Music, anyone?

Admittedly, I'm not a total music addict. I enjoy it, and I even have songs on an mp3 player that I listen to occasionally. BUT I don't have a gigantic CD collection, and I don't often look to expand my music literacy.

That said, I have taken our wedding music VERY seriously. Spoiler alert: For anyone that wants to be surprised by our ceremony... quit reading here.

OK, now that they're gone, I can divulge to you our fun music lineup for the ceremony. For the prelude, we wanted a variety of upbeat love songs that would speak to our guests. Here is what we've decided upon:
Prelude:
• All I Want is You (Juno Soundtrack)
• If I Had $1,000,000 (Barenaked Ladies)
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwo ‘ole)
• Banana Pancakes (Jack Johnson)
• Alright (Darius Rucker)
• Love Will Keep Us Together (Captain & Tennille)
• How Sweet It Is (James Taylor)
• I Say a Little Prayer (Dionne Warwick)
• Annie’s Song (John Denver)
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours (Stevie Wonder)
• Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)
• Long, Slow, Beautiful Dance (Rascal Flatts)
• Livin’ Our Love Song (Jason Michael Carroll)
• Too Good is True (Rascal Flatts)
• What A Beautiful Day (Chris Cagle)
• Beautiful Day (U2)

That is probably more music than we'll need, but I had to make a CD for the DJ, so I filled an entire hour with selections.

The ceremony music has been a little more challenging. My mom's favorite song is Ave Maria, so I really wanted to have the parents seated to that song. It's more traditional than I would have chosen, but I wanted to include it as a little thank you for the work she's done on the wedding. How, then, do I transition to the more contemporary music in the rest of the ceremony? The answer? Vitamin String Quartet, a fabulous group that does traditional string versions of contemporary songs. It sounds traditional, unless you listen closely and then you realize what the songs really are.

Since we are doing an outdoor wedding, there is no side entrance from which the officiant, groom, and best man can enter. As a result, we're having the men go down the aisle first. To VSQ's Star Wars Theme. Then the ladies will enter to VSQ's remake of Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. Glee fans rejoice! I had to have a classic 80s anthem in there somewhere.

I'll be entering to The Riddle by Five For Fighting. Our recessional song is This Will Be (an Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole.

Fun, right?

OOT Update

Yep, my obsession with OOT bags is back and in full force. Do I want saltwater taffy or molasses taffy? Whiskey or whiskey bread? Is there any chocolate in there at all? What if people don't like sweets (Emily, I'm looking out for you)? Hours and hours of time have been lost to internet research. What are other folks doing? What have their guests said? Do we need things like toiletries or just snacks? There is a lot that goes into these crazy things!

Since we've decided we're taking a "Hometown Homage" approach to our OOT bags, we've decided on the following items:
Georgia- peach preserves, blueberry preserves, Georgia peanuts, and biscuit mix
Florida: Key lime coolers, coconut cookies, saltwater taffy
Tennessee: Tennessee whiskey, moon pies

I found these adorable mini-jars of jam and the prices were so reasonable, I ordered 2 flavors!

Doing my part to support the Georgia Peanut Commission.

What winter gift bag would be complete without cocoa and marshmallows? I got a variety pack of cocoa so that I could include a couple packets in each bag. These will go with the snowflake marshmallows that I wrote about earlier.

Bridesmaid Dresses

Whew... After a lot of deliberation and trying on dresses, we've finally decided on Ruby from David's Bridal. Originally, I was thinking that Truffle would be the winner, but once I saw my girls in the red, there was no going back. Since I can't figure out how to get a picture out of my text messages, I'll just have to show you the choices from the David's Bridal website.

My girls will be able to choose whatever style they like (as long as the dress is knee-length or tea-length). They will also be wearing silver shoes, since I'm not a matchy-matchy kind of girl.