It’s been almost two years since Jonathan and I got married, and I’ve recently revisited our wedding day playlist and the nostalgia has been intense.

In the year leading up to our wedding, I spent countless hours discovering songs I’d previously never heard, re-listening to songs I’d always adored, enlisted the help of my music-loving friends, and then vetted my choices endlessly for months on end.

Jonathan was ready to pull his hair out and I couldn’t blame him.

I have no earthly idea why I gave it so much thought, but I felt it was important to get the music—and timing—of the event totally right. Regardless of whether I would make different choices now, listening to it even two years later takes me right back to that year I planned this amazing day.

With innumerable songs to choose from, I relished recommendations from friends and bloggers to try and find the perfect ones. That said, I figured I would share what we chose (really, Jonathan did have a say, I promise!) as our soundtrack of the day. I’ve included a full list with links to the individual songs on YouTube, if you are so inclined to take a listen…

CEREMONY

1. If It Kills Me (Casa Nova Sessions) — Jason Mraz
2. I’ve Got This Friend — The Civil Wars
3. I’d Rather Be With You — Joshua Radin
4. Speak Easy — Maria Taylor
5. Simple Life — The Weepies
6. Tatooine — Jeremy Messersmith
7. Holocene — Bon Iver
8. Bloom — The Paper Kites (seating of parents & groom’s processional)
9. We Bought a Zoo — Jónsi (bridal processional)
10. How the Day Sounds — Greg Laswell (recessional)

COCKTAIL HOUR

1. King and Lionheart — Of Monsters and Men
2. Peculiar People — Mutemath
3. I Choose You — Sara Bareilles
4. Lego House — Ed Sheeran
5. Shot Me in the Heart — Christina Perri
6. Movie Loves a Screen — April Smith and the Great Picture Show
7. Do You Love Me? — Guster
8. Uncharted — Sara Bareilles
9. Come Back Down — Greg Laswell feat. Sara Bareilles
10. Mountain Sound — Of Monsters and Men
11. Go Do — Jónsi
12. Drove Me Wild — Tegan and Sara
13. Colors — April Smith and the Great Picture Show
14. Armistice — Mutemath
15. Be My Forever — Christina Perri feat. Ed Sheeran
16. Dragging You Around — Greg Laswell feat. Sia
17. Lost! — Coldplay
18. Dirty Paws — Of Monsters and Men
19. Can’t Find the Time to Tell You — Hootie and the Blowfish

DANCES

1. Go — Plumb (father/daughter dance)
2. Heavenly Day — Patti Griffin (mother/son dance)
3. The Winemaker’s Love Song — Tyler Lyle (our first dance)
4. Safe and Sound — Capital Cities (dance party begins)

The DJ interjected some classic jazz, per our request, to play quietly over dinner (between the Cocktail Hour and Dance Party), and he filled the evening with loads of dance favorites. (Shout out to my best friend Ken, who spent a solid portion of his twenties as a wedding DJ and was instrumental in getting people on the dance floor at our wedding, plus requesting songs that he knew were crowd pleasers.)

It all worked out really well and, yeah, even though all that hard work most certainly went completely unnoticed by our guests, it was worth it to know that we had hand-picked nearly every song to be a reflection of the year we got married.

Do you think music can make or break the vibe of a wedding, or do you find you hardly ever notice it? What were some of the songs that were really important for you to play at your wedding? Any regrets? I distinctly remember it being really difficult to find an appropriate, not-wildly-out-of-place Mother/Son Dance song… did you find that to be true for your wedding, too? I’d love to know!

(Picture of J and me during our first dance. Still one of my favorite pictures from that day. <3)