To inspire you in the selection process, local deejays Scott Jones, of Jerry Bruno Productions in Cleveland, and Kerry McCullough, of Final Touch Entertainment in Sheffield Lake, compiled the following lists of popular songs that have kept couples and their families dancing the night away.
First Dance
A couple's initial song can be slow and steady or fast and fancy free, depending on what's more fitting to the couple's personality, McCullough says. "Your first dance becomes your song for the rest of your lives, so it should suit you as a couple — whether it's a song from the first movie you saw together or from a concert you attended," he explains.
The most popular recent choices by local brides include:
€. "At Last" — Etta James
€. "The Way You Look Tonight" — Frank Sinatra
€. "Amazed" — Paul McCartney
€. "Cheek to Cheek" — Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
€. "It Had to Be You" — Harry Connick Jr.
€. "I Wanna Know" — Joe
€. "When You Say Nothing At All" — Alison Krauss
Father/Daughter Dance
To pick a suitable song, McCullough says a bride should explore her relationship with her father and think back to special things she remembers from her childhood. He tries to steer brides away from the typical "Daddy's Little Girl" by Al Martino or "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle.
However, no song is inappropriate as long as it fits the father and daughter. "Once, I had a bride who did €˜The Twist' with her father at every wedding they ever attended," McCullough says. "At her wedding, she wanted to surprise him, so she requested a slow song for the first 30 seconds so the photographer could get a shot and then changed the song to €˜The Twist.' "
Other current father/daughter selections are:
€. "My Girl" — The Temptations
€. "What a Wonderful World" — Louis Armstrong
€. "Unforgettable" — Nat King Cole
€. "Isn't She Lovely?" — Stevie Wonder
€. "Through the Years" — Kenny Rogers
€. "In My Life" — The Beatles
€. "The Way You Look Tonight" — Frank Sinatra
€. "She's Leaving Home" — The Beatles
€. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" — Aerosmith
Mother/Son Dance
Ninety percent of the weddings Jones deejays include a mother/son dance. There is even a song that was written specifically for weddings called "The First Lady in My Life" by Paul Todd. "If grooms are stuck, this is the one I guarantee will make your mom feel special," he says. "It is a break from the slower music and you can still dance to it. The words and melody are upbeat and a real celebration of what a mother means to her son. A special CD-and-lyrics package can be ordered online at www.paultodd.com and given to the groom's mother as a keepsake at the end of the dance."
Mothers and their sons have also danced to:
€. "In My Life" — The Beatles
€. "Because You Loved Me" — Celine Dion
€. "Wind Beneath My Wings" — Bette Midler
€. "I Am Your Child" — Barry Manilow
€. "I Hope You Dance" — Lee Anne Womack
€. "Song for Mama" — Boys to Men
€. "You're the Inspiration" — Chicago
Last Dance
McCullough says he wraps up the night with the same song that started it all: the couple's first-dance music. "We invite everyone to join the bride and groom back on the floor and play their first-dance song again as they begin their lives together, not end the celebration," he explains.
Some other songs that have sent Cleveland couples home:
€. "Last Dance" — Donna Summer
€. "Saved the Best for Last" — Vanessa Williams
€. "Closing Time" — Semisonic
€. "Hit the Road, Jack" — Ray Charles
