Our wedding reception music
A friend of my sister-in-law dropped me an email the other day. She’s getting married and wanted some advice. She knows that Melanie and I eschewed the traditional DJ for our reception and instead went with a series of playlists on my iPod hooked up to a speaker system.
Yes, horrifying and terribly gauche, I know, but we were trying to be economical and neither us liked the idea of a disc jockey imposing his personality on our reception. It went mostly well, after we decided not to use the expensive performance monitors I borrowed from a friend and just ran it through the hall’s stereo system. (Unfortunately the expensive speaker system made horrible feedback and we couldn’t figure out why.)
So my s-i-l’s friend said she didn’t think her fiancé’s taste in music was right for a reception and, based on what she’d heard, thought mine might be a better fit. I’m flattered, of course, and so I told her I’d share the playlist from our wedding reception. I should mention that these songs come from both me and Melanie. Can you guess which music comes from each of us?
There are three playlists: Before and during dinner; after dinner; and other. Dinner and mingling music has a distinctly different flavor from dancing music and I wanted the dinner music to start quiet and light and build up throughout the meal to something more festive in preparation for the energetic party music. Keep in mind, however, that our idea of party music is not just dance music. Neither of us have ever been much into clubbing and dancing, so our taste there could be considered … eclectic. The “other” playlist are songs that I wanted to have available to toss in here and there. Some are fun, some have special meaning.
The Lists, after the jump:
Before/During Dinner playlist
- At Last, Etta James
- The Wedding Song, Kenny G
- It Happened in Monterey, Frank Sinatra
- La Vie en Rose, Louis Armstrong
- Some Enchanted Evening, Frank Sinatra
- Come Dance with Me, Frank Sinatra
- Innamorata (Sweetheart), Dean Martin
- All the Way, Frank Sinatra
- Return to Me (Ritona-Me), Dean Martin
- Unforgettable, Nat King Cole
- Volare (Nel Blu, Di Pinto Di Blu), Dean Martin (Dom’s parents’ song)
- You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You, Dean Martin
- Ain’t That a Kick in the Head, Dean Martin
- That’s Amore, Dean Martin
- Mambo, Italiano, Dean Martin
- Too Marvelous For Words, Frank Sinatra
- (Love Is) The Tender Trap, Frank Sinatra
- The Best Is Yet to Come, Frank Sinatra
- I Get a Kick Out of You, Frank Sinatra
- On the Sunny Side of the Street, Louis Armstrong
- A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Louis Armstrong
- All I Want Is You, U2
- Buona Sera, Louis Prima
- Memories of You, Benny Goodman
- Rhapsody in Blue, Glenn Miller
After Dinner playlist
- Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (This was our first dance and is our wedding song)
- Walking on Sunshine, Katrina & the Waves
- Me and Julio Down By the School Yard, Paul Simon
- Should’ve Been a Cowboy, Toby Keith
- You Are My Number One (Radio Mix No. 2/Album Version), Smash Mouth & Ranking Roger
- Stuck in the Middle with You, Stealers Wheel
- Beyond The Sea, Royal Crown Revue
- Haunted, The Popes
- More Today Than Yesterday, Compilations
- Nineteen Somethin’, Mark Wills
- It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere, Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett
- This Love, Maroon 5
- Get the Picture? (Non-LP Version), Smash Mouth
- Accidentally In Love, Counting Crows
- Funkytown (Single Version), Lipps, Inc.
- Holla!, Baha Men
- Summer Sunshine (Fernando Garibay Remix), The Corrs
- Rigoletto: "La Donna é Mobile", Luciano Pavarotti
- Get Me to the Church On Time, The Brian Setzer Orchestra
- Excursion Around the Bay, Great Big Sea
- Voyage au Mariage (My True Love), Beausoleil
- Mari-Mac, Great Big Sea
- Love Train, The O’Jays
- Sunday Morning, Maroon 5
- You Can Call Me Al, Paul Simon
- Follow Me Up To Carlow, Young Dubliners
- Great Balls Of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
- I’m A Believer (Reprise), Eddie Murphy
- Sweetest Thing (The Single Mix), U2
- Kiss Me, Sixpence None The Richer
- Anniversary, The Pogues
- Fortune Set, Great Big Sea
- Soak Up The Sun (Radio Edit), Sheryl Crow
- A Man Is in Love, The Waterboys
- You’re The First, The Last, My Everything, Barry White
- I Won’t Dance, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
- Sing, Sing, Sing, Benny Goodman
- The Boogie Bumper, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
- I Love You, Barenaked Ladies
- Donkey Riding, Great Big Sea
- Tubthumping, Chumbawamba
- Istanbul (Not Constantinople), They Might Be Giants
- The Obvious Child, Paul Simon
- Parlez-Nous à Boire (Let’s Talk About Drinking), Beausoleil
- Steal My Kisses, Ben Harper
- Sunshine On Leith, The Proclaimers
- All I Want is You, U2
- I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), The Proclaimers
- Then I Met You, The Proclaimers
- How Long Will I love you, The Waterboys
- Let’s Get Married, The Proclaimers
- Did You Ever Look So Nice, The Samples
- The River, Garth Brooks
- The Last Dance, Frank Sinatra
- The Parting Glass, The Clancy Brothers
Other songs playlist
- Texas Medley: The Yellow Rose of Texas / Deep In the Heart of Texas, Kate Smith
- Don’t Fence Me In, Ella Fitzgerald
- When The Saints Go Marching In, Louis Armstrong
- We Are Family, Sister Sledge
- Main Title Theme - Mission Impossible, Artie Kane
- Sharp Dressed Man, ZZ Top
- Peter Gunn Theme, Compilations
- Arisha, Kips Bay
- Bodhran, Young Dubliners
Copyright © 2002-2005
Domenico Bettinelli, Jr.
All Rights Reserved.