Wedding music

Deciding what to a play at a wedding seems like tricky business to me. If you want everyone to enjoy themselves, it's essentially a no-win situation because of the demographics at play. There are songs that you can easily avoid, however, like Pachelbel's Canon and Enya's "Sail Away" (which were both played at David and Cynthia's wedding) because there must be no one left on earth who doesn't cringe at them. I kept myself sane throughout that whole ordeal by trying to imagine what I'd want played at my own wedding. A few songs popped into my head immediately because they are amazingly well-suited to the marriage atmosphere and they cannot be disliked:

Perfect Lovesong - The Divine Comedy
Look Up - Stars
Paris 2004 - Peter Bjorn & John
1 2 3 4 - Feist

I had the Divine Comedy song stuck in my head all weekend, and if my bride's family only gave me one song to put into the reception playlist, that would be it. Later, I further idealized my fantasy marriage by only admitting those under 40, who I figure will be only 5-10 years older than me at the time. This would allow me to play some more music for people who would be receptive to music of my generation:

The Shining - Badly Drawn Boy
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
The Golden Age - Beck
Swimmers - Broken Social Scene
I Hope I Know You - The Clientele
Watercolours into the Ocean - Destroyer
Marry Me - St. Vincent
Winter Spring Summer Fall - The Postmarks
Something Changed - Pulp
Streets of Fire - The New Pornographers
Eyes - Rogue Wave
Cherry Blossom Girl - Air
Phantom Limb - The Shins

As the night continues, eventually people will start dancing for real...

The Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
I Love You - The Pipettes
Perfect - The Smashing Pumpkins
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Black and White Town - Doves
This Modern Love - Bloc Party
Buddy Holly - Weezer
Sister Jack - Spoon
To Go Home - M. Ward
The Sound of Settling - Death Cab for Cutie
Float On - Modest Mouse
You're All That I Have - Snow Patrol
Hard to Explain - The Strokes
LDN - Lily Allen
Number 1 - Goldfrapp
In This Home on Ice - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Finally, I'd be playing "All the Wine" by the National just for myself in my head.