The Perfect Song

Lord Kissington and I are having a lot of trouble choosing a song for our first dance at the wedding. I really feel like this song has to be the perfect song. It has to embody us. This is the only element of the wedding that I ever gave serious thought to before we got engaged. He isn’t as hysterical about this as I am, but we are getting down to the wire and we need to make a decision. There are lots of songs that we like, but that aren’t appropriate for one reason or another (too cheesy, too overused, too weird since one of use made out with someone else to it 6 years ago). Also, our usual musical taste doesn’t necessarily lend itself to good first dance songs (he likes britpop and 60s stuff; I like britpop, indie, and emo).

Here are a few songs that have been considered.

1. I was thinking something traditional like “The Way You Look Tonight” (Fred Astaire or Frank Sinatra singing) or “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (again, Fred or Frank’s version). Unfortunately, one of the lamest couples whose wedding I’ve attended (I was there as the date) used the former song, so that’s out. As for the latter, my mother wants it played at her funeral, so apparently she has dibs.

2. “Slave to Love” by Bryan Ferry. Mr. Ferry and I go way back, and this is an amazing song. But it’s also pretty long, and as a wise friend pointed out to me, you want it to be three minutes tops. Also, Lord Merlin claims the song is about S&M. I’m not sure if that’s true, but it may make it somewhat less appropriate as a wedding song.

3. “Come What May” from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Lord Kissington vetoed this because apparently our first dance cannot be to a show tune (so I guess anything from the Rent soundtrack is out too?).

4. “I Wanna Be Adored” by the Stone Roses. It’s not “our song” per se, but it sort of makes sense, except that it’s too damn hard to dance too. It’s not quite fast enough; it’s not quite slow enough.

5. “Paris Match” by the Style Council. Lord Merlin said he would never forgive me if I used this one since it’s his mostest favorite song ever.

6. “Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” by Mitch and Mickey (from A Mighty Wind). Great song, it’s pretty short, and we could totally do the kiss at the appropriate moment. The down side: Other than our closest friends, who are all obsessed with Christopher Guest’s films, no one will get the joke, and they’ll just think that we’re like all other couples and we chose a cheesy song. And you know, I just can’t stand being like everyone else.

7. “Here, There and Everywhere” by the Beatles. bryc3 said this one is too much of a cliché. And I would really hate to a cliché.

The frontrunner is looking like “You’re the Best Thing” by the Style Council, but not because it’s really “our song,” mostly just because we can actually agree on it. I also like “Smile” by Weezer because it’s got this whole Cheap Trick, 70s prom anthem vibe, but I don’t think most of the guests will get what we’re going for there. Or maybe we could go for something totally cheesy, like Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You” (as cheesy songs go, this one is pretty awesome), except that no one but our friends would get that we were being ironic, and everyone else might just think we’re cheesy. Oh, the horror.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the perfect song?