We’ve said it once and we’ll say it a million times: the APW staff is just a small part of what makes this site awesome. The rest is you guys. So we’re always looking for ways to tap into your brains and share your smarts with each other, particularly if this shared knowledge helps your fellow APWers cross some things off their wedding to-do lists.
Which is why I’m psyched today that we get to introduce a brand new feature to APW: Playlists crowdsourced from directly within our community. Each month we’ll round up the soundtrack songs from the previous month’s wordless weddings (because man, you guys pick the best stuff to listen to at work). And then in between, we’ll also be crowdsourcing really helpful lists of things like first dance songs, songs you can rock out to, parent dances, etc. and compiling them into playlists that you listen to anywhere you have access to the interwebs.
So! First up, the sweet sounds of January, brought to you by eight of APW’s finest:
“Beginnings”
- “You And I” by Ingrid Michaelson from Bridget & Kevin’s San Francisco City Hall Elopement for Introverts
- “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel from Kaleigh & Mark’s Mountaintop Wedding
- “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes from Sarah & Chris’ Hurricane Sandy Wedding
- “Raining at Sunset” by Chris Thile from Julia & Ballard’s Rainy & Rustic Wedding
- “Digital Love” by Daft Punk as covered by Vitamin String Quartetfrom Kate & Micah’s Texas Lovefest
- “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers from Jody & Rob’s Handcrafted Canadian Country Wedding
- “Heavenly Day ” by Patty Griffin from Erin & Rob’s Kid-Friendly Wedding with Alpacas
- “She Is” as covered by Sufjan Stevens from Brigid & Ximena’s Church & Croquet Wedding
Next, our first crowdsourced playlist will be first dance songs! Leave a comment below with your favorite first dance song, and we’ll round up some of our favorites and put it together in a playlist that you can access online.
Happy listening, y’all.
—Maddie
Cover photo by: Kelly Prizel Photography (APW Spsonsor) from Brigid & Ximena’s Church & Croquet Wedding
This post includes Sponsors, who are a key part of supporting APW. For more information, see our Directory page for Kelly Prizel Photography.
Our first song was the Talking Heads – This Must be the Place (Naive Melody) covered by my super rad brother’s band. We didn’t do a first dance because I don’t really like dancing but when it started planning I grabbed David and my sisters and we silly danced in a circle and I cried.
February 4, 2013 11:48 am
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This is what me and my husband danced to as well! We have really different tastes in music, but from the first time I heard this song with him, it was kind of “our song”. We would dance to it in our living room and I would cry. Happy tears though! Now every time I hear it I smile and think about him.
February 5, 2013 6:45 am
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This was ours, too. The best part for me is twirling around in new-husband arms and seeing all of my friends do their own goofy dances on the sidelines.
February 10, 2013 6:35 pm
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Love and Some Verses by Iron and Wine.
Lovely for a wedding, first dance or parent dance.
February 4, 2013 11:53 am
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Aww, this is adorbs.
Our first dance song was “Northern Sky” by Nick Drake. Runner-up was “Time Has Told Me,” also by Nick Drake.
February 4, 2013 11:53 am
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We danced to When I’m Sixty-Four by the Beatles. It wasn’t the easiest song to dance to, but I think it’s a sweet and not overly sentimental song.
February 4, 2013 12:03 pm
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That’s what we’re dancing to, as well. It couldn’t be other than The Beatles for us, anyway, and it pretty much highlights how we hope our relationship will go.
February 4, 2013 12:06 pm
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I used to work at a Country Club in college, and worked at lots of weddings. Once couple used this for their cake cutting song. As they were both widowed and in their mid-to-late 40s, the song was both sweet and kind of cheeky. It was one of the best weddings I’ve ever “been to.”
February 4, 2013 1:08 pm
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We used it for our cake cutting song! It was great!
February 4, 2013 6:28 pm
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You are the Best Thing – Ray Lamontagne
Boy can that guy sing!
February 4, 2013 12:04 pm
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Ours was that too :)
February 4, 2013 1:19 pm
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Our first dance song was “I Could Write A Book” by Harry Connick Jr. from the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack. (The song is originally from the musical Pal Joey, but I love this version–and the movie–and the lyrics seemed apt, since we met while working in book publishing).
February 4, 2013 12:06 pm
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Our first dance was “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison
February 4, 2013 12:16 pm
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Ours was the Thea Gilmore cover of ‘Crazy Love’!
February 4, 2013 12:47 pm
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Ours was also a cover, Jason Manns and Jensen Ackles. Dean Winchester totally sang at my wedding.
February 5, 2013 5:56 am
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How did I miss this comment until now?
February 20, 2013 11:06 pm
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Our first dance was to “God Only Knows (What I’d Be Without You)” by the Beach Boys. Not actually “our song”, but our song makes J weep anytime he hears it, so we went with something more upbeat.
February 4, 2013 12:22 pm
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This was our first dance song as well! Though, in the months since our wedding, the song we cut the cake to (I Will by The Beatles) has become just as meaningful and sentimental to us as God Only Knows.
February 4, 2013 1:10 pm
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OOO I LOVE THIS GAME.
Friends of mine used the song from the ballroom scene in the movie Labyrinth, which I thought was awesome.
I’ve always liked “Two of Us” by the Beatles.
TheBoyfriend suggested “I’ll Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie for our first dance.
February 4, 2013 12:22 pm
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I will follow you into the dark is what I’m walking down the aisle to. It is my most favorite song ever!
February 4, 2013 12:50 pm
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THE SONG FROM LABYRINTH OMG.
February 4, 2013 12:57 pm
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There was a couple at Dragon*Con this year who got married during the conference weekend and had a whole Labyrinth theme wedding. The girl was in a Sarah costume and the guy was Jareth.
February 21, 2013 1:25 pm
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This reminded me that my friend walked down the aisle to the Princess Bride theme song! (Storybook Love – Mark Knopfler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ifSUhwmIMU )
February 4, 2013 2:28 pm
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Our party walked down to that. It still makes me a little teary eyed. :-)
February 5, 2013 5:57 am
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I’m doing this!
March 2, 2013 10:52 am
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I Will Follow You Into the Dark reminds me (always) of one of my favourite new year’s memories, slow dancing around the living room with my now husband. Thanks for taking me back there!
February 4, 2013 2:36 pm
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We did I will follow you into the dark as well, when we realized that our song (slow show by the national) wasn’t working out. We got super lucky that a member of the band we had for the wedding loved that song and already knew it. He did a beautiful job, and I get the warm fuzzies every time it pops up on pandora now.
February 4, 2013 11:56 pm
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Slow show by the national is a top pick for my walking down the aisle song – the break down at the end specifically. Why didn’t it work out for you? It is such a beautiful song. So is the Death Cab song though, that’s a great choice as well.
February 5, 2013 4:33 am
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We totally danced to “I will Follow You in to the Dark” by Death Cab — It was great!!!!
February 21, 2013 2:29 pm
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We danced to “All the Things You Are” by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein. It’s been recorded by a lot of different folks. We had a live band perform it, but I really like Ella Fitzgerald’s version.
February 4, 2013 12:23 pm
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I wanted this SO much, but our ska band wasn’t sure it would work. Perhaps rightly….
February 4, 2013 2:32 pm
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Our first dance will be “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley. It’s ‘our’ song b/c he sang it to me once over the phone early in our relationship when I was upset and freaking out about something (who knows what). Not sure it would work for a general first dance though. I really want to use ‘three little birds’ as a desert topper, but I keep thinking that people will think I’m pregnant!
February 4, 2013 12:24 pm
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Eh, so what if they do! Maybe just don’t put them all in a row, but rather in a triangle formation or something. As long as you don’t have two big birds and one little one, I doubt anyone would make that connection. I mean, I think it would be pretty unusual for someone to announce a pregnancy via dessert topper! But then again, so what if they do!
February 4, 2013 12:51 pm
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We’re going to go with “Excuses” by the Morning Benders – one of the bands we’ve seen in concert together, and this song just feels very us. I like the epic strings too.
February 4, 2013 12:27 pm
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Mm, love this song!
February 4, 2013 3:37 pm
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We did a first dance to “Hallelujah (I Just Love Her So)” by Ray Charles. Neither of us was interested in a slow song, and this one is upbeat and fun — plus it’s actually quite short! It’s happy and joyful and wonderful. And even though it has a male singer and reference to a female love, we were quite happy and comfortable using it for our song. Sometimes it’s not about the pronouns or genders, it’s about the kind of happy it makes you.
Also: One of my favorite day-of wedding memories: On our wedding morning, before we did anything, we put on a playlist of favorite music. Unexpectedly, our first dance song came on first. We got out of bed and danced to it, just the two of us in our pajamas in the hotel room. It was an amazing way of taking a moment to just be present.
There is a lifespan of days that we danced to that song — the first time I put it on in the kitchen and we danced to it, the time we put it on and thought about it as a first dance song, all the times when we knew it would be our first dance song and practiced it while dinner was cooking, etc. There will be more dancing to that song, I’m sure. But while dancing to it at our wedding was the most grand and public iteration, I think my favorite one will always be the private, just-for-us moment from that morning in the hotel room.
February 4, 2013 12:32 pm
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Not engaged yet, but my guy and I call Barbara Lewis’ “Baby I’m Yours” our song and, possibly, our first dance song The Arctic Monkeys do an unbelievably tender cover of it!
February 4, 2013 12:35 pm
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That was almost our song!
We used “This Will be Our Year” by The Zombies, performed by my stepfather (A music teacher/musician who once met The Zombies)
Other songs we almost chose:
The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson
All for You by Sister Hazel (I used this for our save the date…it weirdly fit the timeline of our relationship and how we feel, and I have a deep love of 90s pop)
Songs I thought would be hilarious and perfect but were vetoed:
Wannabe by the Spice Girls
Gold Digger by Kanye West
Songs that I love and would make great first dance but he did not consider for us:
Forever by Ben Harper
Til You’re Dead by Melissa Ferrick
Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan
February 4, 2013 1:15 pm
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We used OK Go’s cover of “This Will be Our Year” as our exit song! It’s so perfect.
First dance song was The Luckiest by Ben Folds which is forever long and kinda slow, but so perfect for us since Boyfriend played it to me on piano the first month we dated.
February 4, 2013 2:25 pm
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I think I’ll be walking down the isle to the Arctic Monkeys version!
February 4, 2013 10:20 pm
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I read this while listening to 8tracks…needless to say I am SO PUMPED for this. Thank you!!! and that picture? You’re killing me over here.
Also- That’s how strong my love is. Otis Redding
February 4, 2013 12:39 pm
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“Carry this Picture” by Dashboard Confessional, sweet song and very easy to slow dance to.
Also, “International Small Arms Traffic Blues” by the Mountain Goats.Weird but perfect for us.
February 4, 2013 12:39 pm
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I may have used the International Small Arms Traffic Blues in a romantic mix CD I gave to my now wife.
February 4, 2013 12:43 pm
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We danced to “Sea of Love” by Cat Power. It was lovely.
February 4, 2013 12:39 pm
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I love that song!!!! It was on my playlist :)
February 4, 2013 4:02 pm
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We danced to “Stuck on You” by Meiko, it was a fun little song that got our wedding dance party off on the right foot.
February 4, 2013 12:42 pm
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“I’ll Be Your Mirror” by the Velvet Underground, hipster-approved by has stood the test of time, hella romantic message especially because our relationship has had to weather my depression, allows for hip shimmying within a slow dance, and is only about two minutes long.
February 4, 2013 12:42 pm
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“Go Places” by the New Pornographers. It’s a waltz, but a fantastic song. Seriously considering getting a verse tattooed on me.
February 4, 2013 12:44 pm
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We danced to “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing.
It was perfect for us, because we aren’t really into slow dancing but we still wanted a romantic song. We got to rock out and do all sorts of silly things on the dance floor, and it really got the party off to lively start. It was a blast!
February 4, 2013 12:46 pm
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This was our last song & it was The Funnest! (Our exit song was “Dance Myself to Sleep” from Sesame Street.)
First dance was The Luckiest by Ben Folds
February 4, 2013 3:11 pm
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This was our last song and I was so afraid it was going to be super cheesy, but it was so. much. fun.
February 5, 2013 6:10 am
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Think I’m In Love – Beck. One of the sweetest love songs ever. And it’s good to dance to.
February 4, 2013 12:47 pm
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We had I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingos, which we decided on years ago, followed by Tenth Avenue Freeze Out to get everyone dancing!
February 4, 2013 12:47 pm
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“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Ingrid Michaelson was ours. Such a sweet version.
February 4, 2013 12:48 pm
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Our first dance was James Brown’s I Got You (I Feel Good). We had planned to do a traditional slow dance, but it just wasn’t feeling like it fit. I had a ballroom dance instructor friend who owed me a favor, so he ended up choreographing a swing dance to I Got You for us, which turned out great!
It’s amusing because I think our first dance is one of the moments that people remember the most from our reception, but they don’t remember it accurately – as the years go by, stories of the dance keep becoming more elaborate, which always makes me grin. We had tossed around the idea of getting a video of the dance, but now I’m so glad that we didn’t. I’d much rather have the larger-than-life memory, than the imperfect reality. :)
February 4, 2013 12:48 pm
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I freaking love “You and I”!
My SO and I went on our first backpacking trip and while I was packing for said trip (I had time off, he didn’t) I pretty much was listening to that non-stop. I sang it pretty much the whole way on our 9 hour drive, with my SO joining in enthusiastically. It was the soundtrack for that trip.
Definitely going to be on our playlist somewhere.
February 4, 2013 12:50 pm
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Yes!! I just started messing around with 8tracks too, this is so exciting!
Our first dance song was “Forever” by Ben Harper. :)
February 4, 2013 12:50 pm
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Side note: This new series is just another thing that works so well for my goal of listening to 1,000 new songs this year.
February 4, 2013 1:02 pm
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For that goal, I recommend listening through the SXSW torrent. It should be released sometime this month. So many new artists!
I should work on my goal of listening to all the SXSW tracks from a year in the matching calendar year.
February 4, 2013 9:03 pm
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These choices are all so great. APW’ers have superb musical taste.
If I Should Fall Behind – Bruce Springsteen (The husb hearts the boss)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n7Zwz-ABXU
For our recessional we used Million Dollars by Joel Plasket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjD564Q52jc Can-con FTW!
February 4, 2013 12:52 pm
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Better Together by Jack Johnson was our first dance song.
February 4, 2013 12:52 pm
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My cousin played an acoustic version of Better Together for our recessional – such a good just-upbeat-enough song!
February 4, 2013 2:09 pm
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It’s going to be ours too :-) LOVE that song!!
February 4, 2013 3:25 pm
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Our first dance is going to be Keepin’ It Real by Mason Jennings. It became “our” song on one of our first long road trips together. It’s going to be hard to dance to but no song could be more perfect!
February 4, 2013 12:53 pm
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I don’t think we’ll be using it for our wedding, but I’ve always thought that “The Ballad of Love and Hate” by the Avett Brothers would be a good first dance song. It’s a little moody, though.
February 4, 2013 12:54 pm
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This is such a good idea! We went disco for our first dance with September by Earth, Wind & Fire. I just love that song and while we did indeed get married in September, the funky, upbeat tune helped us embrace the awkwardness of our guests watching us step on each others toes with big goofy grins on our faces. We also invited everyone to join us about halfway through the song. Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros was a close second choice that we played as the last dance.
February 4, 2013 12:57 pm
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Our first dance song(you can see us dancing here) was “I was made for you” by She & Him. I really love the old 60s vibe to it, and every time I listen it it makes me smile so much.
Here’s the full song.
February 4, 2013 12:58 pm
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ACK! We all walked down the aisle to “Heavenly Day”. It is so pretty it makes me ache, and to this day (two and a half years later) I can’t listen to it without grinning stupidly and welling up. It is perfection.
Our first dance was “Bright Smile” by Josh Ritter. He’s the best, and how do you say no to the line “Just pin your heartbeat up against my heartbeat and you’ll see how well we rhyme”?
February 4, 2013 12:59 pm
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Our first dance was to Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler from the Wedding Singer. Super short, to the point, and reflective of us. Huzzah!
February 4, 2013 12:59 pm
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Ours too! I LOVED it.
February 5, 2013 6:08 am
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“You Send Me” sung by Sam Cooke.
February 4, 2013 1:01 pm
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“Still in Love With You” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy :D Though I kind of wish we had danced to “Everlong” by The Foo Fighters (our favorite band).
February 4, 2013 1:01 pm
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Ours will be “Sea of Love” as covered by Cat Powers. It’s short and sweet, plus its slow tempo and ethereal feel will provide a nice contrast to the song directly after it, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.
Others considered: “Earth Angel” as covered by Death Cab for Cutie, “I Found You” by Alabama Shakes, “Best Thing for Me” by Release the Sunbird and “Eyes” by Rogue Wave.
February 4, 2013 1:02 pm
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Our first dance song was “January Wedding” by The Avett Brothers. We had a good friend’s blue grass band perform at our wedding reception. Because we got married in the fall, the singer changed the lyrics to October instead of January. It was absolutely perfect.
February 4, 2013 1:03 pm
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Ours was “The Promise” by Tracy Chapman, an especially relevant song if you’ve done long distance or, like us, are from different places. The lyrics are so sweet and the melody is beautiful.
February 4, 2013 1:06 pm
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YESSSSS!!!! I love this idea so much! I actually started adding all the wordless wedding songs into a Spotify playlist since December, so this just makes it even better! THANKS APW!
February 4, 2013 1:07 pm
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“At Last” (the Beyonce cover, which was sung at Obama’s inauguration, and which holds special meaning for that reason, and also because it’s just a gorgeous song.)
February 4, 2013 1:10 pm
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Our first dance will be Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” which has been “our song” since the first week we were dating.
February 4, 2013 1:18 pm
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This is a fantastic idea! My old soul loves these:
Blackbird, The Beatles
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free, Nina Simone
Oh Me, Oh My!, Aretha Franklin
But we actually went with Lauren Hill’s cover of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You for our first dane. It was fantastic, everyone in a circle around us was pumping their fist and belting it out when the beat dropped and the chorus came in. Even grandparents know the words because of the original by Smokey Robinson.
February 4, 2013 1:19 pm
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This is a fantastic idea! My old soul loves these:
Blackbird, The Beatles
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free, Nina Simone
Oh Me, Oh My!, Aretha Franklin
But we actually went with Lauren Hill’s cover of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You for our first dance. It was fantastic, everyone in a circle around us was pumping their fist and belting it out when the beat dropped and the chorus came in. Even grandparents know the words because of the original by Smokey Robinson.
February 4, 2013 1:20 pm
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We also used Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You! (Though the original is Frank Valli, right?) It was perfect- our band started off really slow then sped it up when the chorus came in. One of my favorite parts of the wedding.
February 4, 2013 4:54 pm
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Our first dance was “The Book of Love” by Peter Gabriel. looooooved it.
February 4, 2013 1:23 pm
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This was our second choice. We ended up making it our last dance instead.
February 4, 2013 1:27 pm
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The original is by The Magnetic Fields and that’s the song I walked down the aisle to. It was perfect :)
February 4, 2013 4:05 pm
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This was my best friend’s first dance with her husband!
February 5, 2013 6:52 am
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I walked down the Isle to Book of Love by Peter Gabriel — Now every time I hear it, I get transported to that day. Wonderful!!
February 21, 2013 2:35 pm
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Since You’ve Asked by Judy Collins–the lyrics are pretty much how I would describe marriage.
February 4, 2013 1:25 pm
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Our first song was “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz.
We still pull out our wedding playlist every year on our anniversary and dance to it all over again in our living room.
February 4, 2013 1:25 pm
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First of all, YES! to crowd-sourced playlists. This is fantastic. Best ideas ever here.
Our wedding is in September and my fiance and I are going to ask two of my brothers and one of their girlfriends – all insanely musically talented, and are going/went to school for music industry and performance – to play our first dance song. We are going to have them do an acoustic version of “If you Run” by The Boxer Rebellion. They play it in Going the Distance, which had the awesome timing of coming out during our early years of long distance and thus became “our” movie so it’s super meaningful on two levels. :) On the plus it’s a completely non-obvious first dance song which is great!
February 4, 2013 1:25 pm
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Lets Get it On by Marvin Gaye was our first dance song and it was perfect, and kinda funny. Even funnier was my slightly tipsy father cutting in to dance with me in the middle of the song, and my partner’s mother then dancing with him. I don’t think either of them were paying attention to the words, they were just excited, and we like to laugh about it now.
February 4, 2013 1:41 pm
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That was actually our LAST dance song! My husband and I sort of fell in love over dancing at a local dive bar, and that is always the last song of the night there. We’ve claimed it as “our song” but figured to keep with tradition it had to be the last song of the night :)
February 4, 2013 2:00 pm
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