Continuing my “1 year, 1 month and 1 day” anniversary theme (ok, so we’re on day 2 of that, forgive me. Wait, 1 day after the 1 year, 1 month and 1 day anniversary – how’s that?), I thought it was time to finally share the track list from our wedding CD favors. I wanted to give our guests a CD of songs full of wedding memories because I thought it was something they might use and keep. I mean, really – how often do you actually use the favors you get at a wedding? I always take them home, and a few months later I end up throwing them away. It is sad to think of all the money wasted on trivial wedding favors. Well, it is sad to think of the general expense of weddings, but I did my best to keep ours to a minimum! So CD favors were the best option, and I enlisted the help of the fabulous Kymberlie to put them together for me. I supplied the music, and she found a great photo of a couple on a beach – we were married in Galveston – and she did all the work of printing, burning the CDs, putting them together, and so forth. I couldn’t have made them without her – she saved my sanity!
While I was working to select songs for the CD, I realized that the playlist looked like “Nat King Cole, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole…” Well, you get the picture. So we hunted for covers of some of the songs we liked, and found some great ones in unexpected places.
Here are the tracks (I’ll post mp3s of them this weekend, but only for Saturday & Sunday – so get them while they are hot!)
1. At Last – Etta James: Our first dance song. We picked a short song because everyone gets bored watching the bride & groom dance when the song is too long. Plus it was perfect for the moment!
2. Unforgettable – Nat King Cole with Natalie Cole: The father/daughter and mother/son dance. Fit well thanks to the duet of Nat & Natalie.
3. It Had to Be You – Harry Connick, Jr.: Our DJ suggested picking a song to dedicate to our guests to encourage everyone to get out on the dance floor. It was a great idea, and it worked!
4. More Than You Know – Rosemary Clooney: While the DJ hit a winner with suggesting the dedication, he skipped right over the father-in-law/bride and mother-in-law/groom dance we had planned. Gah! But I still love this song.
5. I Love You for Sentimental Reasons – John Pizzarelli: I love John Pizzarelli. If you like music from this era, check him out. He is truly amazing.
6. Love is Here to Stay – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
7. The Very Thought of You – Natalie Cole
8. All The Things You Are – Ella Fitzgerald: This is a song that the group Mike used to belong to, The Lager Rhythms, sings. I’ve always loved the song, but it isn’t one of Mike’s favorites because he said they always struggled with it in rehearsal. It makes me smile though, so it made the cut.
9. They Can’t Take That Away From Me – John Pizzarelli
10. A Kiss to Build a Dream On – Louis Armstrong
11. For Once In My Life – Frank Sinatra & Gladys Knight with Stevie Wonder
12. I Could Write a Book – Harry Connick, Jr.
13. It’s Only a Paper Moon – Nat King Cole
14. Ain’t That a Kick In The Head – Dean Martin
15. You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You – James Darren: Yes, James Darren. Scotty from Star Trek. Not only can he sing, he can sing well.
16. Fly Me To the Moon – The El Orbits: A local Houston group that plays a lot of cover songs. We’ve been to several of their performances, but nowhere near as many as Kymberlie. 😉
17. I Say A Little Prayer – Diana King: I couldn’t find the version used in “My Best Friend’s Wedding” but I really wanted the “Lobster Claw song” on our wedding CD.
18. Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole: Mike & I didn’t really have a first date in a traditional sense, but we consider our first date the night I invited him over to see “The Wizard of Oz” because he had never seen it (and he still hasn’t seen to this day) . After he got over to my apartment, I discovered that my DVD of the movie was missing, so we watched “Moulin Rouge” instead. Really, I promise, it wasn’t a ploy to get him to date me. Nuh uh. And I still need to replace that missing DVD.
19. Can’t Smile Without You – Barry Manilow: We put one song on the CD that symbolized us as individuals. I had to choose between Barry and the Bee Gees, but this song flowed the best with the rest of the tracks. And really, I can’t smile without Mike…
20. What a Wonderful World – Da Vinci’s Notebook: I had first heard of DVN thanks to Erika and Su, and Mike & I went to their concert when they came through Houston a few years ago. Fabulous! See them if you ever have a chance!
21. The Rainbow Connection – Kermit the Frog: This was Mike’s song (although I love it too); he wanted it to be our first dance, but if you listen to the words it just doesn’t work. But I had to include it on the CD because he loves it, and the Muppets, a lot. Someday I’ll tell you all about the names of the electronics in our house…
22. The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra: Our “last dance” at our wedding reception was to this song.
23. The Best is Yet to Come – Tony Bennett: The second to last dance, since the wedding is just for a day – the marriage is for a lifetime and the best is truly yet to come.
24. Thanks for the Memories – Bob Hope: A little way to say “Thank You” on the CD to our guests for coming. I’m so grateful for everyone that was able to come celebrate with us.
25. Fare Thee Well – Lager Rhythms: This song was originally written for Michael & Ginger’s wedding by a former member of the group. We had hoped to have the Lager Rhythms sing this at our wedding also (with Michael & Ginger’s permission), but since Mike couldn’t sing during the wedding (you know, being the groom and all) and one other bass was missing because he had a commitment that weekend, there was no way they could pull it off with just 6 out of the 8 members. It had to be on the CD though, because it meant so much to us.
What songs did you play at your wedding? What was (or will be) your first dance song? Any special musical memories?
