As you plan your wedding, thinking about song will be one of your many wedding ideas. I am a newlywed of seven months and this is my first hub regarding weddings. I should have written sooner. I know my pen name, Journey*, is somewhat ambiguous, but yes I was the bride. And you ladies know, we do much of the planning. I enjoyed every moment of it and I am likely to post future hubs regarding various aspects of wedding planning in the future. Please look out for those. This particular article that I am offering concerns the music for your wedding. Whether you are having a small gathering or a very large party, the music selections will have a lot to do with whether people choose to dance or sit things out. I think we all have a far better time at weddings when we dance.

I chose to be my own wedding planner and I took care of this aspect meticulously. Why? Because I LOVE music and I know when a good song can really make people get up and dance. I worked with a professional dj to make sure the music was everything I wanted it to be, consulting with my now husband about the songs he likes as well. It is important to trust your dj. When you have made a definitive decision about who your dj will be, show that you respect his/her abilities and that is why you hired him/her. You should, however, not hesitate to offer a list of 'must play songs'. It's your special day and you should hear what you want to hear and allow the dj autonomy on the rest. If you provide no preferences at all, It would be futile to complain if you thought the music at the reception was bad after the fact.

Everyone has different music tastes. If you are like me, you do not want to hear the ymca, electric slide and chicken dance all night. Don't however underestimate the power of such songs. They can get even those who swear never to dance on their feet. Isn't it odd? I think something about the dancing as a group, in community with prescribed steps gets a lot of people, who would not otherwise care to dance, out of their shells. That is why these songs were played at proms and weddings 15 years ago and are still played today. (But some songs are just timeless and keep on playing for 25 years or more as you will see from the suggested list below.) A lot of people I know love different forms of line dancing and are very shy about dancing to fast songs otherwise. Personally, I enjoy dancing to most types of music.

I hope that engaged couples find this list of suggested wedding songs helpful as you plan your big day. As much as I love music, listening to the radio and cds, I found myself listening to the radio even more than usual during the planning of our wedding. I already knew my all time favorite songs but I kept listening for a rare gem that I might have overlooked and added it to my list.

Some songs are just super popular for weddings and you can't blame them for being so. They are so romantic. So, yes, you will see some of the cliche songs on the list but maybe some new ones that you never thought of as well. Hey, maybe I'll keep updating this hub periodically!

I hope that a big music fan like me can help you with some of the legwork as you decide upon songs for your wedding. I actually enjoy listening to the radio and making these type of lists. If it is not something you will enjoy, you'll probably find it to be the opposite- tedious and annoying. So, I hope I'm sparing you some trouble. If you love this type of stuff too, please feel free to add your own faves to my comments section.

As you look at this list, keep in mind that in addition to the general dance music for party guests, you'll want special songs for:

first dance

father of the bride dance

bridal party dance

toast and cake cutting ceremony

tossing the bouquet

Add or omit any moments that you would like to ceremoniously highlight with special music. Now, In no particular order, here is the list. Some were played at my own wedding. Some were not:

1. She Will be Loved- Maroon Five

2. Truly, Madly, Deeply- Savage Garden

3. Love Like This- Natasha Bedingfield

4. Unwritten- Natasha Bedingfield

5. Lady in Red- Chris DeBurgh

6. At Last- Etta James

7. Power of Love- Luther Vandross

8. I Knew I Loved You- Savage Garden

9. Life is a Highway- Rascal Flatts

10. Whenever, Wherever- Shakira

11. Hips Don't Lie- Shakira/ Wyclef Jean

12. Back at One- Brian McKnight

13. She's Like the Wind- Patrick Swayze

14. Unchained Melody- Righteous Brothers

15. Take My Breath Away- Berlin

16. Breathe Again- Toni Braxton

17. Cruisin- Smokey Robinson (or Gwenyth Paltrow)

18. As Long as You Love Me- Backstreet Boys

19. Don't Want to Miss a Thing- Aerosmith

20. Ever the Same- Rob Thomas

21. Only Time- Enya

22. Umbrella- Rihanna

23. I Hope You Dance- Lee Ann Womack

24. Because You Loved Me- Celine Dion

25. When a Man Loves a Woman- Percy Sledge (or Michael Bolton)

26. I want to Love You Forever- Jessica Simpson

27. My Love is Your Love- Whitney Houston

28. Sweetheart- Mariah Carey featuring JD

29. Fantasy- Mariah Carey featuring ODB

30. Stay with You- John Legend

31. You're All I Need, edited- Mary J. Blige and Method Man

32. Over and Over Again- Nelly and Time McGraw

33. Let Me Love You- Mario

34. No One- Alicia Keys

35. Kiss- Prince

36. Kiss, Kiss- Chris Brown

37. With You- Chris Brown

38. Don't Know Why- Norah Jones

39. Somewhere Only We Know- Kean

40. I Will Always Love You- Whitney Houston

41. Wind Beneath My Wings- Bette Midler