Wedding Music and Pittsburgh Wedding Band Recommendation

Another wedding post today and we are talking about all of the music that we had on our wedding day. It's a lot of playlists/info so be ready to scroll! They are all going to be Spotify playlists. If you do not use Spotify, you can create an account. They have a free version that has just has ads every few songs. I really prefer Spotify so much more than Apple Music. 

I'm very into music of all kinds. I grew up playing the violin and piano. It was actually my Pappy’s (my mom’s dad) violin that we had restored and I played that until I was 18. My Pappy was very musical and actually in a band with handyman Negri (on Mr. Rogers) and my family always says that is where they think I get my musical side from! Music is a huge part of my life and I probably don’t really share that part much on here. I love jazz, reggae, classical, motown, rap, etc. A dream job for me would be to select and cut songs for things like movies and commercials. I think music has the power to change lives. I think music has the power to shape reality. Bob Marley said it best, ‘one good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain.’

I put in a TON of thought when it came to all of the music throughout our entire wedding day. When you have almost 3 years to plan a wedding, you have time for this kind of thing, ha!!! I think music can make or break it all. Think about when you go to a restaurant at night. If the music does not match the vibe or even if there is no music at all, it can be a buzzkill. I actually think about this a lot...like even when I go into places like nail salons and grocery stores!

My basic tips for creating playlists would be to think of the occasion, the sound system, the instruments, the atmosphere, the people, etc. Smile Back by Mac Miller is one of my favorite songs of all time, but did it have a place at our wedding reception? No. My 95-year-old Grammie was present! We wanted a lot of Motown and for Motown you need a lot of brass, so we made sure our band had plenty for that. 

Another thing to keep in mind is if you’re doing live music like a band or a trio or whatnot, you need to choose the songs that play to their strengths. My favorite song of all time is Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles. The thing about this song is that it cannot really be replicated. I mean, it can, and it has, but this one recording of The Eagles harmonizing is second to none in my opinion. We skipped on having our band trying to replicate it but instead had that one play from a recording! 

Getting Ready

So this is just a fun one. Lots of songs that my sister and I love and just fun, upbeat things that we listened to while we got ready! It's a VERY random list but there are a lot of pop/fun songs you might want to pull from. Random meaning I have some of the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack on there because my sister and I LOVE it and know all of the words. 

Church Ceremony

Processional// Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring J.S. Bach

Bridal Processional// Prince of Denmark's March J. Clarke

Responsorial Psalm// This is The Day M. Haugen

Gospel Acclamation// Celtic Alleluia O'Carroll and Walker

Devotion to Mary// Ave Maria F. Schubert 

Recessional Hymn// Fanfare J. Lemmens 

We had a bagpiper outside of the church and he piped as guests entered and exited the church! Inside, there was an organist and trumpeter. In our church, we were able to choose from a select list of music so we didn't really have too much wiggle room here but I was pleased with our choices!

Cocktail Hour

We had a pianist for cocktail hour and I specifically requested upbeat jazz, I wasn't too particular for this one but I said to play songs from artists like Dave Brubeck, Ahmad Jamal, David Benoit, Wynton Marsalis, John Coltrane, etc. 

At the end of cocktail hour, we had the bagpiper (Adam) go into the cocktail hour room and that was the signal for everyone to make their way upstairs to the ballroom for dinner. I actually didn't know this until someone mentioned to me how amazed they were that Adam piped all of the way up the stairs. Which, is crazy because that takes SO much breath. Adam is SO talented. Again, if you need a bagpiper rec, let me know and I will give you Adam's information. Once everyone was seated, Adam played Scotland the Brave as we entered and then finished out the song for the guests! 

Dinner 

This is what played during dinner. We did not have our band play during dinner. Our band has a dinner playlist that they use, but I am too particular for that, haha! They were great and were totally cool with playing our playlist instead of their own. This playlist was so curated and carefully crafted. I'm very big into big band music- I mean my entire website is named after my favorite Frank Sinatra song! I am also very into jazz. So this was kind of like my specialty. I feel like I have a really good mix here. It's not meant to be shuffled, I put these songs in a particular order! I specifically remember cutting our cake and 'This Will Be' was playing by Natalie Cole and I remember thinking 'wow I could not have timed this more perfectly' haha! 

You definitely don't have to be planning a wedding to listen to this playlist. It's upbeat relaxing and good background music. I listen to it often while I am working or having people over for dinner or even just doing the dishes after dinner in the evenings. 

This is one of my very favorite photos because I love seeing people's faces!!! Look at my sweet parents!

Dances

First Dance// Beyond by Leon Bridges

Father/Daughter// Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra

Mother/Son// Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

We were between You Send Me by Aretha Franklin and Beyond by Leon Bridges. Neither of us could decide between the two songs for the longest time. We ended up taking 10 weeks of dance lessons (SO FUN) and we landed on Beyond by Leon Bridges because we felt like that was a little less challenging to dance to, ha! It is special to us because one, we love Leon Bridges but the first time I ever played Beyond for my husband, we were driving in the car and when the lyrics 'I know that Grandma would've loved her

Like she was her own' played, he teared up. I am pretty sure it was before we were even engaged. It was so sweet. 

Summer Wind is special to our family and I think anyone in that room would have guessed that my dad and I would be dancing to Summer Wind. 

My husband and his mom (my MIL) danced to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac because it is the song that reminds my husband of his mom and dancing in their kitchen when he was little! So neither of us really picked the popular songs nor do either of those songs have anything to do with father/daughter relationships or mother/son relationships but they were important to us! 

If you are stumped on what to dance to, check out this blog post I did on Father/Daughter dance songs. There are a lot of songs on the list that you could also do Mother/Son dances to, too! 

This is Anne!! I think this must have been them warming up!

Our Band

We had Bachelor Boys Band and I could not recommend them more. You guys. They. Were. INCREDIBLE. Truly, I am still in awe at how amazing they were. I still cannot believe how they took my notes on what to play/not to play and just absolutely KILLED IT! There are so many cheesy wedding bands out there and Bachelor Boys Band is definitely not one of them. They had so much energy and made it the party of the century. People were on the dance floor all night long, I seriously don't think I even left the dance floor once, ha!!! If you are looking for a wedding band, I would 10/10 recommend them. I specifically requested Anne Celedonia. She is a friend of a family friend and is an incredible musician. 

I told them no weddings songs/line dances like the electric slide or anything of the sort, I said nothing with profanity as we have people from all different ages and backgrounds, I asked them to stay away from pop/current songs as we wanted a lot of Motown. The playlist below is the one I sent them to give them an idea of the 'vibe' I was looking for. I didn't need all of those songs to be played (it's a short list) but I feel like it gave them a jumping-off point with what we were looking for! 

I also asked that they refrain from MC'ing too much. I don't love 'announcements' or things being narrated all night. I prefer a more natural flow and they did so well with having it all flow without all of the MC'ing. 

I actually only requested 3 specific songs for Bachelor Boys Band to play. As soon as the Mother/Son dance ended, they went straight into September by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Everyone knows that song- it's a crowd-pleaser and so upbeat. It is the perfect song to kick off any fun party. 

I then requested Viva La Vida by Coldplay. Our guests did not know this was coming. We have a long-standing Christmas eve family tradition of this song. You can read about it here, this post is already too long for me to explain. We passed around sheets with the words on it and everyone gathered on the dance floor and we all sung it!! It was seriously epic and one of my most favorite parts of the night. 

The last song of the night was not actually played by the band but was recorded. It was Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles (has to be this version). It is, in my opinion, the greatest song of all time. I feel like a lot of people my age/younger/maybe even older do not know this song. Early on when we were dating, I was floored that my husband knew about this song. So we always play it and sing it together. But, even better, our family friends always play this song when we get together- it was so meaningful for many at our wedding. My favorite part of the song is at 2:10ish as they end the verse. My girlfriend always does 'conductor hands' to show us when to stop that verse, ha! 2:13 to the end is the best part, in my opinion. Gives me chills. Every. Single. Time. I shared that my first favorite moment of our wedding was walking down the aisle, this was my second favorite moment. Everyone gathered around with hands around each other's shoulders and we all belted out Seven Bridges Road. I remember tearing up because it was the last song of the night, I could not get over how incredible everything had been, that it actually happened, and I couldn't get over the fact I had all of my family and friends gathered around us singing with us, it was all just TOO much. I will remember that moment for as long as I live. Perfect song to end with. 

Band Break

Our band took two 10/15ish minute breaks (well deserved, I'll say). So I put together a playlist to play while they were taking the break. They had a playlist should I not have provided one. This is where the pop/more current music came into play. I tried to pick all upbeat songs that the majority of people would know and also tried to include people's favorite songs that I knew of! We have another Christmas eve tradition of dancing in our kitchen to Kesha's Tik Tok so I definitely made sure that was played!

This was from our site visit, I don't have any photos from this!!

Afterparty 

We had our after party at The Industrialist Hotel in their 2nd-floor lounge. It was the perfect space for it! We didn't hire out music for this so we just relied on the staff at The Industrialist. They piped in Top 40/pop!