M + I Wedding Repertoire

Mr M with my good friends A and C at the videoke session on my 2008 advance birthday celebration

Besides Nihongo, Japanese food, coffee, techno-gadgets, photography, and reading, music is one more thing in common between Mr. M and I.  I can't work without turning on the radio or playing my favorites from iTunes.  My Sweetheart constantly has his MP3 player with him.  I have to concede, though, that when it comes to singing, M is way up there in that category.  He used to be a member of his former church's choir, and sometimes sings solo also;  I stopped singing for our high school's choir after our graduation.  He is so used to performing in his school's affairs, whether by his lonesome or by group;  I never sang by myself in public.  Oh, and let's not forget the contrasts in musical tastes.  My hubby-to-be likes Christian rap / alternative and rock music, while I listen all the time to classics like Bee Gees, Beatles, Rod Stewart (American Songbook collection), Michael Buble, and a couple of OPM hits.  My dear fiance would oftentimes attempt to get me listening to his song choices, and after a few seconds of humming with the singer, I would return the earphones to him :-P  I guess it is this category where we'll find both similarity and difference.

And this makes it all the more headache-inducing for me to choose the songs for our wedding.  Aarrgghhh!!!!!

The song choices for the prenup video and SDE keeps on changing in my mind, and to think I only need to give two choices!  Two?  Previously, I wanted Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, but then I just don't like the word 'lucky' as it connotes some form of superstition.  A couple of weeks ago as I was doing my work and listening to music, I heard Seasons of Love by Shiny Toy Guns being played, which I instantly liked for its falsetto singer.  Then I heard Marry Me by Train, and I was blown away by the mood and simplicity by which it was sang.  I am also seriously considering Simple Things by Jim Brickman even if it's a bit outdated already by the time we have our wedding.  To make things a bit complicated, my boyfriend, who has been influencing me to listen to rock music, suggested Your Love is a Song by Switchfoot out of the blue, which I surprisingly liked.  Yikes, is it really this hard to choose songs?

If the song for the prenup video is already a tough decision to act on, I bet the bridal march is going to be even more challenging.  Think Ikaw, Ngayon at Kailanman, You Changed My Life in a Moment, and the list goes on.  I'm so lost.  There are days when I want those same songs other brides played for their own marches.  I reasoned out that anyway we don't and won't remember each other's wedding marches, and the friend who last got married didn't march to a song because it was a civil wedding.  At other times I want something new, something that only a few have bravely used for their own special day.  And let's not discount the fact that my groom is toying with the idea of singing my bridal march.  I don't know if he'll tear up and sing and cry at the same time, but I know I'd love for him to sing on our big day.  Then again, if we ever say yes to that idea, we'd have to specify whether it'll be for the church or the reception.  Hhhmmm....

Mr. M and I both have left feet, and we're seriously thinking of skipping the first dance and do a couple's first song number instead.  But what song do we sing?  What if my singer of a groom-to-be overshadows and upstages me with his musical prowess?  (Hahaha!)  That won't look good, right?  What if one of us forgets the lyrics?  What if, what if, what if!   How does one fit all of one's choices into a four-hour affair and at the same time create beautiful memories?  How does one not alienate the guests with poor song choices, and yet leave them with good music to remember the night by?  Should it be with or without lyrics?  You see, this whole business of melodies and lyrics can make or break our wedding.  Music reflects the couple's personality, and the more I think about it, the more my head throbs.  Where do I start?

The thing that comforts me is that I know which songs I'd like to hear for the reception.  I have an ever-growing list songs to choose from, ranging from Rod Stewart, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, and so on.  I made a mental list of songs I want with a singer, and the ones I want on strings only.  Definitely on our big day I'd want to hear Kuya Tyrone of TRG to belt out Betcha By Golly Wow by Prince, Staying Alive by the Bee Gees, Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko by VST, Panalangin by Apo Hiking Society, among others.  The rest I'll leave them up to La Bella Voce. Never mind if we don't dance; I absolutely want danceable music for dinner!

Writing this post made me feel giddy and anxious at the same time (see, I'm OC at times).  As I type, I opened youtube.com to listen to the songs I want for our big day.  I'm also reminded of my future sister-in-law's wedding repertoire, which includes a lot of the songs I also want to be played for M and me.  

Ah, musical dilemmas at two hundred and fifty-four days before our big day.  ;-p