Save the Last Dance for Me

As you may recall from the beginning of our story as a couple, FI and I met in college, but more specifically, in the choir.  Not the church choir, but just the concert choir.  FI and I love music. LOVE LOVE LOVE music! In fact, as you may also recall, I am a former music teacher, so that's how much I love music.

Now, when it comes to music for the big day, we have kind of been putting this off.  We know that in terms of the reception, we want a lot of the Top 40 hits to be played, censored, of course.  I don't think I want my extremely Catholic grandfather listening to Cee Lo Green's non-censored version of "Forget You." In addition to Top 40, I am totally obsessed with music from the 80s. And when I say totally, I mean totally. I have so many 80s playlists, and all of Billboard's Top 100 Hits from the 80s (Actually, Billboard's Top 100 every year from 1970-1999. Awesome collection - you should get it!).  And then, I think to please some of the older crowd, we'll have the DJ play some of the more popular tunes from those times as well. We trust our DJ to come up with some good ones.

What I really wanted to talk about, however, was the music for the special things, like the entrances, and the first and last dances.  What you should know, is that my favorite artist is Josh Groban, and FI's favorite artist is Phil Collins (Don't Judge).  And while we both love music specifically from those artists, we aren't sure if those are ones that we want to use for our special songs.  I also like Michael Buble, and all that too, but at the same time, we don't want to use the same songs as everyone else (Why do I care so much about that? Ugh!).

So, here are a few I'm considering.

Entrance Song - Only FI and I are being introduced into the reception, so this is the only song that we have to choose, but what do we choose?

First Dance - Something from Josh or something from Phil? Or what about this one? Are the lyrics too risque?

"Forever Begins Tonight" by Patrizio Buanne / Video Courtesy of YouTube

Father/Daughter Dance - I really wanted to do Boston's "Amanda," but then I read through the lyrics, and I'm not so sure that they are appropriate for a Father/Daughter dance.  Thoughts? If not, maybe I'll have my dad choose. That would take the stress off my shoulders, at least!

"Amanda" by Boston / Video Courtesy of YouTube

Mother/Son Dance - I am leaving this one up to FI and his mom if he wants to involve her. I think it's going to be a tear-jerker. They have such a strong and special relationship. FI cries about it just on mention of the Mother/Son Dance.

Last Dance - Michael Buble's "Save the Last Dance for Me" is a contender, even though it's obvious. But, are there any other suggestions?

"Save the Last Dance for Me" by Michael Buble / Video Courtesy of YouTube

So, what are your thoughts on the music selections? Am I at least heading in the right direction? Do you have any suggestions or concerns with the picks so far?

Move your feet

A few weeks ago, FI and I met with a potential DJ.  This DJ had been on my list for a while, and while his services were great, he was priced much higher than we wanted to spend.  So, I looked around for some less expensive options that had great reviews and found All 4 You DJ.  FI and I liked the reviews that we read, and they had our wedding date available, so we booked an appointment with them to meet them and discuss their services in more detail.

We loved talking with them, and playing with their new puppy, but that had nothing to do with us booking with them.  Glenn and Anne were great, very personable, and work together as a team.  They showed us their sound system, and it was great. The speakers are slim line, and aren't eye-sores or take up a lot of space, but the thing is that they sound amazing. I seriously wish that I could have those speakers follow me around everywhere, because the quality is outstanding.

Glenn and Anne have a database of music that we can go through to choose what we want and don't want on our play lists, which will also really help us in customizing the reception.  They also have a smaller setup that they will be able to use in the ceremony space, which can be controlled from the main station in the reception space.

We are very excited to have someone booked to provide the entertainment for our guests, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone moving their feet to the music!