Songs for a Wedding Reception

Cafe Society
1

Hi everybody. I’m helping some friends that are getting married in a few months and I’d love to hear some suggestions. I’ve come up with about 75 songs thus far; not looking for the stuff that one hears at every wedding (though I’ve got some on the list already as some are just too good to pass up).
Here is the current list:

JAZZ/VOCALISTS/BIG BAND
• Feeling Good – Nina Simone
• A Kiss to Build a Dream on – Louis Armstrong
• I’m in the Mood for Love – Louis Armstrong
• I’ll Be Seeing You – Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra
• In the Mood – Glenn Miller
• Moonlight Serenade – Glenn Miller
• Dance Me to the End of Love – Madeleine Peyroux
• Sway – Rosemary Clooney
• Fly Me to the Moon – Doris Day
• I Love You For Sentimental Reasons – Nat King Cole
• I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Sarah Vaughan
• I’m Sitting on Top of the World – Dean Martin
• I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire – The Inkspots
• A Tisket a Tasket – Ella Fitzgerald
• Swinging on a Star – Bing Crosby
• A Sunday Kind of Love – Etta James
• My Dearest Darling – Etta James
• Jingle Jangle Jingle – Kay Kyser
• Fever – Peggy Lee
• It’s a Good Day – Peggy Lee
• I Wanna Be Loved by You – Marilyn Monroe
• Beyond the Sea – Bobby Darin
• All the Things You Are – Helen Forrest & Artie Shaw

POP/ROCK/DOO WOP
• I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You – Elvis Presley
• Wouldn’t it Be Nice – The Beach Boys
• You’re So Fine – Falcons
• You Baby You – Cleftones
• Honey Love – The Drifters
• Baby it’s You – The Beatles
• I Only Have Eyes for You – The Platters
• Groovy Kind of Love – The Mindbenders
• Red Right Ankle – The Decemberists
• She Moves in Her Own Way – The Kooks
• Be My Baby – The Pepper Pots
• You Are the Best Thing – Ray La Montagne
• The Rain, the Park, and Other Things – The Cowsills
• Lovers of Loving Love – The Aquabats
• You’re My Best Friend – Queen
• Bright Red Star – Stereophonics
• Better Together – Jack Johnson
• Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap
• Dancin’ in the Moonlight – King Harvest
• Space Age Love Song – A Flock of Seagulls

REGGAE/SKA/INTERNATIONAL
• You an Get it If You Really Want – Jimmy Cliff
• Many Rivers to Cross – Jimmy Cliff
• Dedicated to the One I Love – Bitty McLean
• It Must Be Love – Madness
• Love Has Found Its Way – Dennis Brown
• Let’s Get it On – Ken Boothe
• Perfect Teeth – The Porkers
• She’s Mine – Barrington Levy
• Together Someday – Hepcat
• Doors of Your Heart – The English Beat
• Someone Loves You Honey – JC Lodge
• Hold Me Tight – Johnny Nash

R & B/Soul/Disco
• You’re All I Need to Get By – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
• Try Me – James Brown
• Please Please Please – James Brown
• These Arms of Mine – Otis Redding
• I’ve Been Loving You Too Long – Otis Redding
• For You My Love – Larry Darnell
• Why Don’t You Haul Off and Love Me – Bull “Moose” Johnson
• Love is Like a Heat Wave – Martha and the Vandellas
• Oh Girl – Chi-Lites
• Everlasting Love – Carl Carlton
• Best of My Love – The Emotions

Country
• You Belong to Me – Patsy Cline
• Hey Good Lookin’ – Hank Williams
• Baby We’re Really in Love – Hank Williams
• Sunny Side of the Mountain – Hawkshaw Hawkins
• I Can’t Stop Loving You – Ray Charles
• Oh You Beautiful Doll – Bob Wills
• When You’re Smiling – Cliff Bruner
• Crazy Cause I Love You – Spade Cooley
• Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms – Buck Owens
• Love’s Gonna Live Here – Buck Owens
• Pledging My Love – David Allan Coe
• Have I Told You Lately that I Love You – Gene Autry

2

C’mon dopers!! Is there really nobody here that has a suggestion? Apologies if the post is tldr - I thought that it would prevent suggestions that I have already.

3

Well, you already have almost 4 hours of music, and you said you have some others in the wings. Do you really need more?

It’s hard for me to give suggestions because a lot of what you listed isn’t to my taste – well, it is but there’s too much of it – like for slow Jazzy songs, a few are fine but then gets really boring for me. Old-Timey country songs, same thing. R&B, same thing. Doo-Wop, same thing. It also depends on what you mean by wedding music – are you looking for DANCE music or BACKGROUND music, which, the lists are going to be hugely different.

For dance music I would throw in
“Born to Be My Baby” by Bon Jovi
“Hanky Panky Kind of Love” by The Red Elvises
“Lay All Your Love on Me” (either Erasure or ABBA version)
“You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC

4

Thanks, Hello Again. I figure that many of the suggestions will be eliminated for one reason or another, that maybe 1/3 will pass muster. I’m looking for all of the music - both for background during cocktails and dinner, as well as for dancing.

5

At my wedding people also dug
“Please Don’t Stop the Music” by Rhianna
“New Moon on Monday” by Duran Duran
“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond – some friends busted out an impromptu singalong seranade!
“I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz as background
We played a lounge version of “Baby Got Back” by Jonathan Coulton during dinner, only one person seemed to notice :smiley:
Our first dance was “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris. We also played “This is Us” by same.
“You Never Can Tell” - either Chuck Berry or Bob Seger
Do me a personal favor and don’t play “Suspicious Minds.”

6

Ha! I used to work with JC in a coffee shop in NYC a dozen years ago. The success that he has could not have happened to a nicer guy.
Great reco’s!

7

You already have two Armstrongs, but I really like “Keeping out of Mischef now” and “'Bout Time”. “My Blue Heaven” by Fats Domino is also good. Goodman’s “Life begins when you’re in love”, Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World”, Sinatra’s “You’re getting to be a habit with me”
Cheesy pop: “I don’t want to miss a thing” by Bryan Adams, “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” by Elvin Bishop, “Stuck With You” Huey Lewis and the News, “Maybe I’m amazed” by Paul McCarney
Less Cheesy: “Hard Habit to Break” by Chicgo, “Thank You” by Dido, “Groovy Kind Of Love” Phil Collins, “All I want is you” by U2

8

My Only Love by the Statler Brothers.

9

Those are some great suggestions, thank you TDG!! I’m currently listening to the Billie Holiday version of “Life Begins…”
I had offered the original “Groovy Kind of Love” (The Mindbenders, mid 60’s), the groom told me yesterday that they will be using that song, but the bride really likes the Phil Collins version.