aside from maybe the flowers/decor, music is probably the next most important thing to create a memorable ambiance at the wedding. let’s be honest, we’ve all been to that one wedding where all the dj insists on playing is techno music and “shout!” and we’re supposed to be surprised that no one is dancing?

S and i love music. he’s more of a classic rock kind of guy (foo fighters & led zeppelin are his favorite) while my tastes are a hybrid of top 40 hits and coffee house acoustic croons (britney spears & tristan prettyman all day errrday). to make our wedding even more personal, we knew we wanted to incorporate both of our preferences while still being mindful of the overall romantic/whimsical vibe we’re also hoping to achieve through the venue and decor.

seeing as music truly can make or break an event, it was nice to have a list of pre-screened talents provided to us by our venue. ultimately we decided to contract, ryan hiller, a local artist with a jason mraz-y vibe who can play live as well as dj. we loved the idea of having live music during the ceremony and dinner, while custom playlists (featuring everything from john mayer to van morrison) will keep guests entertained throughout cocktail hour and on the dance floor (of course!).

while i want to keep most of the music a surprise for our guests, i will share one song that’ll be incorporated into our ceremony. it’s from the movie, begin again starring adam levine and keira knightley. the movie is an underrated rom com, in my humble opinion, with one of the better soundtracks i’ve heard in recent years. music aside, begin again was the movie S and i saw on our “real” first date -and by “real” i mean i let him come and pick me up at my house instead of meeting him at a well-lit public area because safety first. anyway, there’s a song sung by adam levine called, “no one else like you” and if you listen to the lyrics, it’s kind of sort of perfect -for a wedding, or well, any other time, too.

enjoy!

p.s. you can find all of our wedding updates here. thanks for following along! less than four months until our big day!

top photo via chloe moore photography