The Aisle-Walkin' Soundtrack

We decided pretty early on that we wanted to have a DJ at our wedding.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good band at a wedding.  But in order to include something as obscure as 311, some good booty-shakin' music, and some salsa for Mr. Lion's family, a DJ was a more practical option for us.  In addition to reception coverage, our DJ offered ceremony coverage for a very reasonable price.  Literally, he made us an offer we couldn't refuse and I had to say goodbye to my dreams of having a string quartet play as I walked down the aisle.  I was briefly bummed out, but then I discovered the Vitamin String Quartet.

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Maybe having a DJ play our ceremony music wouldn't be so bad after all!  Perhaps it was an opportunity to get a little creative with our song selections.  I like Canon in D as much as the next bride, but buying some Vitamin String Quartet on iTunes allowed us to be a little more quirky than elegant...which, let's face it, is more true to who we are!  They had everything: Lady Gaga, Coldplay, and of course, these guys:

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Then, I started looking around for other string quartet tributes.  I stumbled upon this gem and knew it was made for me:

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We had found some great options to play as guests were seated, we found some selections for the recessional, but I was still wasn't sold on the processional.  I wanted to walk down the aisle to something that was significant to us, but that also captured the whimsically vintage theme that surrounded our wedding.  Something like this:

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Ugh, I'm going to be a bawling disaster.  How did y'all chose your ceremony tunes?  Did you go a more classical route?  Or did you pick something more modern?

Just Dance

I'm what we in the rehabilitation world call a "motor moron."  This means that my motor skills (muscular movement that results from signals from the brain) is not exactly smooth.  I'm clumsy.  My parents realized this early on and stuck me in ballet class in an attempt to improve my coordination.  The result?  I was (and still am after decades of training) quite graceful on stage; not so much in real life.

Personal photo, circa 1992...check out that turn out!

Dancing has always been a part of who I am.  It's the first thing I can remember being passionate about.  Before weddings, before baseball, and yes, even before Gator football.  Dance has always been a wonderful escape for me.  When I take a dance class, I'm focused on the present, no matter what else is going on in my life.  It's always been the perfect emotional outlet for me regardless of what I'm feeling or going through.  Best of all, it's always been the perfect way to express pure joy.  Spontaneous dance parties expressing pure joy are pretty much my favorite thing in the world.

Personal photo of a spontaneous dance party, circa 1990

In fact, they're still known to happen 20 years later:

Another personal photo...What a dork.

Given my love of dancing, you can imagine that our first dance as husband and wife is kind of important to me.  I knew we needed a song that captured this passion adequately.  I wanted something that allowed anyone listening to it to bask in joy, focus on the present, and love everything about that moment.  Allow me to introduce you to my favorite band of all time, 311.

Sure, reggae/rock/alternative is not your traditional first dance kind of music, but it's us.  Their music is filled with positivity and always makes me feel happy.  Best of all, it seems to promote a sense of unity.  In fact, my newly married cousin got engaged at a 311 concert three years ago.

 Big deal, right?  Well, here's the twist: this photo was taken by a random girl who was standing next to them.  This total stranger quickly grabbed her camera when she discovered that she was witnessing a proposal.  The photo then showed up on my sister's Facebook newsfeed the next day...because she and this girl are friends.  If that's not unity, I don't know what is!

We chose the 311 song "Two Drops in the Ocean" as our first dance because we felt a connection to the lyrics.  The song is about a relationship that is separated by distance.  The relationship ebbs and flows, but they never stop loving one another.  Our relationship, too, started out long-distance.  Eventually, our patience was rewarded and we ended up in the same place, but we always cherish how we got to that point.  In order to further convey this sentiment, we plan to print the song lyrics to our first dance on the back of our menus.  I hope it will allow our guests to share in our story and to reflect upon their own.  So without further ado, here's our first dance song:

Source: 311 via YouTube