Among the joys of working with diverse couples is the horizons it opens for us. Couples ask us to learn a song that is special to them, and often the song (and its artist) is new to us. Often, we end up playing these songs regularly.
For our most recent wedding, we learned Siempre Te Voy a Querer by the Mazatlan norteño-banda group Calibre 50. It’s a joyful, upbeat tune perfect for the recessional. We’d never heard of the song or the group, but we look forward to playing it again soon.
The couple for our next asked us to play CeCe Winan’s Goodness of God for both her walk down the aisle and their recessional because the song is so meaningful to them. We’ll play a verse slowly for her walk down the aisle, and then an uptempo chorus for their walk out. This is another example of the flexibility of live music!
Some couple-requested songs that we play regularly these days include Rachel Platten’s Better Place, Zedd’s Clarity, the Turtles’ Happy Together, the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun, the Up! theme Married Life, and I’ll Be There for You from the TV series Friends. Some even ask us to learn classical pieces like Clair de Lune or Sleepers Awake, which always warms our hearts.
There are surprising requests, too. One couple were big fans of “The Fountain,” a movie with a theme song titled Death Is the Road to Awe. We played it for the bride and her wedding party. Other off-the-beaten-path songs include Metallica (Nothing Else Matters), Cage the Elephant (Cigarette Daydreams), and Rick Astley (Never Gonna Give You Up).
What songs are on your must-play list?
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