Ok ok, so I’m a wedding photographer, but thats not all I photograph. I have been known to shoot the odd spot of advertising photography. In fact, I was just voted Australia’s number two emerging advertising photographer by the most established advertising photographers in Australia… and that’s kinda cool. This poll is run by Capture Magazine annually. Being a photographer, I figured I may as well take the mag somewhere nice and snap a few pics of it!
So, your wedding day is fast approaching, the venue has been organised, invitations sent out, you’ve got your eye on a lovely vintage dress and the image of your perfect wedding is all starting to fall into place. When organising a wedding there is so much to think about, a countless array of small details that must all work together to help your big day run smoothly. Many such considerations may be governed by budget and external factors, one very important decision however is constrained by nothing more than your personal taste and imagination. This decision is your choice of wedding song.
Being a music lover myself I can’t help but pay attention the the choices my clients make when it comes to their wedding songs. I’ve heard the good and the bad, stood through the recital of Shania Twain lyrics and bopped around the dance floor to everything from the Bee Gees classic “How Deep Is Your Love” to the slightly less fitting “Hit Me baby One More Time” … thank you Britney. Having been through this experience more than you have (hopefully!) there are two observations I have made -
1. When choosing a wedding song for your ceremony you will not be able to appease everyone.
2. When choosing a wedding song for a key moment at your reception (such as your first dance) everyone will be drunk and will love whatever song you have chosen.
I can’t help but feel the moral of this story is that the only people you should consider when choosing a wedding song is yourselves. If you stay true to your heart and choose songs that are near and dear to you, songs that you connect with as a couple you will form a strong bond with the music, it will develop into a personal soundtrack you and your partner can play to take you back to memories of your wedding day. It is for such a reason that it is important to select a wedding song that you personally enjoy. Lets face it, everyone has an opinion, during the organisation of a wedding this will become blindingly apparent! Whilst it is nice to consider your brother, sister, uncle Bob, mother in law to be and your second cousin flying in from Kazakhstan you will just never be able to please them all.
Music being as personal as it is I can’t suggest you choose one wedding song over another. What I can do however is provide a list of songs i’ve heard, like, would pick myself, think are beautiful or would make use of for various moments in my imaginary wedding! So here goes.
Lamb – Gorecki
The Cure – Lovesong
Massive Attack – Teardrop
Cat Power – Sea Of Love
Sarah Blasko – Always On This Line
Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers
Ween – Best Time At Your Party
Angus & Julia Stone – Hold On
Pj Harvey – This Is Love
Nick Cave & Kylie - Where The Wild Roses Grow
Tori Amos – A Sorta Fairytale
Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah
Bjork – Unravel
Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
REM – Losing My Religion
Air – Playground Love
Ben Lee – Gamble Everything For Love
Bloc Party – This Modern Love
Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
Foo Fighters – Everlong
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
The B52’s – Love Shack
This is by no means an exhaustive list but a few ideas that may get you started. Feel free to chirp in everybody and suggest a wedding song, leave your thoughts and musings or just say hi! For more info check out my other article on choosing a wedding dance song
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Haha, I love the idea of having Love Shack for a first dance. That’s one sure fire way to get the party started 
So I just recieved an email informing me I was a semi finalist in the 2010 Hasselblad Masters awards, not too shabby considering it attracts some of the worlds highest rung photographers. Anyway, here is a logo they sent me to display proudly, not really loving it but hey, I may as well post it!
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Ok, so it did take me a while to decide who I should be blogging about, in the end Lykke Li won out, mainly due to the fact Ricki Lee said I “can’t touch it” … of course I also happen to love this song by Lykke Li.
In tribute to talk show host Ricki lake… “GO LYKKE!… GO LYKKE!”
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I adore this song. Video ain’t bad either. You have good taste.
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Kellee - Congratulations!