Southern Sweethearts: Constellations

Mr. Lab and I came back inside from our little photography project mentioned in my last post (it's coming in the next one, I promise!) and we were met by this:

That's college buddy and fellow newscaster Kevin. He promised me a couple weeks before the wedding that he would sing for us.

You see, Kevin has this ah-mazing voice. He was even the winner of our college's version of American Idol, UGA Idol!

Kevin more than lived up to his promise. He sang us the most beautiful song ever.

And I was tickled silly about it! I felt like we had our own personal star serenading us on our wedding day!

We finished the night with a last song by the same artist who sang our first dance song:

Jack Johnson's "Constellations"

We started the dance with some of the kids.

The light was leaving
In the west it was blue
The children's laughter sang
And skipping just like the stones they threw
Their voices echoed across the way
It's getting late

It was just another night
With a sunset
And a moonrise not so far behind

To give us just enough light
To lay down underneath the stars
Listen to papa's translations
Of the stories across the sky
We drew our own constellations

While we were dancing, a couple bridesmaids were outside making this for us:

Our new monogram!

The kids left us alone on the dance floor about halfway through the song. My youngest niece, Morgan, made sure she had one of our mason jar favors full of candy from the buffet.

(guest photo)

And we finished out the song together, just a couple of newlyweds, alone on the dance floor.

Clouds keep moving to uncover the scene
Stars above us chasing the day away
To find the stories that we sometimes need
Listen close enough
All else fades

Fades away

It was just another night
With a sunset
And a moonrise not so far behind
To give us just enough light
To lay down underneath the stars
Listen to all the translations
Of the stories across the sky

We drew our own constellations.

Will you have any special performances at your reception? How about a designated last song?

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
• My Wedding Party Poses for Mug Shots While We Take Formals
• We Shared a Private Dinner for Two During Cocktail Hour
• Our Wedding Party Lines Up for Introductions
• We Nom on Publix and Sanford Stadium Cakes
• Dancing with Our “Stars”
• Toasts & Tosses
• We "Thrill" the Reception and Dance the Night Away
  

Next Up: We make our big exit!

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.

Must Have Music

Source

Since becoming engaged, I've kept my ears open to possible "must have" songs for our wedding. I'm still unsure whether to hire a ceremony musician/reception D.J. or be an iPod bride all the way, but in any case I'll want to have a say on a few music selections for the day. I'm doing things a bit nontraditional, especially when it comes to the ceremony music.

I've compiled a list of songs for different parts of the ceremony and reception. There are a few gaps where I'm not sure what song(s) to use, so feel free to suggest something that will flow with the choices I've made so far! Without further ado, I present my wedding day "playlist":

Prelude: Beautiful Day by U2

Processional:

Seating of Parents: ?
Minister & Groom: ?

Groomsmen & bridesmaids: ?
Flower Girls, Ring Bearer, and Jr. BMs: Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole

Bride (ME!): Kingdom Come by Coldplay

Interlude: ?
(Not even sure if we'll have music in the middle of the ceremony at all.)

Recessional: Clocks (instrumental) by Coldplay

Cocktail Hour: Classical Music

Dinner: Laid back lovey-dovey songs

First Dance: Better Together by Jack Johnson

Cake Cutting: I'm Yours by Jason Mraz & a special song for Mr. Lab's groom's cake cutting

Bouquet Toss: Single Ladies by Beyonce ("All the single ladies put your hands up!" Classic.)

Garter Removal: ? (We definitely are thinking Mission Impossible or something along those lines!)
Mother/Son: Mr. Lab hasn't picked this out yet.
Mother/Daughter (because I don't have a dad to dance with): Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison (We both have brown eyes and picked this song out to dance to together when I was just a kid!)

Reception dancing: On our wedding website we've included a page for our guests to suggest songs to play during the reception. We figure that if they help pick them out, they'll be more likely to get on the dance floor. I'm a BIG dancer, so I want the dance floor packed all night! I think that by allowing song requests, having an open bar, and picking a wedding party that loves to get down, my wish will be fulfilled. :D We'll be sure to inlcude some songs everyone knows (YMCA, Baby Got Back, etc.), too. And as the night goes on, we'll move from the radio/clean versions to the "dirty filthy wanna make me shake my ass" music. Cause that's how I roll. ;)

Our website's music suggestion page.

Last Dance: Constellations by Jack Johnson

Etc. Music:

In addition to these songs, we're also allowing our entire wedding party to pick out individual songs tailored to their personalities to be introduced to at the wedding reception. For example, my MOH plays poker a couple times a week with her hubby and their friends, so she's chosen Lady Gaga's Poker Face! As for Mr. Lab and I's entrance song...we'll that's a HUGE surprise that will have to wait until AFTER the wedding to be revealed. ;)

Photo slideshow:

1. Mr. Lab growing up (I Go Back by Kenny Chesney)
   
2. Me growing up (Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison)
   
3. Our “courtship” (Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg)
   
4. Our engagement from the proposal all the way up to the wedding! (Better Together by Jack Johnson)

I'm including a homemade CD full of our wedding day music for the OOT bags (practically all the guests) so they'll have some songs to remind them of our day on the ride back home. They'll be more on that later, I promise!