On our third anniversary, we thought it might be fun to reflect on the songs we chose for our wedding playlist. We took some pride in choosing each of these songs ourselves for particular reasons, and the end result was a consummation of Becky's classical touch and Rob's hipster vibe. The ordering and selection of each of the 36 tracks was carefully curated to follow an arc of romantic tranquility that builds to a celebratory climax before settling back into a peaceful outro intended to coincide with the cleanup and close of the evening. Three years later, we still feel it was a pretty solid playlist. You can stream each of the songs on the left side if you feel so inclined (thanks to Microsoft Sway). Enjoy.
This was chosen as the first song because it a) starts with some non-musical intro material that we didn't want to interrupt the flow of the playlist, and b) it is a toe-tappin' upbeat track, which is what you want to kick off your playlist.
This Australian band shows up a couple times on the playlist because their acoustic indie-pop sound was sort of a template for the laid-back and romantic atmosphere Rob wanted to set for the evening.
This pretty song represents the next chapter after love, and has an epic and celebratory feel.
A longtime favorite of Rob's, this song fits nicely into any playlist. The lyrics and the spirit of it are particularly well-suited for any romantic playlist.
Not many songs capture the excitement and adventure of starting a new life with a family in a new place like this one does. It seems even more geographically relevant now because this song specifically refers to is Mushaboom, Nova Scotia, which is a lot more like where we live now than where we lived 3 years ago.
A nostalgic song for Becky that captures the magic of falling in love in the style of Sir Paul.
This one has a jazzy and upbeat vibe that is quite catchy, and lyrically it is an ode to friendship, the process of dating and breaking out of the 'friend zone.'
Jose Gonzalez is a Swedish-Argentinian musician, and one of those rare people who can captivate audiences with the bareness of just his guitar and voice. This was the sort of vibe Rob wanted to incorporate into the wedding playlist. In addition to being featured on our wedding playlist, this song was also featured in a Sony TV ad campaign that featured 250,000 colored rubber bouncy balls flying down a steep hill in a San Francisco neighborhood; check it out here, it's worth a watch. The original version of this song was by Swedish electronic group The Knife, and sounds very different.
This is a cover of a Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst) song that Rob thinks is lyrically one of the sweetest love songs. Although Rob normally love the authenticity of Conor's quaky voice, he felt this respectable cover version was more appropriate for a wedding.
At the time of our wedding, Rob had recently discovered the Fruit Bats thanks our friend Shane, and this was probably his favorite song at that moment. In essence, the lyrics list the quirky ways a partner has accidentally been physically injured, and says, "I'll never do anything else to hurt you, because I adore you, and you know all the words to Prince's Raspberry Beret." It sounds much sweeter with music.
We both like Simon and Garfunkel, and wanted to include them in our wedding. None of their hits seem to fit in the playlist though, and so we dug deeper until we found one of their songs that did. That said, Rob think 'For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her' is one of the greatest love songs of all time.
Rob has always liked Jack Johnson as a musician and as a human, so he wanted at least one of his songs on the playlist. There are several sweet simple love songs by him presumably about his family life in Oahu, but this one from 2005 seemed to be a good fit.
The second appearance of Jose Gonzalez, this song was taken from the soundtrack to Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, for which Gonzalez contributed a few songs. This particular one was written by Ryan Adams. That movie came not long before we were married, and we both liked it.
The film Jerry McGuire made this song famous in the mid-90s, which is about the privilege of being let into someone's intimate life, as narrated by The Boss.
The second appearance of this band, whose sound was sort of the template for the vibe of the first half of the playlist.
A catchy Beatles love song with a Samba rhythm from A Hard Day's Night. It was chosen by Becky in part for nostalgic reasons, and unknown to Rob in spite of his general familiarity with the Beatles. Shortly after our wedding, a bedroom recording of Kurt Cobain playing this song surfaced.
A modern and unique twist on a quintessential love song that was flawlessly and originally performed by Elvis.
Possibly the oldest song on our playlist, this classic from 1961 never gets old.
Another inclusion from a Swedish band (as indicted by the lyrical reference to Stockholm). Not so much a love song, as a relationship song in which the singer draws analogies to country-folk couples Emmylou Harris and Graham Parsons, and June Carter and Johnny Cash, in the chorus.
A favorite that Rob have used on many playlists. He once read that Coldplay stopped performing this song after the lead singer married Gwyneth Paltrow because it was written for a previous love interest. Maybe it's back in their live setlist now that the two have had a 'conscious uncoupling.'
By now the playlist is starting to transition from mellow to upbeat. This song typified the sound of something acoustic that is listener-friendly, yet unfamiliar that Rob wanted to predominate in the playlist.
This song marks the full transition from mellow music for mingling to more uptempo music for celebrating (or dancing, should anyone feel so inclined). The first half of the song is mellow acoustic, and the second half jumps right into the same verses repeated at double time and building to a crescendo.
Not everyone likes this song about love birds as much as Rob, but he'll never forget the first time he heard it in 2004 when he was working in the biochem lab during college, where his labmate with really great taste in music was playing it on a CD player one day. Since then, Rob decided it would be the perfect love song to play at his wedding someday.
A good playlist always has a healthy mix of familiar and unfamiliar selections. This familiar song captures the youthful dream of being married, and may remind some people of the film '50 First Dates.'
Rob thought Feist needed to be on the playlist, so he chose this song because it is one of her more popular songs, and Rob wanted to include a mix of a few tracks that people might be familiar with. Feist also sings a version of this song with Sesame Street - so far Alex doesn't care for it.
The title of this song seems wedding-appropriate, and it is catchy and upbeat. However, the lyrics describe a boyfriend who has expressed reservations about tying the knot due to student loan concerns and alimony risks, and a girlfriend who is attempting to persuade him by saying she doesn't need a big wedding with invitations and gifts such as bread makers. In any case, no one hears anything at a wedding besides the repeated chorus, which is the title of this song.
This song is on the playlist just because it was popular at the time and therefore somewhat familiar, and it was the sort of song that we could pull the tables from the center of the floor so people could let loose and shake their booty if they pleased. Of course, we certainly didn't and neither did anyone else as I recall. But hey, it could have happened.
Another danceable celebratory track. Rob loves the classic R&B feel of this song, and it was a must have on the playlist. Although we've already established that no one notices the lyrics to any of these songs, this one probably had the most relevant lyrics to our situation of being married at the age of 36, after searching for a long time, being patient, and hoping that God would guide us to the right person.
This is another song that Rob knew needed to be played at his wedding ever since he first heard it in 2010, mostly because it is really hard not to want to dance and celebrate when you hear it. Or, at least nod your head.
The necessity of this track in any wedding playlist is pretty self-evident. I'll just add that in response to the famed royal wedding earlier this year, Billy Idol cleverly tweeted, "Looks like a lovely day in UK for Harry and Meghan's wedding #royalwedding." Well played Billy, well played.
In Rob's mind, this song is the archetype of an intense love song. It's from the late 1980's, but it's one that Rob honestly never get tired of. It could be the soundtrack to just about any romantic scene in a movie, so he thought it might as well be the soundtrack to three minutes of our wedding reception.
Also fro the late 1980's, this is another timeless love song that I though should be paired with the one that preceded it. This one-hit-wonder takes Rob right back to when he had my first ghetto blaster and liked to listen to the popular songs on the radio. It also takes us back to the end of Napoleon Dynamite where they are playing tetherball, which is why it was placed it at the end of our wedding reception.
Rob is a big fan of the later Red Hot Chili Peppers albums after John Frusciante rejoined the band, and the spirit of renewal and positivity that flows from that period. It always helped him stay positive during sad times. And during sad times, Rob determined that if he ever got married, this particular song would be on the playlist as an appropriate (or perhaps, slightly inappropriate) hommage of sorts.
As the wedding reception approaches its conclusion and guests start heading to the parking lot, I wanted to include a few songs that had a mellow celebratory end-of-the-evening vibe. This particular song was the embodiment of that vibe (although lyrically it's about making peace with a relationship that didn't work out, or something like that).
This song was chosen by Becky for the music as well as the lyrics. Ingrid Michaelson captures epic sweeping melodies well, and this song seemed to fit nicely at the end of the evening.
This is one of Rob's all time favorite songs, and also such a great love song. He thought this down-tempo acoustic version might be the perfect choice to accompany the close of the evening as people start taking things down and cleaning up.