJ rather than a band for our reception. This decision was made even easier when two different friends recommended Toast and Jam, a DJ company that bills itself as “the antidote to the cheesy wedding DJ.” When we met with Rachel, one of the wonderful women who works with T&J, I was instantly at ease. She totally got our preferences (a lot of late ’90s for the dance floor; a little Rat Pack, a little Vince Guaraldi for cocktail hour), and I trust her intuition when reading the room. That’s one of the things Toast and Jam emphasizes—their skill in choosing the playlist based on the vibe of the party. Add to that the amazing pun in their company name, and we were sold!
Of course, that still left the ceremony music. When Benjamin and I first started planning our liturgy, we assumed we would have the traditional church organ and cantor. But St. Clement does music exceptionally well, so when I saw that other instruments were an option, I asked Ben if he wouldn’t mind paying a little extra for a trumpet. I love trumpets—they are so associated with Christmas and images of angelic, heavenly music (art history major here) that I had to do it.
Let’s have some fun and talk about music. Are you still looking for those perfect songs or to fill out your wedding playlist? Here’s what we used for the Horseshoe wedding.
Mrs. Horseshoe getting her groove on. You’re lucky that this is a photo and not a video of my dance moves. / Photo by PMG Image
Mr. Horseshoe and I handled our music in two ways: Spotify playlists and a DJ.
I come from a very musical family. Two of my uncles and my youngest brother are incredible guitar players, and Mr. Blue Moon’s brother has a great voice. I’ve lived in three amazing places for music: Nashville; Macon, Georgia, a mecca for Southern rock; and the Mississippi Delta for the blues. You would think that by now I would have at least made some time to learn to play an instrument with some proficiency or something. I guess it’s just not to be.
Brother S and my two uncles jamming last Christmas / Personal Photo
That said, I LOVE music even if I can’t really make it. Choosing music for both our wedding ceremony and the important dances at the reception was a lot more difficult than I anticipated, so I thought I would share some of my process for whoever is struggling with this like I did.
Finding a DJ quickly became my least favorite wedding-planning task. With others there are tangible things I can sift through and get a feel for the service/final product we’re going to receive. With DJs…not so much. It didn’t help that a bunch of them that I talked to were soooooo sales-pitchy (totally a word). I know it’s a marketing technique, get a customer interested in your business, butter them up a bit, then slap them with the price info…but I was so not about that life. I am very much a straight shooter when it comes to this sort of thing…if your packages start at $1,600 and my budget is $1,000, then we’re both wasting our time talking. Bonus points to the ones who would give me the price info via email, and A++ to those that list prices on their website! Of course, there are some who insisted on a phone call. Maybe it’s the Generation Y-er in me, but listening to a long spiel on the phone from someone who is literally double our budget is not my favorite activity.
Favors were one of the last DIY projects Mr. Puffer and I completed in the weeks leading up to our wedding. I’m not sure who came up with the idea of gifting music, but we both believed the guests who knew us best would appreciate getting a playlist they would identify with Puff and me. The trouble is, in this day of mp3s and digital streaming, how do we give them music?
So we went old school: CDs. I know, I know…giving CDs is probably not “cool” and really shows our age. But hey, both Puff and I are old school. We grew up jammin’ to cassettes. When you wanted to express your undying love to your crush, you gave him or her a mix tape. Heck, I didn’t get my first CD player until high school!
Puff and I now use our iPods, iPhones, and iPads to stream music. We don’t even have a CD player in the house. But we and nearly everyone we know still listen to CDs in the car, so we knew there was a good chance people would listen to them.
Alternate title: “How I Fell in Love with Another Man”
Since our venue is pretty all-inclusive, we didn’t need to search separately for a caterer or a bakery, or to bring our own alcohol. All of those things could have saved us money if we had prioritized the money over the ease of paying one place to do all of those things for us. With a longer engagement, I may have been more apt to do more things ourselves. But with only three months to plan and execute an entire wedding, I have been grateful that we opted for the “easy” plan.
Our cake will come from Lincoln Bakery, in Bellevue. More on that later.
The catering and alcohol is done by The Chadwick, with neat little packages tied up with a bow, so all we needed to do was point to our choice of package. We’re opting for the buffet with the house brand bar package, but we did purchase some upgrades, like an additional hour of bar (for $2.50 a person—what a steal!), and a champagne toast to have at midnight.
OK, before we get rolling on this post, I had to find a way to share the music we played. I’m always a big fan of listening to the music while reading ceremony posts. I had a bit of a hurdle finding the song I walked down the aisle to, and have come up with an alternative solution of embedding an 8tracks playlist. The first song my bridal party walked down the aisle to was “Walk Quietly” by one of our favourite artists (and my personal favourite) Trevor Hall. Spoiler alert—we played three of his songs during the ceremony! They were just the exact vibe we wanted to share. The second song on the playlist, which I walked down the aisle to, was “Head Over Feet” covered by Vitamin String Quartet. This was a surprise to Mr. Narwhal, and every time I listen to this version, it gives me major chills. So hit play and listen as you read along. 🙂 There are a few other random songs afterward that I had to add in order to complete the playlist.
The guests were all seated and the ceremony was about to begin. We were all gathered at the bottom of the hill and “Walk Quietly” started playing. First, the boys walked my mom down (or up) the aisle, followed by BM Megs and Nelson, and then the rest of the ladies.
MOH Cass was the last to walk up the hill, and once she reached the end of the aisle, the song switched over to “Head Over Feet.” Meanwhile, it was only my dad and me left at the bottom of the hill, and I started to cry. All of the emotions of the day came rushing over me. I had been waiting for this moment with my dad long before Mr. Narwhal ever came along, and I couldn’t have imagined a better person at the end of the aisle waiting for me. An aisle we literally created together after many months of work. I always thought my dad would be the one to get me crying as we walked down the aisle, but in the end it was me. By the time I made it to the guests I was smiling ear to ear, and pretty much stayed that way the entire ceremony.
I always found vendor reviews helpful to both learn about other experiences and find vendors. I had a positive experience with (almost) everyone, so I’m not going to rank them—I’d use them all again!
My stepmom set this up, including trials—it wasn’t a priority for me and this worked well. It’s in the same building as the hotel and across the street from the church, so there was no chance of delays. We didn’t get to all hang out together, but it did mean it was quick. We didn’t start till a couple hours before, which meant we had time for a leisurely breakfast together first. Kylie, who did my makeup, was especially awesome. She was getting married the next month and was super fun to chat with. I actually had some issues after my trial, and she had me come back in to make sure everything would be perfect for the wedding.
Music can be magic. I’m sure the vast majority of people know its powerful effect on moods. Whether it’s energizing you or letting you fall deeper into a melancholy state, music plays a big role in life. It’s used to emphasize parts in a movie that need a certain feeling or emotion. It’s also proven to help you study, and even help you sleep.
Because of its magic, I let the power of music help me get out of my wedding-planning funk. Mr. Sugar Cube and I decided that a DJ just wasn’t going to work for the type of reception we are having, instead choosing to make our own playlist. We already have the songs selected, but the mix needs to be cut down and to have some cohesion that makes it appropriate for the timeline of the reception since no one wants to try and dance the Chicken Dance with chicken in their mouth, right?!
So I took it upon myself to work some more on the playlist, spacing out the slower songs with the more upbeat “come dance with me” songs, while also keeping in mind how I think the flow of the afternoon will go once we are all at Blue Agave.
Let’s have a dance party, shall we?
Since I’m 100% positive our guests will be hungry once the reception is underway, the beginning of the playlist after our first dance will be more on the easier side. It’ll include more easier-listening songs:
