{Photo credit: White Rabbit Photo Boutique}
But before we get to that, let’s talk about ME.
{Photo Credit: Root Photography}
For our reception, as hard as I fought, Mr. BFT would not agree to my #1 first dance choice, “I See the Light” from Tangled. But it ended up being just fine! We picked a Beck song that we both really love. Our grand entrance was to The Tonight Show theme (Carson-era) and we danced to “The Golden Age” by Beck. We did our parent dances at the same time to “In My Life” by The Beatles. For meal service, I had kind of a strange request. Mr. BFT and I love to sit and have drinks in the Golden Vine Winery area in Disney California Adventure. They play very unique music – kind of like slow jazz, elevator music. After a lot of research I discovered the sound I was loving was from an instrument called the Guitar Harp – WHO KNEW. Between our DJ and myself we were able to put together a great list of Guitar Harp songs to play during meal service to get that “Golden Vine Winery Feel.” Honestly, I’m not sure anyone else in the room noticed except my husband and I, but that’s all that matters! Before the Guitar Harp songs, we kicked off meal service with “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. When Mickey, Minnie, and Donald were introduced, we played “The Mickey Mouse Club March” followed by “Everything that I Need” from The Muppets for the actual cake cutting. For the 30 minutes when the characters were out, I requested two additional songs – “Shake a Tailfeather” from The Blues Brothers and “MICKEY” by Toni Basil. The rest of the songs were Disney songs, DJ’s choice.
So now that the IMPORTANT stuff is out of the way, let’s “dig a little deeper” into how to select music for your Disneyland wedding, with some advice from a popular Disneyland wedding DJ, Martin from Waveform Events.
{Photo credit: White Rabbit Photo Boutique}
For general ceremony music, a lot of couples still lean towards the traditional arrangements, like Canon in D, Wagner’s Bridal March “Here Comes the Bride,” and Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. If you want to go the Disney route but looking for something subtle, consider instrumental versions of Disney classics. Martin recommends this CD released by Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings. Movie scores from more well known Disney movies such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Frozen are also great choices. If there’s a Disney movie that is very meaningful to you, have a listen at some of the scores from it and see if they would fit in with your ceremony. Remember, I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of “Reflection” from Mulan. Not exactly typical wedding music, but most of our guests just thought it was lovely harp music. The Disney songs will be instantly recognizable to the hard-core Disney fan, and for those guests who are not Disney fans, it just sounds like pretty music!
Once you get to the reception, you will have to consider when and when not to use Disney music. Four hours of Disney music may seem fun to you, but that’s A LOT to for your guests, even if they are minor Disney enthusiasts! Consider playing some Disney songs at the top of the reception – when guests are entering and finding their seats, the couple’s grand entrance, the first dance song, and maybe a couple songs during the meal service. Martin says, “The Fantasmic! theme, or the Main Street Electrical Parade theme work well for grand entrances because they are so upbeat. Or, if you want music that is a little less intense, there is ‘Heigh Ho,’ ‘Friend Like Me,’ or ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me.'” As far as the couple’s first dance, “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, and “I See the Light” from Tangled are popular choices. For meal service, Martin says he usually will kick things off with “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, and right now “Let it Go” from Frozen is in heavy rotation.
{Photo Credit: Root Photography}
CEREMONY
Grandparents/Parents Processional
– Candle On The Water from Pete’s Dragon
Wedding Party Processional
– That’s How You Know from Enchanted
– You Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story
– Paperman by Christophe Beck
– Define Dancing from Wall-E
Bride Processional
– A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes from Cinderella
– I See the Light from Tangled
– When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinnochio
Unity Candle/Sand Ceremony/ Etc.
– A Whole New World from Aladdin
– Kiss the Girl from The Little Mermaid
Recessional
– Ever Ever After from Enchanted
– Married Life from Up
– Star Wars theme
RECEPTION
Bridal Party Entrance
– Disney’s Electrical Parade Music
– Life is a Highway from (as heard in) Cars
– Heigh Ho from Snow White
– You’ve Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story
– Friend Like Me from Aladdin
Couple Grand Entrance
– Fantasmic! theme
– That’s How You Know from Enchanted
First Dance
– I See the Light from Tangled
– Once Upon a Dream from Sleeping Beauty
– The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie
– Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King
– A Whole New World from Aladdin
Father/Daughter or Mother/Son Dance
– You’ll Be In My Heart from Tarzan
– Baby Mine from Dumbo
– Ma Belle Evangeline from Princess and the Frog
Bouquet Toss
– I Won’t Say I’m in Love from Hercules
– Someday My Prince will Come from Snow White
Garter Toss
– I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan
– Prince Ali from Aladdin
Meal Service
– Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast
Cake Cutting
– Dig a Little Deeper from Princess and the Frog
– Spoonful of Sugar from Mary Poppins
Mickey & Minnie Moment
– The Mickey Mouse Club Theme Song
– Fantasmic! theme
– Bare Necessities from The Jungle Book
A special thanks again to Martin from Waveform Events for letting me interview him for this post, and to White Rabbit Photo Boutique and Root Photography for letting me use their great images.
Do you have any Disney wedding songs to add to the list? Let me know in the comments!