Bride-to-be Blogger Carly: Trying to Find “Our Song”

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And I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky

I’ll be there

I swear like a shadow that’s by your side

I’ll be there

Nothing could make by fourth-grade heart melt quite like All-4-One’s masterpiece love song “I Swear.” Now, my fourth-grade self may have been years from having a boyfriend, let alone getting married, but I swore (pun intended) this song would definitely be played during the first dance at my wedding (which, fingers crossed, would be to Jonathan Taylor Thomas). I confided this in my sister, Claire, knowing then she’d be my maid of honor and would totally support my decision.  (I was wrong, and she still teases me about my corny song obsession to this day!)

Nearly 20 years later my taste in music has changed and, sadly, “I Swear” doesn’t quite do it for me anymore. (My taste in men has also changed, and I’ll be marrying Sean instead of JTT).

So, I’m sure you’re dying to know what song could possibly top “I Swear,” right? Truthfully, I’m not sure! I know that I’d like the song to have meaning for Sean and I as a couple, and while I do swear that I’ll be there, we’re looking for a song we both connect with, and that will hopefully stand the test of time (sorry All-4-One!).

Now that we’ve hired a band, it’s become important that we select a song soon, so that the band can learn it if need be. The problem is, we don’t really have a song. Neither Sean nor I are really passionate about music. That isn’t to say we don’t enjoy listening to it, but we are NPR people, and unless Click and Clack come out with a love song, I doubt we’ll find one there.

Over the weekend, we laid in bed with YouTube on the computer and played various songs that we liked, listing more intently to the lyrics to see if they were worthy of being “our song.” Admittedly, we Googled too, looking for lists of wedding songs, using search terms like “non-traditional” and “not cheesy.” Google certainly came back with a lot of options, so we spent the morning listening to some of the many results.

At first I felt a little disappointed at the lack of romance I felt with this process—how special can a song be if we have to use the internet to find it?—but further reflection led me to this conclusion: Sure, maybe the process of finding the song doesn’t feel very meaningful, but whatever song we choose will be oozing with romance every time we hear it for the rest of our lives. It will hold the meaning of being the first song we dance to as husband and wife, and that thought alone gives me goose bumps.

So, the search continues, and I don’t know how or when we will find our song (although it better be soon, or our band won’t be too happy with us!). But I am so excited to have those few moments alone with Sean on the dance floor, listening to whatever we choose, and knowing that this is the first of many dances we have to come.

How did you find your song? Did you have a favorite corny song, like me, that you always imagined playing at your wedding? Was it something you already special to you two, or did you have to seek it out like us?

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