Soundtrack To I Do

I’m happy to have Aditi Jain guest posting today. Aditi is a freelance fashion writer, for companies like Sareez.com. She’s also studying Indian fashion design, including wedding sarees. Today Aditi is sharing about how to choose a wedding playlist, and how she chose hers. Thanks for being here Aditi!

Every bride spends countless hours planning her wedding day, making sure she creates the perfect bridal look, fills her venue full of eye-catching decorations, and designs a menu that leaves guests salivating. One important item that brides simply cannot overlook is the music. Creating a wedding playlist ensures that the music entertaining guests reflects the bride and groom’s interests and personality. Even more, a wedding playlist should include songs that have special meaning to the couple, their family, and even their friends.

I designed my wedding playlist by focusing on several categories: special dances, romantic songs, and party music. Discovering the right mix of songs that have meaning, encourage guests to get on the dance floor, and reflect the couple’s love is key. With the right playlist, wedding music can be both memorable and meaningful for the couple and guests.

Filhi Bahthi via Flickr

Special Dances

Wedding receptions often begin with the couple sharing their first dance as husband and wife, followed by the bride and groom dancing with their parents. Choosing the right songs for these meaningful first dances sets the tone for the reception. Fortunately, there are plenty of touching songs suitable for these dances.

Etta James’ “At Last” celebrates the couple’s joy of finding their true, long-lasting love. The song’s lyrics–“At last, my love has come along. My lonely days are over, and life is like a song”–are ideal for a wedding day, particularly the couple’s first dance.

A more upbeat first dance song, the one my husband and I chose for our wedding, is Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love.” This fast-paced song is easy to dance to, and its lyrics, which include “Girl, if I could only make you see and make you understand. Girl, you love for me is all I need and more than I can stand,” is a festive way to express a couple’s love for each other. Plus, it gets the wedding guests tapping their feet and ready to dance.

The song that a bride dances to with her father should be one that describes their relationship, either what the relationship once was or what it has become now that the daughter is a wife. I chose The Temptations’ “My Girl,” one of those songs that fathers often sing to their little girls, telling them of how much their daughters mean to them. A more modern song with similarly touching lyrics is Bob Carlisle’s “Butterfly Kisses,” and the song even references a father’s feelings on his daughter’s wedding day: “She’ll change her name today. She’ll make a promise, and I’ll give her away.” “Unforgettable,” the aptly named duet by Nat King Cole and daughter Natalie, also works well for the father-daughter dance.

The groom has some choices when it comes to appropriate songs for his dance with his mother. A modern choice is “Mama’s Song” by Carrie Underwood, which includes the lyrics: “Mama, you taught me to do the right things. So now you have to let your baby fly.” Mikki Viereck’s “A Song for My Son” touches on a mother’s feelings about her son’s wedding day: “I don’t know where the time has gone since those little boy days. Doesn’t seem that long, yet here you are. It’s your wedding day.”

Romantic Songs

Weddings are all about love, and some slow songs during the reception allow the bride and groom, along with their guests, to enjoy a little romance on the dance floor. Plenty of romantic songs are suitable for a wedding playlist. Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” effectively expresses how a groom feels about his bride’s beauty on their wedding day – and every day. Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” adequately describes the couple’s love: “Take my hand; take my whole life too. For I can’t help falling in love with you.” Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road” celebrates couples who found each other no matter the path. Other wedding playlist songs that will create some romance include “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie, “From This Moment” by Shania Twain, and “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.

Party Music

Good dance music is a must to keep the reception moving and get guests on the dance floor. A mix of classic tunes and modern hits keeps all generations on their feet. A little Motown is a must on a wedding playlist: The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” The O’Jays’ “Love Train,” KC and the Sunshine Band’s “Get Down Tonight,” and Barry White’s “My First, My Last, My Everything” get people moving. Include some modern dance songs to keep the young people dancing, like Rhianna’s “We Found Love,” anything by Lady Gaga, and Usher’s “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love.” For a hesitant-to-dance crowd, some group dances, such as the “Electric Slide” or “Cha Cha Slide” can encourage guests to get on the dance floor.

Creating a wedding playlist can reflect the couple’s personalities, while catering to guests’ interests as well. With a wealth of suitable songs out there, finding the perfect wedding playlist shouldn’t be a challenge.