What are the best & worst wedding "first dance" songs you have heard?

I know it's supposed to be a personal thing, but I have been to wedding receptions where the song was not even chosen by the couple at all, or where the bride or groom insisted on a song even though the other hated it. And one, where the song was chosen because "it was the most popular wedding song that year!" :eyes:

For me, the oddest choice I've heard was a Michael Jackson song ... not in the 80s, but only recently. Kind of bizarre. The best was one that the couple wrote themselves. :) What about you?

Swear to God. My cousin and his bride jammed away to it. Still together too, God bless 'em.

They probably get along well because neither takes things too seriously.

one of the two :)

Whatever works, right? I mean, the sanctity of marriage is the "real battle for homeland security", according to a few choice Republicans, so it's a "win at all costs" situation, no?

as long as you aren't breeding and messing up children, have fun with your alternative lifestyle. no skin off my back.

I would have peed my pants

at weddings. Like "Could I Have This Dance For The Rest of My Life" and "Wind Beneath My Wings." They both make me want to puke before I've even started getting hammered :)

when they inevitably play "Daddy's Little Girl." :puke:

never liked it.

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

My best friend had that as her father-daughter dance song for her wedding. I remember she played it for us bridesmaids in the car on the way back from our gown fittings at the dress shop. Everyone in the car was getting all teary because of that stupid song--except me (I was laughing and trying not to wretch at the same time.) I guess that was a little mean, but that song is just so horrible!

The first is a breakup song, and the second is a stalker song.

Good choice: "The Way You Look Tonight"

back when he was a wee baby.

song - that's about cheating and yet people have it played at weddings.

I thought it was about a friend loving another friend and the love being unrequited, until now.

second paragraph and even the first paragraph...I could be wrong, but that's how I always interpreted the song.

***

All of the nights you came to me
When some silly girl had set you free
You wondered how you’d make it through
I wondered what was wrong with you

’cause how could you give your love to someone else
And share your dreams with me
Sometimes the very thing you’re looking for
Is the one thing you can’t see

So he keeps dating other women who disappoint him until he realizes his friend is actually the one. ....and I can't believe I'm analyzing a Vanessa Williams song. :crazy:

:P

How people can mistake it for a romantic song, I don't know.

I always told my husband that the only line missing from that song was "You were lousy in the sack, now I hate you and I want all my CDs back."

I love the song though.

...any genre.

That being said, Mrs R and I spun to Nanci Griffith's "Red Brick Floor".

The Tony Bennett version.


It was my wifes choice, not mine. I REALLY wanted "64" by the Beatles ;)

Serious, a friend of mine insisted we play that as the wedding song. Actually, it wasn't that bad of a choice. Pretty funny then, pretty funny now.

Think about it:

I want you
I need you
But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you
So don't be sad
'cause two out of three ain't bad

Yeah, there are some stupid people out there who thought that was a good first dance song at their wedding.

On edit: Meatloaf said he hears that ALL THE TIME.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

a friend's wedding years back--"Don't Worry, Be Happy"--what was he thinking??? I was expecting a nice love ballad and he chose this awful song-LOL.

in the honeymoon suite! ROFL!

during the ceremony itself - this was back in the early 70s. A cousin of the groom who couldn't carry a tune sung a hideously bad lounge-singer version of "The Look of Love." I bit my lip until it bled.

I hated the song, but learned to play it and sang it because I was very good friends with the groom.

The song didn't work very well. My friend's divorced and hates, and I do mean hates, his ex-wife.

I hope my intended will want to dance to "Searching for Someone Exactly Like You" by Van Morrison.

This song is about a STALKER dammit

A STALKER!!!

My best friend and her hubby picked this. It was LOVELY!!!

Of course, now she has come out and they are getting a divorce, 5 years later.

And so it goes...

That was the song for my wife and me. Almost 31 years later we are still happily married.

there may be a connection

since I met you baby
my whole life has changed...

I still get weepy remembering our dance. We also had a friend play the melody line on acoustic guitar as our wedding processional.

there's the 'Anniversary Song'

http://www.smickandsmodoo.com/aaa/lyrics/anni.htm

We've only just begun to live,
White lace and promises
A kiss for luck and we're on our way.
And yes, We've just begun.

Before the rising sun we fly,
So many roads to choose
We start our walking and learn to run.
And yes, We've just begun.

Sharing horizons that are new to us,
Watching the signs along the way,
Talking it over just the two of us,
Working together day to day
Together.

And when the evening comes we smile,
So much of life ahead
We'll find a place where there's room to grow,
And yes, We've just begun.

way too sicky, syrupy sweet for ANY occasion.

it's just a bit Too much and was way overplayed in it's day.

by Billie Holiday. If I had a big wedding I was going to use it, but we eloped instead.

"Just The Way You Are" and we'll be married 25 years this August.

Good choice. :thumbsup:

was the oddest first song I've ever heard. And it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, too -- the marriage only lasted a couple of years.

Our DJ (Friend of ours) played that at the reception, dedicating it to all my former GFs.

If you listen to the lyrics, they aren't quite so flowery.

DH and I's first dance was to Marc Cohn's "True Companion".

Julie

DH and I wanted "Side by Side" (Ain't got a barrel of money, maybe we're ragged and funny...) but the singer/pianist didn't know that one and so we got "Some Enchanted Evening" instead, which wasn't a bad second choice. But then, much to my chagrin, he decided to ad lib and segued into the love theme from the Godfather (!)

a song which I'm sure nobody there other than my bridegrooms and we were familiar with at all. But it's still my favorite first dance song, just because it was ours.

Can't think of any really bad ones I've been there for, though. Mostly just the run of the mill ...

not "I'm Sorry" (love it) or "Feet on the Ground" (love that one too).

If You Go (my favorite off people) and Sweet Marie (my wife's middle name is Marie) are other favorites of mine by them, but might not have been great as first dance type songs :)

Always great to see somebody remembers the hothouse flowers :D

call me old fashioned, i don't know, but there are so many other Beatle songs ...

I don't know about the worst wedding song...but this is my favorite...



We skipped the light fandango
turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
but the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
as the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
the waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
as the miller told his tale
that her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale

She said, 'There is no reason
and the truth is plain to see.'
But I wandered through my playing cards
and would not let her be
one of sixteen vestal virgins
who were leaving for the coast
and although my eyes were open
they might have just as well've been closed

She said, 'I'm home on shore leave,'
though in truth we were at sea
so I took her by the looking glass
and forced her to agree
saying, 'You must be the mermaid
who took Neptune for a ride.'
But she smiled at me so sadly
that my anger straightway died

If music be the food of love
then laughter is its queen
and likewise if behind is in front
then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then like cardboard
seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
and attacked the ocean bed

That was our wedding song.

for the Father Daughter dance at my wedding!

We share a song in common.

How's Minnesota these days? The rain in San Diego just stopped yesterday after a two-week drenching.

How about the thrashing the Vikings gave Green Bay???

Our temperatures are dropping through the cellar, it looks like we will not be above zero for a few days. Last I looked we were at -12 F. Our governor is considering cancelling school for K-12 tomorrow.

I LOVED the Vikings beating the Packers...shuts the cheeseheads up for few minutes. And although I think what Randy Moss did was tasteless and classless, I think our lovely media has made way too much of a deal out of it!

Glad to hear the rain has finally stopped. Are you having a lot of mudslides down there? I know there are a lot in the Los Angeles area, but the media here has not covered any in San Diego.

I'd freeze to death in Minnesota (especially with my So. Cal. thinned-out blood).

I saw all the bleating about Randy Moss, but from the short video clips they showed all he seemed to be doing was a little dance after a touchdown. Don't they all do that now in the NFL? What's the big deal? I don't know what they're bitching about because the coverage of the subject was so bad.

No mudslides in San Diego. Yet.

BTW, I'm over the flu now and have no further excuses for anything.

I have no idea why - the band may have chosen it (I would have fired them if that was the case) or perhaps the couple but it seemed very strange to me.

"Go on now, go
Walk out the door
Don't turn around now
You're not welcome anymore" etc. :wtf:

This was the same wedding in which the bridegroom stumbled badly over the word "fidelity" which I took as a not very good sign. They're still together but apparently he still has trouble with it. :shrug:

Unchained Melody, Wonderful Tonight, Unforgettable, etc are all good. Pachelbel's Canon would be a great song to walk into the Church/Hall with too.

And our dance song was awesome. Just because it was so fitting. It was "Not the Only One" by Bonnie Raitt. And the lyrics were perfect - could have been written for us!

I was in a daze, movin' in the wrong direction
Feelin' that I'd always be the lonely one
Then I saw your face, on the edge of my horizon
Whisperin' that I wasn't the only one
The lonely one

True love or perfection
It seems like it's overdue
Then just when you least expect it
It comes sneakin' up on you
When I thought that I was dreaming
Felt your body close to mine
Now love takes on a different meaning
Together till the end of time

10 years and I still can't believe how lucky I am!:D

Even in midi form. Very beautiful piece.

Canon in D as well, played on a piano. My Bridal Attendants (my godbrother was one of my bridesmaids) walked into "Storybook Love" from the The Princess Bride. I still get all sorts of teary when I hear that music. (Our 2 year anniversiary is in 2 weeks! Yay!)

At one of my girlfriend's weddings, the Father-Daughter dance was Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up." Not a dry eye in the house.

by Harry Connick Jr. Heading toward 10 years in the fall.

DBDB

And "Marla Hooch's" unforgettable rendition of that song?

for 'worst.'

I once had the misfortune to attend an 'all karaoke wedding.' That's right the bride and groom sang their vows, the officiant sang the blessing of the union, and then the maids and matron of honour and the groomsmen all got together and slaughtered "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen for the first dance.

The best I ever witnessed was during a wedding where it rained like the deluge and the power went out. The groom went into the sacristy and lit every candle he could find in the church. When the time came for the dance he waltzed his bride around the floor singing "My Best Girl" with a look of such devotion in his eyes that there wasn't a dry eye or unbuckled knee in the house.

That's pretty funny.

i think by Kenny Rogers???? anyway at a friend's wedding they invited their parents to dance first - both couples had been married for 20+ years. Brought a tear to my eye.

That was my grandparents song (Married for 50 years)

My grama died about 5 years ago & EVERY time I hear that song I get choked up.

A good song (IMHO)
but an odd choice.

They arent together anymore either BTW

It was very sentimental to invite their parents to dance first. I think I found it especially touching b/c my parents were divorced when I was about 5. I'm sorry about your grandma. I've got goosebumps just thinking about that song.

it's very popular in our area to use that one.

He said he did a wedding where the bride and groom were not very attractive. There wedding song was "Two less lonely people in the world"...is that a song? I'm sure that was the title

2 less Lonely people in the world

I don't care what the hubby person says, its going to be White Wedding. HEHE :D

was to Edwin McCain's "I Could Not Ask for More"

Lying here with you
Listening to the rain
Smiling just to see the smile upon your face
These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive
These are the moments I'll remember all my life
I found all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more

Looking in your eyes
Seeing all I need
Everything you are is everything to me
These are the moments
I know heaven must exist
These are the moments I know all I need is this
I have all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more

Chorus
I could not ask for more than this time together
I could not ask for more than this time with you
Every prayer has been answered
Every dream I have's come true
And right here in this moment is right where I'm meant to be
Here with you here with me

These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive
These are the moments I'll remember all my life
I've got all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more

Chorus

I could not ask for more than the love you give me 'Coz it's all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more

Procol Harem: "Whiter Shade of Pale"...:D

OK?

:silly:

I could raid my mother's record collection to find it...

be played! Or else no deal! x(

:crazy:

Billy Idol will be welcome at any wedding I attend...

My best friend & her hubby danced to Van Morrison's version "Have I told you lately that I love you"

And then they did their farewell to Don Henley's "Taking you Home" - which was my song with my love at the time. I was PISSED, cos they'd kept those two songs secret, and they knew it was our song. They pilfered it.

She's No Lady

She hates my mama
She hates my daddy too
She loves to tell me
She hates the things I do
She loves to lie beside me
Almost every night
She's no lady she's my wife

The preacher asked her
And she said I do
The preacher asked me
And she said yes he does too
And the preacher said
I pronounce you 99 to life
Son she's no lady she's your wife

And I can't remember
How I met her
Seems like she's always just been hanging here off my right arm
And I can't remember
How I ever
Thought that I just couldn't live without a woman's charm

And even though
She loves the smell of French perfume
And even though
She walks around in high-heel shoes
All I know
Is I'm the one who pays her price
Man she's no lady she's my wife

And I can't remember
How I met her
Seems like she's always just been hanging here off my right arm
And I can't remember
How I ever
Thought that I just couldn't live without a woman's charm

Yea she hates my mama
She hates my daddy too
She loves to tell me
She hates the things I do
She loves to lie beside me
Almost every night
She's no lady she's my wife

RL

:D

RL

I'm not kidding. Doesn't anyone slow-dance to "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters or "If" by Bread anymore?

singer/songwriter era had a lot of good love songs for weddings-"Annie's Song","Anticipation",that song about "ring ring let the telephone ring"(can't remember the title),so many.

That makes me think of some Seventies songs that would be funny at a wedding-"You're Having My Baby","It's Too Late To Turn Back Now","Mama Told Me Not To Come",and I think the most awful song that I ever heard-something about "daddy please don't,he means so much to me,daddy please don't, we're gonna get married,just you wait and see"-that is,until daddy goes to shoot the guy that knocked up his daughter and shoots her instead.

One of the cheesiest 70s songs ever (and I didn't even live in the 70s).

weird group named "Mouth and MacNeil" called "How Do You Do",and he usually hates popular music. I despise that song!(He likes the strangest songs anyway,except for Bob Seger), like something about "you're never gonnna see no more unicorns". There were some really cheesy songs in that period-"Billy Don't Be A Hero", "The Night Chicago Died",more if I could think of them. There's a couple of cheesy ones that I like too,like the one about giving the hitchiker a ride in the Chevy van,and something about "hold on, just a little bit tighter now baby"-I read that this song was the only hit,ironically,by a group that normally played hard rock.If I were that group, I would've been kind of aggravated.

"Sunrise,Sunset" from "Fiddler on The Roof". I guess I'll get mocked unmercifully for this one,but I always loved "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters.

They danced to "Having My Baby" by Paul Anka.

This was back in the 70's when there were few pregnant brides but lots of premature babies.;)

There were rumors the bride was pregnant for at least a year before the wedding. She decided to have fun with it. Her parents were NOT amused.

was the song me & the mrs. first took to the floor to...

"Hey joe, where you goin’ with that gun of your hand
Hey joe, I said where you goin’ with that gun in your hand, oh
I’m goin’ down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin’ ’round with another man
Yeah, I’m goin’ down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin’ ’round with another man..."

when the then future mrs. veritas heard the lyrics, we compromised on tina turner.

My daughter just danced to it at her wedding and it was beautiful. Her and her dad danced to Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World -Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. It was very cool, had special meaning for them too.

"Youre Not 'The One' (but you're the only one that makes me feel this way)" (Foo Fighters)

Best was What a Wonderful World.

Most original was a father/daughter dance to the theme from Godfather.

Absolutely beautiful song.

My best friend Dan was best man to a guy named Brian, who successively married women with nasty, buzz-saw personalities, neither of whom Dan or I could stand. That they were both really large was, I guess, a bonus of sorts.

Well, Dan's dad was the MC and a professional entertainer, and rather than have the DJ play the first dance, Dick strapped on the guitar and sang "If", as in "If a picture paints a thousand words" etc. When he got to the line "If a man could be two places at one time, I'd be with you", Dan and I started laughing so hard we had to leave the hall. Of course, we had toked before the reception, or else we'd have been able to hold it in.

For Brian's second wedding, to Tonya (also big-boned), Dick sang again. This time it was "Three Times a Lady". Dan and I busted a gut again. The odd thing is that both times, the first dance song was requested by the groom.

grover washington's 'just the two of us' and it may be mine as well.

i got sick of k-ci and jojo's 'all my life'. i went to 6 weddings that year and it was the first song for ALL!

for the father-daughter dance, i have a soft spot for the temptations' 'my girl'.

Wigwam by Bob Dylan. It seems an unlikely choice, I know, but it rocked!

For my wedding march, my string quartet played "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story--imagine marching in to that....

And the worst? The absolute worst was friends who came into the reception introduced by the DJ to the theme from "Entertainment Tonight."

VNV Nation, one of the remixes. (The CD is dead, and I don't have the playlist anymore.)

Eyes betray the soul and bare it's thinking.
Beyond words they say so many things to me.
A stranger here reborn it seems
awaking wonders deep in me.
If nothing's ventured nothing's gained
so I must seize the day.

And fighting time so hard I pray
that this moment lasts forever.
And will the world stay standing still at least for me.
Through my eyes stare into me.
I bare my heart for all to see.
With my face turned to the sun there ever standing still.
Though seasons change and things come to pass
remain inside of me.
And fighting time so hard I pray
that this moment lasts forever.
and will the world stay standing still at least for me.

We also had Oingo Boingo, Apoptygma Berzerk, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure, Pink Floyd and a bajillion others on the disk we built for the wedding. If my mother liked the music, it was culled from the playlist. (She was not there, since we had snow the week of the wedding and she'd planned to drive from AZ in her beater.)