little extras - waste of money or totally worth it?

i dont really know where to begin the recaps so i thought i would start small and talk about some of the little details while we await the professional photographs...

favors and escort cards were some of the details we included in our wedding that some cautioned were a waste of money - they would be left on tables and we would have a stock pile of wedding extras to deal with once we returned from the honeymoon. lucky for us this was not the case.

maybe it was knowing our audience? maybe it was how we incorporated the items into the overall vibe of the event? i dunno but we were thrilled that everyone took home the cd's we painstakingly* created and the keys we designated as escort cards. (in fact, we were a little disappointed because we were hoping to have some left over to hang on to as mementos ourselves.)

we have heard countless times, via phone, text and facebook since the wedding that our guests are listening to the cd we created on repeat in their cars re-living the weekend. how could we not smile proudly? even my mom who doesn't always compliment took the time to tell me yesterday that she knows it by heart now, that she loves how it tells the story of our relationship, and that she thinks i should start a business making wedding cd's for people ( not fully understanding that part of why it was a success is because it was so honestly us, but hey...)

on our way home from hawaii we stopped over in LA for a few days to see friends and family before returning to reality and we saw 3 keys in seperate households on display, and were told by one amazing guest how she already went out to find the perfect chain to turn her key into a new necklace. how cool is that?

in short i hope you can see that for us, it was worth it. i can understand that it might not be for everyone. whether it be money or time (because lets face it, if you dont have one you are going to make up for it with plenty of the other) i for one love to throw myself into a crafty project - and as the wedding approached i found comfort in the distractions that they provided. the fact that our guests responded so well was what we hoped for but with something creative you never really do know do you?

* the cds were a true labor of love, from hunting for vendors to supply the raw materials i envisioned, to the learning curve that came with teaching myself to silkscreen, to the monotonous labor involved in folding and glueing the cases. even stamping the thank you tags and donation info was a project but i was lucky to have a partner in crime ready to lend a hand and spend an evening in front of the tv with a bottle of wine and a bottle of rubber cement.

favorite songs to boogie down to at a wedding

so...we're working on our song lists for our dj and i kinda want to ask our friends which songs they would like to hear but i don't want to open that can of worms...so i thought i'd ask you guys. what are your favorite songs to dance to at a wedding?

BeatTrain wedding mix

as we're less than 5 weeks out from our d-day mike and i have been doing a lot of final meetings with vendors and drawing up schedules and contact lists, you know the fun stuff...

luckily we love all of our vendors so the process is going rather smoothly and we are getting really excited. we met with our dj, ari rosenfield of beat train productions, last week for a friendly dinner and to get down to business and discuss the sequence of events, the vibe we're going for, and to start discussing our play lists (though we love ari and his taste in music so we want to give him lots of freedom to let loose and take the party where he wants.)

ari spins at clubs and functions around new england in addition to weddings and has some fantastic dance party ready mixes on his website that really showcase his abilities and his diverse range, (i'm partial to the shake a tail feather mix.)

well, he made a new mix just for me (an you guys of course!) of some jazzy, loungy tunes that he might play during dinner or a cocktail hour for a wedding. i thought some of you might enjoy it either for inspiration or to go directly on your i-pods if you're planning on providing tunes yourself. enjoy!

beattrain dinner mix (follow link to download mp3)

Into The Blue by Karminsky Experience Inc.
Le temps de l'amour by April March
Comment te dire adieu by Francoise Hardy
Chez Les Ye-Ye by Serge Gainsbourg
House of Bamboo by Andy Williams
Spooky - Dusty Springfield
Humdrum Blues by Elaine Delmar
Why Don't You Do Right by Cleo Jones
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Nancy Sinatra
Hi-Heel Sneakers by Jose Feliciano

Thirteen Men by Ann Margret
Swingin On the Moon by Mel Torme
Hit That Jive, Jack! by Diana Krall
Box Cars by Ken Jenson
Trav'lin' Light by Billie Holiday
Hold On by Dodo Greene
Pneumonia by Joe Tex

beattrainnyc.com

beattrainproductions.com

i love you like a song

i'm working on a special wedding gift for one of my friends inspired by moulin rouge, so i've had song medleys running through my head all day....

"the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return..."

...and songs

can you tell i've been hashing out the ceremony details lately? i'm telling you it's from removing the dress remorse road block!

well, i knew what i wanted to walk down the aisle too for a long time, and mike chose what he wanted for the recessional months ago, but we didnt know what to do for when the girls and moms walked down the aisle. i thought we didnt need to pick anything at all and that our pre-processional mix could just fade into my song, but we've been thinking about having a bit more control lately (could just be another symptom of being engaged FOREVER.)

there are so many sappy love songs we have on the long list to sort through, Forever from Ben Harper, Do You Remember from Jack Johnson, Grow Old Along with Me from John and Yoko, but this week it hit me (ok maybe it was on the drive home while on my dress high). i dont want a sappy tear jerker of a love song as an entrance to my marriage i want a celebration of love and happiness, because that is how i feel when i think about marrying mike. i think about shouting from the top of Mullholand Drive, spinning with my arms out looking at the stars and laughing so hard i end up in a ball on the floor, overflowing with joy. which is why i am starting to lean towards All You Need is Love rather than any in the current pile.

am i going overboard with the "special songs?" have you chosen all of your songs?

more music

my parents song, so urban cowboy and of the moment when they were married in the late 70s, but as far as i'm concerned it's withstood the test of time pretty well.



i love it, it makes me love them and their love so much, it always is a little window into who they were before they were "mom and dad" when i see them dance to it, a must play at our wedding - for sure.

wishing on a star

one of the light hearted debates mike and i are dealing with is "our song." (i'm taking a break from dealing with or thinking about all things stressful, tent, transportation, or guest list related) we both really love music, and after being together for years and many many a mix cd for the other person we have a TON of songs that remind us of each other, or falling in love, or being in love, or driving across the country, or of waiting patiently for each other, you get the point - and im sure many of you can relate.

as we're boiling it down we find ourselves in a debate between two songs. one of the songs is a classic, well known love song that i love because mike put it on a mix cd for our first official date - valentines day, for our drive to the sunset restaurant in mailbu. it was probably the most romantic night of my life, and he had planned everything out to a T, incorporating a cd for the drive up, and a different, more romantic cd for the drive home. not only was the song part of the evening but it also tells a story of loving someone from afar for a long time before you are actually given permission to love them, something that we relate to since we knew each other for 8 years and loved each other from afar before we became romantically involved.

sounds pretty good right? well, the hitch is that we (mike) fears that it is too cliche for a first song, something heaps of other couples use, and he wants something more unique to us. (oh! i forgot! it's also one of my favorite songs that mike plays/sings probably part of why it means a lot to me - i more often than not hear it directly from him)

the second song is one i shared with mike more recently because it's honest and romantic in a very modern way. i love the song, he loves the song, and it's about your life not really "starting" until the other person became a part of it. it's heart wrenching, it is, but my fear is that it won't last the test of time. will we look back on it and think? oh yeah i forgot about that song?

this idea was reinforced on christmas when we visited one of mike's relatives. his aunt and uncle were married on the same day we will be married. they are such a fantastic couple and are still obviously so in love after all these years and are really something that we aspire to be. we want to make sure to acknowledge their anniversary during our wedding and the first thing that came to mind was - we should surprise them play their song for them. so at christmas, when they were asking about our planning etc i casually asked what their song was, thinking it would be quick and easy and sneaky - except they couldn't remember it. after asking all of the other relatives in the room someone finally remembered - Rose Royce Wishing on a Star.


i couldn't help but think, how sad will i be with myself if i forget? i know now it seems impossible but after 35 years of life and family and children and work, will i forget?

it could be that the first song has been a part of our story for longer that i feel like it will be impossible to forget, but then again, if the second song is "our song" it will become a much bigger part of our story and hopefully unforgettable.

at the moment we are at a stand still, i know we will find a meaningful way to incorporate both songs in some way, but i thought i'd share some of my thought process with you all. what are you doing for your song? is it something incredibly personal to you? perhaps it just tells your story, or is a timeless love song, or all out fun?

with a picture of you, holding a picture of me in the pocket of my blue jeans

couldn't help but share this love song. mike plays and sings, one of the first times he played in public he sang this song - i just think it's lovely.

love a girl who holds the world in a paper cup

i'm in total romance land today thinking about love songs and romantic movies. I know this song was written for a son, but that doesn't mean its not about love.



Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup.
Drink it up.
Love her and she'll bring you luck.
And if you find she helps your mind, better take her home.
Don't you live alone.
Try to earn what lovers own.

And even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you, honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning, when I rise,
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.

talk about the wedding viral that took over the world...

Do you get paid when The Office spoofs your wedding entrance? or are you simply proud youve made such an impression on the world of weddings...


The Office - Forever

more lovers to live by...

john and yoko...

WOMAN JOHN LENNON

oh david i love you and your purple leggings

One of my favorite girlfriends just posted this on her facebook - made my day. We will have to work some Bowie into our post marriage dance party.

turned cartwheels 'cross the floor

since music has been so much on my mind today (as I've been wallowing in the glow of having a DJ,) i wanted to put a conflict i'm having - of heart and mind and wedding song - down on paper. I have a song, one of my favorite favorite songs - this song makes my heart want to burst and makes me want to close my eyes and spin in circles like no one is watching. This song, i feel, also has an amazing intro and i envision it as my processional song. What wrong with this you ask? Well, it's not exactly a love song, in fact - i think it might be about running into a past love, catching a love cheating on you, or the last time you saw a love- there is something about it that makes my heart so heavy - but i LOVE it.

In the end I know i'll just go for it, it shouldn't matter what the song was intended to mean right? It only matters what it means to me. What do you think? Is a mixed message song a ceremonial no-no?

What's the tune I can't let go of? Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale.