Music

Chatting with Snarky in GBC channel tonight, she mentioned she's been on a Ray Charles kick lately. That reminded me of my wedding...

We did our wedding as inexpensively as possible. Not "cheap", but inexpensive. Chapel on the college campus. (I see they raised their rates, to about triple what they had been. Ouch!) Personal friend (and my fire department's unofficial chaplain) as the minister. State park for reception. Buffet hors d'oeuvres from the local grocery for food. A keg of beer and root beer from the local microbrew. Simple decorations (candles hither and yon with some other little accents). Simple (fake) flowers. Our favors were Mason jar mugs with a screened claddagh and our names, and aside from MrsZ's dress and my kilt, likely the most expensive part of the whole shebang.

And the music... I'd blegged for suggestions from people, and got a handful of ideas. We debated a DJ, but decided it wasn't our style. Instead, we borrowed a good sound rig from a musician friend and hooked in an iPod with a specific playlist, simply set to shuffle. It was a bit of us, and a bit of silly, and a whole lot of fun. MrsZ left the music selection up to me. The only song she insisted on having in the mix was "Circle" by Harry Chapin. (It's a sorority thing, I guess.)

The rest? That was up to me. I decided to have fun with it; our wedding was intended to be US, and a lighthearted party, not a super fancy formal event. I got what I think was a good mix of romantic and slow and faster and danceable and just plain silly songs. And I slipped in a few with a bit more meaning, too... and the one that prompted this post was Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind"... you see, MrsZ moved around growing up, but if you ask her, she's from Georgia.

Of course, what would a wedding playlist be without a bit of Paul Simon, too? Specifically, "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". :-D

The whole playlist is here.