My Wedding Reception Playlist
Weddings are grand occasions. Everything must be curated to perfection. Not because you want to impress your guests, although that is certainly important. No, it must be perfect because your wedding day stands as the absolute pinnacle of your life, towering above the surrounding landscape and manifesting the standard of measurement. Should there be any flaws that day, the rest of your life will be inevitably poorer by proportion.
A wedding planner can be helpful, but it’s usually best to do as many things as you can yourself. The day should be you and your spouse’s personal version. That way, it will be just as perfect as the two of you are. Now, I don’t have any expertise in most of the things that go into wedding planning. I have, however, made many playlists for many years so if there is something I can contribute well, the reception playlist would be it. Playlists are important because they subtly affect the emotions of everyone in the room. You must be thoughtful about what you choose to play. For example, a song like “I Will Survive” or “Believe” may initially seem perfect: bubbly, upbeat songs to accompany a joyous occasion. Try again, because they are breakup songs of personal empowerment. Underneath all the smiling faces and bopping bodies, a subliminal, unwanted feeling would permeate the wedding : these two newlyweds are such strong individuals that a divorce would not be an unhappy affair at all! Looking forward to that moment of empowering self-realization!
Best, therefore, to stick to songs that vaunt the glory of love, that black hole of happiness. With that, my wedding playlist is as follows. Some have a lyric sample showing how touching a paean to love they are.
“Help Me” — Joni Mitchell (“Didn’t it feel good, didn’t it feel goooooooOOOOoooooOOOd”)
“Groupie Love” — Lana Del Rey featuring A$AP Rocky (“It’s so sweet, swingin’ to the beat, when I know you’re doing it all for me”)
“Love is a Losing Game” — Amy Winehouse
“High by the Beach” — Lana Del Rey
“Back to Black” — Amy Winehouse
“West Coast” — Lana Del Rey
“You Know I’m No Good” — Amy Winehouse
“Music to Watch Boys to” — Lana Del Rey
“I Get Along Very Well Without You” — Frank Sinatra
“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” — Frank Sinatra
“These Foolish Things” — Billie Holiday*
“Trav’lin Light” — Billie Holiday*
“My Funny Valentine” — Chet Baker (“Don’t change your hair for me, not if you care for me”)
“Lady Sings the Blues” — Billie Holiday*
“Only the Lonely” — Frank Sinatra
“Willow Weep for Me” — Frank Sintra
“No Easy Way Down” — Dusty Springfield
“Fuck and Run” — Liz Phair
“I Heard it Through the Grapevine” — Marvin Gaye (“I’m just about to lose my mind, honey honey!”)
“Remember” — Shangri-Las (“Remember walking in the sand”)
“You Don’t Own Me” — Lesley Gore
“D-I-V-O-R-C-E” — Tammy Wynette
“It’s Too Late” — Carole King
“We Have No Secrets” — Carly Simon (“We tell each other everything about the lovers in our past…We know each other’s fantasies”)
“Divorce Song” — Liz Phair
“Get Gone” — Fiona Apple
“Fucked My Way Up To The Top” — Lana Del Rey
The bathrooms will play “You Oughta Know” on repeat as a favor for all the upset ex’s invited.
*All Billie Holiday songs come from her latter period, when her singing was richer.
