Sometimes finding the right songs for the biggest moments of your wedding can be a daunting task. After all, there�s much you need to consider (like you don�t have enough stuff to stress out about already!).
Some couples have chosen to allow their party members to dance with their significant others instead of whom they walked down the aisle with. This is fine, and may save a few awkward (and jealous) moments, but make sure that this is planned out with your DJ and your bridal party in advance. Doing this will double the number of people on your dance floor and a larger group of people will be a bit harder to keep in one place for very long. Make sure everyone knows what the plan is and what is expected of them. Plus, it is imperative that you have everyone�s names at the time of your consultation. Adding names at the last minute does increase the possibility of your DJ making an error, and we HATE making errors. But we are only human. The more you plan it, the easier it will go for everyone involved.Christ Church: Located near 2nd Street and above Market, Historic Christ Church dates to 1695 and is an appropriate place to visit for the revolutionary War Tour. Christ Church was one of the first parishes of the Church of England in the new world. The Christ Church Burial Ground includes the tombs of some famous early Americans including Ben Franklin who was interred there. This historic, early American landmark is a site that student groups will not want to miss.Now, all of this may seem like a lot to consider when choosing songs, but it�s really much easier than it appears. Don�t stress out about it! The main thing to remember is to LISTEN. Don�t just go to iTunes and play snippets of songs. Take a few minutes to really listen to some songs. Besides, with all of the chaos normally associated with planning a wedding, taking a few moments to sit back, relax, breathe and listen will certainly help take some of the tension off. Enjoy the process! Once you relax a bit, the right song will come to you.Not far from Washington D.C. is one of the most famous estates on American soil. Mount Vernon was George Washington�s Home, and was a working farm as well as an estate home in the Early American style. Both are well preserved. Living history programs including an actress who plays the part of Martha Washington, Our First Lady, and demonstrations of Early American farming techniques are some of the highlights of the Mount Vernon tour. Students can visit the Eighteenth Century house, farm, and gristmill for an authentic glimpse into what it must have been like to live during Washington�s time.The Yorktown Battlefield Museum details it as the place where Virginia�s colonial government was established in 1691. Because of its strategic location on the York River, one of the main tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, Yorktown was a highly contested Naval post during the Revolutionary War, and so was the appropriate place for the final battle to be fought. Student tour groups will learn a great deal about the culmination of the Revolutionary War at Yorktown and therefore, should not miss this destination.The Symbian 3 operating System Works in conjunction with a 680 MHz processor with a 3D graphics accelerator to provide a fantastic user experience; the screen and interface is lightning fast, whilst homescreens can be customised to the users liking with widgets and apps. A long list of entertainment features is provided, such as a number of pre-installed games, or FM radio player and versatile internal media player which supports numerous music and video file formats. Additionally, a document editor which is compatible with Microsoft Office documents and a voice memo recorder are provided to keep you productive in the workplace.Still, sometimes you may think that you don�t have a song that is �yours�. What was the first song the two of you danced to? Is there a ballad by an artist that the two of you are big fans of? Was there a song playing in the background the night he proposed to you? These are things to think about.The main thing to remember is that this is your moment to share with the people closest to you. Make it meaningful, make it fun, and make it special.Mother/Son Dance � There are tons of ideas for daddy/daughter dances, but seemingly few choices for the mother/son dance. This isn�t necessarily true; they�re just not so obvious sometimes. The same rules apply as with the daddy/daughter dance; if there�s a song in your groom�s family history that means a lot to them, use it!Bouquet Toss/Garter Removal/Garter Toss � This is something we will be discussing more in a later column. If you decide to do this, there will be several songs you will need; one song for the ladies for the bouquet toss, one for the gents for the garter toss, and a song for the garter removal. There may be others needed as well, depending on what you want to do. This is certainly the most lighthearted moment of the evening so you can have fun with this as well. Just remember�your grandmother is sitting right there�Betsy Ross House: Nestled in Old City Philadelphia, not far from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall is Betsy Ross�s historic home. Betsy Ross made the first American flag and is one of the earliest women patriots. Student tour groups will enjoy a short tour of her home and the story of how she made the first American flag.There are a few things to consider. Will the bridal party also be introduced at this point? Will your parents also be introduced? Do you want one song for everyone, or do you want a separate song for your bridal party and one for you and your groom? Do you want something a bit mellow for your parents to walk in to, and then get a bit louder as your progress through the rest of the introductions?The main thing to remember - this is your big moment. Make it special not only for you, but for your guests as well.There are a few other points during the course of your reception that will require some music to help make the moments special. It may not seem like a big deal, but having music for these moments add to the overall presentation at your reception. They help set the mood and tone of the entire evening. Let�s take a look�Bridal Party Dance � The first question we often get regarding this song is �Does the bride & groom stay on the dance floor during this dance?� The answer is �Yes�. It looks a little strange when the bride and groom leave the dance floor with their closest friends on it.Washington Crossing ParkThe Nokia E7 stays connected to the appropriate cellular networks by virtue of class 32 versions of both GPRS & EDGE. The Nokia E7 also provides a fantastic internet browsing experience, with its initial means of connection provided by 3G coverage, whereby an HSDPA connection provides download speeds of up to 10.2 mega bytes per second. Should users wish to achieve a faster connection, they can take advantage of local wireless networks, thanks to full Wi-Fi connectivity. Bluetooth is also provided to allow users to connect to compatible mobile phones, and micro USB connections allow the handset to be connected to devices such as computers.Another thing you may want to consider is the length of the song. �In Your Eyes� may be the perfect song for you, but the track is nearly 6 minutes long. That�s a long time to be out there - the two of you�alone with everyone�s eyes upon you�feeling paranoid yet? Don�t be afraid to ask your DJ to fade the song out early.How to find the songs � Didn�t think that there were this many songs to choose, did you? Have no fear�we�re here to help.But wait�there�s more�!There are three very important things to remember when choosing songs. These may seem obvious, but you�d be surprised. Plus these �rules� apply to any song chosen for any of the ceremonial dances.Bridal Dance � This is THE most important song of the night. Next to seeing you kiss at the altar at the end of the ceremony, this is the one of your most romantic events; your big moment alone on the dance floor. So the song has to be special.For student tour groups taking the tour from the West Coast or the Midwest, flying into Norfolk, Virginia, and flying out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania makes a great deal of sense for the Revolutionary War tour because it saves time. Students coming from closer locations may want to consider alternate flying routes to save time and cover the most distance possible. The educational travel professionals at my company schedule the student tour with everyone�s comfort and convenience in mind.George Washington led 2,500 troops across the Delaware River on Christmas Day in 1776 from Buck�s County Pennsylvania to Trenton to attack an army of 1,500 and won. This victory came at a low point in the Revolutionary War. Students will want to visit the Pennsylvania side of Washington Crossing to see the museum, and should time permit, cross to the New Jersey side to see the landing area and the road used by the continental army to march to Trenton and attack. The trip to Washington Crossing is a short one hour journey from Philadelphia and well worth it for its historical significance during the Revolutionary period.2. Make sure both of you actually LIKE the song. For example, you may really like Lonestar�s �Amazed�, but if country music makes your groom�s teeth itch, you need to choose another song. Or, he may really like that �one� Metallica ballad, but you hate it. Next, please.In yet another example, a bride�s father was once considered a great disco dancer, so the bride chose �Last Dance� by Donna Summer�and then had the DJ open the dance floor to all of the guests when the song�s disco beat kicked in. So it need not be what �everyone else� does. Make the moment unique and special.Having said all of this, actually choosing a bridal party song tends to be a bit easier. If you have been trying to choose between two songs for your bridal dance, you can use both; one song for the two of you and one for your bridal party.Philadelphia: Important Sites for a Student Tour of Revolutionary War1. Make sure the song you choose is one that the two of you can actually dance to! You may be able to tear up a dance floor, but your groom may have two left feet. Picking a song with an odd tempo may make him feel awkward, especially out on a dance floor in front of his friends and family. Try to keep it simple.And of course, check out the song lists that we have included on www.mikestaff.com. Many talented and experienced DJs were consulted when compiling these lists, so there are a lot of ideas there for the taking. Ask your DJ for ideas when you consult with him. Use his experience and knowledge. That�s what we�re here for!Yorktown Virginia � A Must See on the Student Travel TourIf that doesn�t seem to work, start listening to songs on the radio a bit closer. Listen to the lyrics. Eventually you will find a song that will express what you want to say to each other on your wedding day�and that�s your song!Introduction Music � This is the big moment; your Grand Entrance when you and your groom are first brought into the hall to the cheers of all your friends and loved ones who have gathered to celebrate your wedding. So naturally, you will want to choose music to highlight the moment.Yorktown Battlefields are a primary destination for the Revolutionary War tour of the East. In 1781, General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered with 8,300 troops, ending the American Revolution in Yorktown. Yet the story leading up to this surrender, and the battles fought before it took place are engaging and numerous. Student travel groups will want to take the 7-mile or 9 mile driving tours of Yorktown Battlefields to have a fuller understanding of the scope of this final battle and Cornwallis� surrender.3. Is the song appropriate for a bridal dance? Let�s face it�you may both really like the song, but �Love Bites� by Def Leppard does NOT make a good bridal song. Don�t laugh�it�s happened! (And there were many rather confused wedding guests that night).First of all, start early. Don�t wait until the last minute to choose the songs. These will be some of the most important moments of your wedding. Take as much care in choosing songs for these moments as you did in choosing the hall, your flowers or your DJ!There are other historic sites that date back to revolutionary times and are significant. For this tour, I have concentrated on the major high points of the war and the major historic sites. Student travel groups wishing to book a tour with a Revolutionary War theme can email: info@educationaltravelconsultants.com or visit http://www.educationaltravelconsultants.com for more information.Again, this is a BIG moment, and one you want to capitalize on. Use this moment to really pump up your guests.Teachers may visit http://www.nps.gov/york/forteachers/yorktowneducationalprograms.htm and with enough advance notice, may book special interepretive programs that are in sync with curriculum objectives.Yorktown Battlefield MuseumHaving said that, this moment can be as full of pomp and circumstance as you want, or can be as fun and rowdy as you�d like. There are some �standards� such as �Celebration�, �Let�s Get It Started� or �Get the Party Started�. But our DJs have used everything from �Here Comes the Bride� to the Austin Powers theme song, from �In the Mood� to the Blues Brothers, from the Chicago Bulls theme song to the Imperial March from �Star Wars�, from the U of M fight song to one of the songs used for the �C.S.I.� TV shows. As you can see, the possibilities here are quite endless.
Now, all of this may seem like a lot to consider when choosing songs, but it�s really much easier than it appears. Don�t stress out about it! The main thing to remember is to LISTEN. Don�t just go to iTunes and play snippets of songs. Take a few minutes to really listen to some songs. Besides, with all of the chaos normally associated with planning a wedding, taking a few moments to sit back, relax, breathe and listen will certainly help take some of the tension off. Enjoy the process! Once you relax a bit, the right song will come to you.
Author: Mike Staff
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