Let me explain. (Oh, it’s GAR here … hello, aloha and salutations.) Now, our wedding day will always be a beautiful day to us, and I think it’s because our words, experiences and descriptors will accompany every recounted memory. For this big day we (and many other brides and grooms) also get assistance with our words – thorough the use of song. Yes, music really does make the world go ‘round and all that crap. But, seriously, music is a big deal to us. With Rock n’ Roll as our wedding theme and concerts as our favorite activity, my beautiful Hard Hat Bride and I have spent a significant amount of time thinking about this. We want our playlist to be lively, fun and meaningful to our life together. For some of the more important songs for our big day, we were very selective.
“You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere"
Lovely, right? Well, many betrothed actually think so and my bride-to-be and I have heard these lyrics at many weddings in life, on TV and the silver screen as newlyweds walk back down the aisle together and into reception halls. These lyrics show up in the first verse of the overly used wedding song “Beautiful Day” by U2. And it’s not just the lyrics, a quick Goggle search on this song’s meaning will bring up many different origins – and not many connected to a beautiful wedding day. But who could blame anyone? It’s a wonderful title, has a great crescendo of energy during the chorus and it is indeed a beautiful day for any bride and groom. I mean listen to the chorus:
“It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away”
Well, it does have the word beautiful in it. Anyone else feel rushed to hold onto something before it “get’s away?” Now I’m not saying that it is the equivalent to playing “Taps” on your big day, but life has certain songs on its soundtrack for a reason. If you’ve ever intentionally listened to a particular song while running, getting over a break-up, etc. you know what I’m talking about. Here’s an experiment for you: listen to your iPod or portable boom box the next time you are walking through the airport, mall or favorite theme park. Play a random song and see if it tells a story when you are people watching or when you are in self-reflection as you people watch. It’s a pretty cool trick.
I should say that my bride-to-be and I are not the end-all be-all of selecting fine music, but we do know what we like. We are mindful about certain song meanings when reviewing it for our special day. The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” sounds lovely, well if you’re into stalking. Celine Dion’s “My heart will go on” and that guy from Derek and the Dominos’ “Tears in Heaven” – Gorgeous … Reminders of death that is (trust me, Celine won’t get a note at our wedding regardless – we care too much about our friends and family to do that to them). That Dollywood mogul’s “I will always love you” and that song that Cake covered “I will survive” are beautiful and fun … if you love break-ups. And what about “White Wedding” (which is about Idol’s distaste of his sister’s fiancé) and “Afternoon Delight?” Well … actually … we kind of like those songs, so they might just get played. And who would turn their nose at a little post morning fun? It’s not like we’re celebrating afternoon homicide. On another note, I don’t even have a sister. My bride does, but her husband is badass. So maybe I’m misguided about all this. Let’s give that U2 song another chance:
“You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination”
OK, so I’m striking out here. But at least Bono isn’t singing about tuna fleets clearing the sea out, fires, oil fields and floods – that doesn’t feel very wedding-ish to me. I mean who would put that in … huh? … wait … he did what? Nevermind. I guess the point I would like to share (U2 aside) is that there are many things that will help you remember your wedding. It’s a wonderful time and if music isn’t important to you, then it’s not. But at least give it some thought as it is your day’s soundtrack. My Hard Hat Bride and I love “stage diving” into our planning - especially this part. Hopefully we will stay away from the warning I just provided, but with so many songs and so many complicated artists, we can only hope for the best.
After all, remember “It’s a beautiful day, Don't let it get away, It's a beautiful day.”
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