A question worth pondering (one I'm still figuring out): just how personal should your first dance song be? Should you take an opportunity to share your faith or just stick to a conventional love song?
Brooke and I chatted over coffee about a month ago about how a bride and groom are, in a way, responsible for their guests in the way they plan their Mass and reception. Although, obviously, not every aspect of your reception requires heavy-handed theological discourse (I'd argue, actually, that nothing should be heavy-handed so much as simply done with love, truth, and invitation), the choices made regarding things like alcohol and music can have an effect on your guests' behavior and the way they remember the day. As first dances go, there's a natural desire to choose a song that's meaningful or sentimental to you as a couple, yet at the same time, there is an awareness that the song you pick will send a message to everyone who's there watching and listening. Or is that just over analytical me?
Maybe it's my lifelong reading habit or my poetical husband, but more so than sound, mood, or any other aspect, lyrics are what almost always draw me most powerfully into a song. Something about the precision of capturing a certain emotion or experience with beautiful language matters a lot to me, and Andrew and I wanted to reflect that in our first dance song. Unfortunately, we chickened out on our first choice (too intimate) and second (too long) and settled on this, which you can read more about here.
Looking back, I sometimes wish we had been bold enough to choose a song more personal and reflective of our spirituality. I have an entire playlist of secular songs I constantly listen to that, in my opinion at least, cry out lyrically of the Theology of the Body--songs that speak to the longing of our hearts for something more than this life, the glimpse of heaven pure, sacrificial love affords us, the constant battle to allow love to prevail over lust and selfishness, and the perfecting love of the Father, who rejoices simply in the fact that we exist. It's a tall order, cramming all that into one song, but if you're on the hunt for a TOB-inspired first dance, I offer you these.
What do you think about loving responsibility and evangelization through your Mass and reception? Did any of your favorites make this list, and which ones did I leave off? Would you choose one, or a similarly-minded song, for your first dance?
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