A Musical Union

There’s often so much going on during the planning of a wedding, that some of the littlest details fall by the wayside. I’m talking about music selection. While it seems like a last minute decision you can make the week before, it could snowball into a stressful mess of fury if you can’t find the perfect tune for your first dance. Trust me, although minute, it’s vital. Music is such a large part of the mood and theme of your day, so it’s important to give it some thought and attention.  I can’t recount the number of songs and versions of songs we listened to before solidifying our first dance song. When we finally landed on a song together, it was a special moment and was even more fun practicing, sometimes drunkenly after a night out, for the big day. Here are my favorite unique first dance songs that will not only set you apart from the crowd, but will help set the mood and tone for the day, and have your guests secretly opening Shazam to find the artist.

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  1. I Will Follow You - Toulose (original by Peggy March) - an oldie, but goodie turned into this newbie rendition that gives me chills every time I listen to it

  2. Higher Love- James Vincent McMorrow (original by Steve Winwood)- a 90’s favorite turned new wave alternative in this mesmerizing remake. Not just a first dance song, I danced to this with my mom to honor my late father

  3. I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)- Version by Sleeping at Last- (original by The Proclaimers- This happens to be our first dance song and to this day I get teary eyed when I hear it

  4. Feel Like Making Love- Bad Company- This one’s for the rock and roll couples, who don’t mind making a splash or making love on the dance floor…

  5. Leather and Lace- Stevie Nicks and Don Henley- This is for the free spirits in the room. To me this is a forgotten love song, but such a classic about two people coming together despite their differences, swoon.

  6. Use Somebody- Version by Laura Jansen (original by Kings on Leon)- Okay, so I have to be honest, at least 3 of the songs on this list were played at my wedding, including this one. I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of this song and then heard this version after our wedding and fell in love with the song all over

  7. Hey Ya- Version by Obadiah Parker (original by Outkast)- such a classic song that brings me back to high school, but this version brings it to a whole new playing field, the first dance song playing field

  8. Wonderwall- version by Ryan Adams (original by Oasis)- for my friends in Ireland, this one’s for you. You can’t leave a pub without hearing this popular tune. We’ve all chanted along to this song in numerous bars I’m sure, but if you actually listen to the words, it’s pretty fitting for a first dance song, and made even more hauntingly beautiful by Ryan Adams