Wedding Wednesday: First Songs

The other day I was driving and listening to my iPod when our wedding song came on. Since our wedding, I haven't been able to listen to it. In fact, that might have been the first time I listened to it all the way through (and sang along) since the wedding. We just listened to it so damn much before the wedding! Ugh...

Anyway, as I was listening to it, I started to remember how hard it was to pick a song. Everyone focuses on the sentiment attached to picking a first song, but in reality what it is hard is picking a song you can dance to. If you remember, we originally wanted M. Ward's "To Go Home" to be our song, but found it impossible to dance to (you can read the whole story here), so we ended up choosing "Brand New Start" by Little Joy.

But for so many reasons this ended up being the perfect song choice, from the very first line to the chorus to the lyrics to the overall sentiment. And it's a kickass song. So, you know, there's that.

Seriously, though, picking a song for your first dance is one of those tough things that really makes you feel the pressure. You want to pick something that you can both stomach and that expresses how you feel about each other, all at a reasonable enough tempo that you can manage to avoid stepping on each other's toes. Plus, it's always preferable if it doesn't use the words "bitches" or "hoes." So, you know, that's a lot of work! *Plus* if you're anything like me, it falls to the bottom of your list no matter what your relationship to music is like. We love music, but we had so much else to do that it just wasn't our first priority. And yet, everyone seems to manage to find a song in the end. And often it is the perfect song! How in the world does it happen??

What was/is your first dance song? How did you decide?

PS. If you haven't chosen, Project Wedding has a fairly extensive list of suggestions.

PPS. What I really wanted for our first dance was 30 seconds of Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me" and then a record scratch, cut to M. Ward's "To Go Home." A.P. was sooo not down with it. He didn't think it was funny and he HATED the record scratch soundbyte. Lol...that was a battle I lost early on.

Marriage Mondays: Opposites

One of my favorite movies is High Fidelity (it's also one of my favorite books). I love it for so many reasons, so much so that it might almost deserve a post completely to itself. However, one of my favorite lines is when John Cusack is talking about how he and his slacker record shop friends, Dick and Barry (played by Todd Louiso and Jack Black accordingly), decided that it wasn't what you were like that mattered, but rather what you like. Music, movies, books...that was the stuff that mattered. If that is true, then man are A.P. and I f*cked.

In so many ways, we couldn't be more alike. Our attitude towards money, children/animals, housework (in that we don't like doing it and don't get too down about a cluttered house), to name a few, are exactly the same. We both like music, movies, and books, too. However, our tastes couldn't be more different. I like all kinds of music from early blues/country to Bruno Mars. I love country, hip hop, rap, classical, etc. Some people say they love all kinds of music and it's not true, but I really do. A.P. likes rap/hip hop, indie music, and that's about it. He listens to current stuff, but isn't solid on the older stuff, which is kind of my bread and butter. I get sick of a lot of indie stuff because it's so clearly a rip off the old stuff. He likes it anyway because it reinterprets older sounds.

Our disagreement also exists with books. I read fiction, nonfiction, magazines, blogs, etc. He reads articles and blogs, and nonfiction books on occasion. He never reads fiction, my great love. We can't even talk about classics unless he read them years ago. It's kind of a bummer sometimes. Movies is more of the same. He likes documentaries and dramas. I like comedies. Luckily, I'm a film nut, so I'm way more open to watching anything and everything than he is.

You would think this wouldn't be such a big deal, but it is. It makes going to the movies or to concerts difficult. We have to find an artist or movie we can both agree on, which makes for slim pickings sometimes. Also, driving is problematic. We have a rule. When A.P. drives, he plays his music, when I drive, it's my music. It's nice we've taken to creating rules to not annoy the crap out of each other, but I long for the days when I could just blast music when I wanted and dance around the place.

Still, it makes me think...are we the only ones like this? Sometimes I wish we had this stuff in common. It makes for boring conversations. And we can never listen to music together. Or recommend books to each other. Sometimes, it gets sad around these parts. Do you have this stuff in common with your husband/wife? Or are you opposites, too?

Would you like to submit a Marriage Monday post? If so, check back later today for details!

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Strumming on My Guitar

Last Thursday was my second guitar recital. I think I can confidently say that it went much, much better than my first...for so many reasons. First of all, this time we picked ONE song that we knew we were going to perform. Second, more people showed up. Thirdly, I was really confident about all the chords in the song we chose for this recital.

The first time around, I showed up for the recital and one other guy was there. It was terrible. It ended up being us and our teacher. Plus, we had decided we'd practice three songs and call for an audience choice, an ambitious and terrible idea. Instead of practicing one song and learning to play it well, we practiced three and learned to play them only okay. And the song we chose (R.E.M.'s "The One I Love") had a C chord in it, which at the time, was my suck chord.

This time around, our class chose the song "Wagon Wheel" to play, which is a great Old Crow Medicine Show song that I'd never heard before the class (see video below). We also got to show off our capo skills, as you capo the 2nd fret to hit a higher pitch. (Jazz or classical guitarists will look down on you for using a capo, arguing that you should just know how to play the notes to achieve that pitch. But, I'm a FOLK guitarist, people. So I don't need no stinkin' snobbery. : ) )

Anyway, I practiced like hell before the recital and then before the actual show, I sat in the audience practicing changing chords for the whole song over and over again. That meant that this time I didn't make nearly so many mistakes. I'm not going to lie; I missed one chord. Still, I recovered fast and picked up right away again. And not only did I recover fast, but I also played well after. I didn't let it screw me up, which is what counts.

Okay. So, here's the thing. I got really brave. I made A.P. take a video of the performance. And I really wanted to post it here, alas, it would not upload. So, instead, I'm including the one photo he took of me. If I can mess around again later, I will try to upload the video again. Grrr...technology!

(I'm the one in the oranger sweater...second from the left.)

******UPDATE******

Here's the video! I was finally able to upload it on youtube and then embed it here because of course I can't use the upload video feature on Blogger. Shocker. Anyway, please:

1. Don't judge A.P.'s cinematography skills. It's a miracle he took any pictures/shot any video at all seeing as how I am the family photographer/videographer.

2. Don't judge me. I'm a beginner!! This was only my 20th lesson. There are whole chords and techniques I know nothing about. And I'm aware of that.

3. If you must judge me, please do it the high school way: behind my internet back. In other words, don't leave hateful messages in the comments.

Enjoy!

(Photo by me!)

I Will Dance With You

Another Friday dance, another week gone by! I've been overwhelmed with work (shocker) and never quite recovered from last weekend's craziness. So you all can imagine what I'm doing *this* weekend, right??? SLEEPING IN! What. Is. Up. It's going to be so kickass to not have to wake up early. Plus, on top of being exhausted, I had to wake up early a lot this week in order to take the bus to work since our car was in the shop. I'd forgotten how miserable public transportation was. What normally takes me 15-20 minutes by car, of course took me 30-40 minutes by bus. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. I was so cranky every day I showed up to work after riding that miserable bus. Good thing we have Susan (our car) back now and she's purring like a kitten.

Anywho, in honor of my guitar recital last night (more on that next week!), I am pleased to show you one of the cooler weddings I've spotted in a while! It's so rad it kind of made my head explode a little. It's a Johnny Cash themed wedding! What the what???!!!??? Yes. That's right. It's not only pure awesomeness, it's also pure rockabilly (in the best possible sense of the word)! Karey and Zak both loved music and Zak especially has a deep love affair with The Man in Black, so they had themselves a Johnny Cash wedding. And I have to tell you, it's so cool that it makes me want to be friends with these people. It's chock full of amazing details. Have a look, won't you?

Um, are there bits of brain everywhere? Did your head explode a bit? Cuz we all know mine did the first time I saw this beautiful affair. It's definitely one of those weddings I wish I had attended. It was not only amazing but it felt really personal. That's something I'm big on, for sure.

So, the weekend is upon us again and A.P. and I are excited to do some fun stuff again. Tomorrow night we are taking Rev/Rach to dinner to celebrate her birthday, which was at the beginning of the month (yes, we're aware it's almost the end of the month...lol). Saturday, we're thinking about finally getting it together and going apple picking. And Sunday, my dad is turning 83, which is pretty crazy. So, we'll for sure be celebrating that. All in all, it's going to be another jam packed weekend, but hopefully with more naps. Or at least more down time. What are you fabulous peeps up to this weekend? Whatever it is, have a wonderful weekend!

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

Love every single look here.

Grownup Halloween decor

I was dying laughing over many of these buttons (and wishing I could purchase, like, all of them).

Who gives a f*ck about an Oxford Comma? YOU DO! (And here's why!)

Five minutes my ass! But I still want to learn how to do this.

I have no idea if I've posted this before (so I'm sorry if I have), but it's so great and helpful that I say why not post again (assuming I've posted it already)! 100 Photography Tutorials

Sometimes I wish A.P. baked. He could make me these!

I don't like to start thinking about Christmas this early, but wouldn't these be wonderful adorning your Christmas tree this year?

(Friday Dance Photo via here; Zak and Karey's Johnny Cash themed wedding photographed by John Robert Woods Photography via Jesi Haack Design)

Dance to the Music

Once again, the week has flown by! I almost can't believe it's Friday. Last week, I woke up on Friday in disbelief and I feel the same way today. Don't worry...I'm not knocking it. I love it when my work week flies by and gets me to that weekend faster. And this week has been crazy, though I got to leave work on time twice, which is a treat. Usually it's just one day and that's because I barrel out of there to make it to my guitar lesson on time.

Speaking of...we're coming up on recital time again. This time, I'm going to save face and practice like hell. I'm still nervous as all get out about being up on stage in front of strangers again, but I feel more confident this time around. It's been hard to muster up the wherewithal to practice lately, but I'm going to push myself to get it together over the next couple of weeks. Maybe, MAYBE I'll have A.P. take a video and post it. I'm debating. The thing is, I still can't sing with my sad voice, so I may skip it.

Now, on to bigger and better things. This week, I have another submission for you. This gorgeous wedding comes from an amazing photographer that a wonderful reader turned me on to. Chris Diset is an Orange County photographer who takes the most amazing photos! His second shooter/Not the Marrying Kind reader, Debra, wrote me raving about this amazing photographer. She sent me the link to his site and I fell in love. I also feel really lucky, because Chris is so cool he let me choose which of his lovely weddings I got to feature. But when I saw Brooke and Dave's wedding, it was all over. This wedding is filled with lovely details and the location is to die for! Check it out!

Can you believe that was a country club?? I'm usually such a big fan of super unique venues or small and handmade weddings, and I have to admit that this wedding is not my normal fare. But I kind of fell hard, and when Deb told me that it was a country club, my jaw dropped a little. It was so picturesque. Plus, that cake? And the couple seems so fun! I just loved it. Thanks again Deb for telling me about Chris! And thanks again Chris for letting me feature your gorgeous photos! You can check out Chris's blog here for more fantastic photography.

This weekend, A.P. and I are super psyched to enjoy three whole days together. We were going to go out of town, but I think we're going to do a bit of a staycation/day trip instead. We are talking about doing our tradition of going to Edwards Apple Orchard. Other than that, maybe we will see 50/50. We tried last weekend, but ended up getting stuck at the restaurant and missing our show. So, even though we need a mini-vacation and we're NOT taking one, I'm super psyched to hang out with my hubzband (That's my ghetto word for him. You love it.). What are YOU up to this weekend??

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

10 Unforgettable Wedding Moments

Loft Living

Love this article about one of my new favorite movies, Bridesmaids

13 separates...31 days of style

I'm green with envy that I will never own this.

Sadness.

Odd, yet beautiful.

I want to go to there.

I actually scored some of this. Can you handle it?? Specifically this and this. And I got both at Target for the regular price...not on eBay way, way over the retail price. Score!

And thanks to Musing on Beauty, I'm loving this. Catchy, catchy, catchy!

(Friday dance photo via here; Brooke and Dave's wedding photographed at Marbella Country Club by Chris Diset of Chris Diset Photography; Even coordinated by Leslye Hanson; Florals by Pamela Lowe Florals)