My Big Fat REAL Wedding - Music

Lesson #7

Think outside the box.

Well it's a New Year, but I'm still talking about my same old wedding. But I learned so much being on the bride-side that I really feel compelled to impart any lessons that I learned...big or small. So onward we go...

If you've read any of my other posts on our wedding, you know that my hubby and I wanted to create a wedding that felt more like a really great party...all while celebrating our love for each other and our families & friends. When I am planning any other party, music is a key element to set the tone...so why should our wedding be any different? If you are like me, you can listen to certain songs and be taken right back to the period of your life when you wore your cassette tape out listening to it (yes - I'm old). So we decided to buck tradition (again) and go with music that has meant a lot to us.

For our ceremony, I loved the idea of having a string quartet - they create such an intimate and romantic feel. But why must we play Cannon in D? I like the classics as much as anyone, but that has little to do with our relationship. So what should we do? When my better half and I were just friends in college, I was in a big Beatles phase. He bought me all of the Beatles Anthology cd's for Christmas that year...I think that was kind of his way of telling me that he liked me a bit better than friends. So I thought it would be great homage to the beginning of our relationship if our ceremony music was all Beatles music - as interpreted by a String Quartet. It turned out great!

So that our guests understood the significance of the unconventional music choice, we included a little line in our program explaining the story.

And then the bridal party had a lot of fun reinacting the cover of Abbey Road for some of the pictures.


Without detailing every song that we picked, just know that we chose many "key" songs to be played throughout the night - songs that we knew certain groups of people would instantly react to and jump to the dance floor (if they weren't already there). It took a little more work in the preparation, but at least we didn't have to listen to the chicken dance...that is so NOT us!

PS. If you are interested in using Beatles songs for your string quartet these were our choices...they all translated really well: Hey Jude, All You Need is Love, Good Day Sunshine, When I'm 64Yesterday, Across the Universe (Groom & Parents, Bridal Party), In My Life (Bride & Parents), Ob la di Ob la da (Recessional).