Looking for Wedding Recessional Song - Guitar/Vocal
 

I am going to be singing at a small wedding next month. The bride is 33, while the groom is 41. The ceremony is going to be non-religious, small (about 40 people) and short (15-20 minutes). They're having a heck of a time coming up with songs and my recommendations aren't going over too well.

It looks like I'll be singing two songs. One they've settled on so far is "All I Want Is You" by U2. They talked about using "Beautiful Day" (also by U2) as a recessional piece, but I believe I've successfully talked them out of it. While it seems to be a popular piece for "modern" weddings, I personally think it's a really bad choice. In particular, when you have a live singer performing a song, I think people pay pretty close attention to what you're singing, and I don't think the lyrics are appropriate to the occasion. I also don’t think it sounds very good when distilled down to a single guitar and voice.

I have done a lot of research online, but haven’t come up with anything that seems like it will work, so I figured I’d ask the best audience I could think of for their suggestions: the AGF. Any ideas?

For what it’s worth, I don’t play much fingerstyle; I mostly use a combination of strumming and flatpicking. I’m a tenor with a fairly decent range (~2 octaves, though probably more like 1.5 octaves that I would be comfortable using). If you’d like to see some examples of my playing and singing, feel free to check out my YouTube account (it’s listed in my signature).

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Did this many years ago in a similar circumstance fo a friend. He chose, "Top of the World" by the Carpenters. Seemed to fit.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think suggesting this would get me strangled on the spot. The bride was married once before. During the ceremony, the minister, without any coordination, decided to play a song for the couple, pulled out a boombox and played a Carpenters' song (probably "We've Only Just Begun"). She was not amused (massive understatement; "livid" is probably more accurate). Yes, I'm pretty sure it would get me strangled... ;)

In all likelihood, they will most likely want something from the 80s or later, unless it's a true classic (but not an overused classic).

Yeah, it's good you had that intel. Coulda been ugly.

Van Morrison Crazy Love

Good suggestion. I'll run it by her tomorrow (we share a cubicle at work).

Another good one we have used is LOVE by Nat King Cole, not sure if he wrote it but we listened to his version. Its got a good feel, it's upbeat and its pretty easy to sing.

Sometimes we do that and then go into "Can't take my eyes off of you" Frankie Vallie? maybe.

Pretty easy to make a medley of those two

Paul Stookey's (Peter, Paul & Mary) Wedding Song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IrCeP5slxw

I used to get glowing remarks when I'd play this for weddings...it's a fingerstyle song, but you could easily strum it and it's very simple...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1dZ-x8DLDQ

The Wedding Song is one I proposed right up front (great song), but they weren't interested. I did pass on the Give Yourself to Love recommendation, but I don't think it's what they're looking for (remember, they did pick two U2 songs).

Thanks for the input. It's all appreciated.

a young couple asked me to play this one a while back....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y11X5WljnFA

One thing to keep in mind about recessional music is that it tends to be short-lived, and nobody is really listening at that moment anyway (okay, so that's two things), so don't overthink it.

That said, I think the best non-traditional recessional songs I've played have been sweet and upbeat. Some of my favorites have been "Here Comes the Sun," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," and "Is This Love" by Bob Marley. The latter two have the benefit of popping right at the beginning, which makes for a celebratory feel the moment after the newly married couple has been announced.

Seeing how this is a very small ceremony, I'm not sure how the recessional is going to work. I could envision the couple standing up front for the first verse or so, before "recessing", so I don't like to assume no one will be listening. Of course, it's not my call.

Several of the proposed suggestions have already been shot down. Guess I'll keep looking (and keep checking on this thread from time to time).

Thanks again for all the input.

I played the music for my nieces' wedding a couple of years ago. Their choice for a recessional was Jack Johnson's "Better Together." I had serious doubts about it and it took me awhile to get the hang of it - Jack likes to cram a lot of words into each phrase. The more I played it, the better I liked the idea. It worked great! I added it to my acoustic set. It's an unorthodox choice, but may be interesting to them.

I play a lot of weddings, and I've never seen a bride and groom stand up front for the first verse or so. In fact, I've never seen them do anything but walk down the aisle right after they are announced. At that moment everyone is celebrating and the recession itself only takes about thirty seconds. It's not exactly that no one is listening, but that it's a brief moment, there is more noise than before, and there are other things people are paying attention to.

That said, here are a few more suggestions from some that I've done:

I'm Yours (Jason Mraz)
Lucky (Jason Mraz)
Better Together (Jack Johnson)
You Send Me (Sam Cooke)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Izzy's version)
What a Wonderful World