If you’re planning to tie the knot, one option to consider is getting wed on a cruise. It offers the great advantage that the moment the ceremony is over, your honeymoon begins.
But why stop there? You have an opportunity to make the event even more special with your choice of music. Why aim for safe and predictable, when you can have a crack at dangerous and wholly unsuitable?
As a musician who’s played at many weddings I have to tell you I’m tired of cranking out the same old tunes again and again. Mendelssohn’s Wedding March and Wagner’s Bridal Chorus no longer do it for me. It’s time for something different.
Something truly challenging.
Ocean vows
Here’s how I see it. By exchanging your vows on the ocean, you are – to some extent – already departing from tradition. So why not take it a stage further. This is your moment to really push the boat out.
When it comes to planning the soundtrack for your special day, you have the chance to tear up the rule book, to fly in the face of convention, to straddle that thin line which lies between experimental and mental.
And by doing so you’ll be sending a powerful message to the world. You’ll be telling everyone your relationship is strong enough to survive even inappropriate choices of music.
Art form
It seems to me there are plenty of fine, inappropriate tunes out there that fit the bill. Maybe they’re not for the faint hearted, but these songs are perfect for those who see weddings as an art form and want to push things to the edge, and even beyond.
Arrange for a few of these numbers to be blasting from the speakers and your big occasion will be talked about for years to come.
So here are my top three song suggestions for weddings at sea.
It should have been me
This is such a fantastic song, how could anyone not add it to their wedding day play list? Listen to how Yvonne Fair belts out the refrain to the groom – her former lover – with all the power and passion of a jilted woman.
Anyone who’s ever been in that situation will relate to her emotions and feel her pain.
This could be a great opportunity to invite some of the groom’s exes along to the event. Who knows, they may even be inspired to sing along.
Haitian Divorce
This track was surely made for ship-based nuptials.
It’s especially suitable for a cruise that includes a stop in Haiti, and in my view far preferable to the ever popular, but somewhat boring Hawaiian Wedding Song.
Play this classic from jazz-rock combo, Steely Dan, during your cruise ship wedding ceremony and I guarantee people who attend will never forget you or the day you got hitched.
Tragedy
The last time I heard this played at a wedding, the couple were divorced within nine months. So maybe not one for those of a nervous disposition.
But if you can rise above such superstitions, then it remains a fabulous song that will get everybody bopping along, especially if they can remember the old Steps dance routines.
The way I see it, if you can’t play this at a wedding, when can you play it? Well probably just about anywhere else.
D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
If you don’t like my suggestions, there are plenty of other good options out there. Tammy Wynette’s ‘D.I.V.O.R.C.E’ or Paul Simon’s ’50 ways to leave your lover,’ spring to mind, not to mention, ‘Don’t marry her’ by Beautiful South.
So there you have it. It’s entirely within your power to make the first day of your new life together, also the most musically memorable.
Think of it this way. A cruise ship is the perfect setting for a romantic wedding, but life isn’t only about romance. These songs can provide that extra something to your big day.
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