Unconventional Wedding Songs

So I'm picking music for my wedding. Sounds simple, right? WRONG. Google gives me nothing but "At Last" and "Truly, Madly, Deeply", my friends have horrible taste and tell me to pick Boyz II Men or Backstreet Boys, and Stephen wants "Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith, which IS a good song, but is horrible to dance to unless we want to rock awkwardly from side to side.

Luckily, I've managed to amass a tentative list of decent love songs that aren't terribly cliche. You won't find any Righteous Brothers here, but hopefully there'll be a song or two that will pull at your heart strings. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. "Two Way Street", Kimbra

 

"But the moment you appear
You wake me, wake me, wake me
Out of the slumbers of my head
From the slums of loneliness."

Kimbra is a goddess. Her debut album was released in September last year, and since then, with the help of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know", she's sky-rocketed in popularity. Her musical versatility, keen fashion sense and smokey alto don't hurt either.

2. "Underneath It All", No Doubt

 

"So many moons that we have seen
Stumbling back next to me
I've seen right through and underneath
And you make me better."

No Doubt have always had a way with words that sometimes gets overlooked by their crazy 90's fashion or Reggae-inspired melodies. Gwen Stefani sings of a love that can be a little trying at times, but in the end is worth it.

3. "Good Enough", Evanescence

 

"Drink up sweet decadence
I can't say no to you
And I've completely lost myself and I don't mind."

I've been listening to Evanescence since 2002, and this band probably shaped my taste in music today. Normally their music is fairly heavy, and the lyrics a little morbid, but Amy Lee really hit the nail on the head with this song about finally feeling worthy of the one you love.

4. "18th Floor Balcony", Blue October

 

"I raised my hand as if to show you
That I was yours
That I was so yours for the taking
So yours for the taking..."

From the album Foiled, this one is very nearly the song that we picked for our first dance. I love the gentle acoustic guitar in the song, and the lilting melody.

5. "Unravel", Bjork

 

 "When you come back
We'll have to make new love."

Described by Thom York of Radiohead as his "favourite song ever", I really relate to this song when Stephen goes overseas - but, ultimately, it wasn't really appropriate for the wedding.

6. "Stellar", Incubus

 

"Meet me in outer space
I will hold you close
If you're afraid of heights."

Ok, so this song was probably written while the band was high on shrooms, but who cares? It's a lovely song about the singer trying to show someone what they mean to him.

 

So I'm going to stop the list at 6, just because I can. I'll unveil the song we actually chose after the wedding :) Add your favourite love songs below!

Comments

[Alana]

Boyz II Men, LOOOOL.

My fav is probably cliche but I'm a big fan of Do You Realize?? by The Flaming Lips, it's a massive tear-jerker when I think about the people I care about.

[Yummychunklet.wordpress.com]

I do like the No Doubt song.

[Nic@diningwithastud]

We used "Yesterday threw everything at me" by Athlete. I love Kimbra from your list :)

[Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella]

I haven't heard of most of those songs! I think we chose conventional ones like "What a Wonderful world/Somewhere over the rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole :)

[Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake]

I haven't heard most of these songs before, but they all sound fantastic! Would love to find out exactly which song you chose in the end. Looking forward to hearing all about the big day! :D

[Tina @ bitemeshowme]

Aww you're getting married? Congratulations if I haven't said it already xx