5 posts tagged “gettin' hitched”

Well that wedding business was a heck of a lot of fun. I think if you had asked either CarrieNation or me for wedding advice in the week leading up to the event, the word "elopement" would have been liberally interspersed throughout our respective comments. All the planning and worrying and last-minute-crisis averting is quite stressful, but in the end it is all totally worth it. It's like going to the best party ever, with all the people you care about, your favorite music and delicious food, accompanied by the person you love the most in the world.

The weekend passed by in a lovely blur, and before we knew it, CarrieNation and I were off to our honeymoon in beautiful Mex....oh wait, that's not what happened. What happened is that we both went back to our jobs to do our Very Important Work for a couple days. And if it was mildly surreal going back into the office after such a momentous weekend, I guess we handled it okay.

Tomorrow morning, earlier than I'd care to think about, we'll strike off to the so-called Mayan Riviera for some much needed rest and relaxation.

I'll have some more thoughts (and pictures!) when I get back, but in the meantime here's some things I though I'd mention:

- Hotrod's toast: In a word: Awesome. Some wedding guests called it the best ever. I can't wait to get my grubby paws on the video so I can check out again.

- Wearing a wedding ring:  Awesome, but weird. I'm constantly aware of it.

- The 104p52w challenge: I'll admit it, it's going to be touch and go. I'm all set for this week, but where I'm going is awfully disconnected. Wish me luck. 

Greetings Voxosphere! So I got hitched this weekend and it went great. There's a whole lot to discuss, including, but not limited to, Hotrod's awesome toast, our tremendous friends and the delicious food that was as much of a surprise to us as it was to our guests.

But all of that will have to wait. I'm still in recovery mode from a wild weekend, and for now all I really have energy to do is post the playlist(s), per M-----l's request.

This is going to be longish, so I apologize in advance if you're trying to scroll down into my deep archives.

Ceremony

Light and Day/ Reach for Sun    3:23    The Polyphonic Spree      (CarrieNation's entrance)   
We Just Won't Be Defeated    2:47    The Go Team    (our triumphant exit)

Reception

You Are Invited            4:52            The Dismemberment Plan

Pressure Drop            2:59            Toots & the Maytals           

Fight Test            4:14            The Flaming Lips           

Beautiful Child            4:17            Rufus Wainright

Here Comes Your Man            3:22            Pixies           

Don't Let's Start            2:36            They Might Be Giants Might Be Giants           

You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)            3:19            Dead or Alive

Word Up            4:17            Cameo           

Rock With You            3:41            Michael Jackson

Let's Stay Together            3:18            Al Green

That Teenage Feeling            2:45            Neko Case

Bizarre Love Triangle            6:42            New Order           

Our Lips Are Sealed            2:50            The Go-Gos                                                

Hand in Glove            3:14            The Smiths                       

Lean on Me            4:21            Bill Withers           

Paper Planes            3:27            M.I.A.            

Little Red Corvette            4:57            Prince            1999                                               

I Want You Back            2:58            The Jackson 5

The Way You Look Tonight            3:22            Frank Sinatra           

Tenderness            3:38            General Public           

Our House            3:22            Madness                                               

Golden Lady            5:00            Stevie Wonder           

Let's Get It On (Single Version)            4:01            Marvin Gaye                                   

Atomic            4:42            Blondie           

Oh L'Amour            3:07            Erasure

Let's Dance            4:12            David Bowie                                               

Sir Duke             3:54            Stevie Wonder                                   

Punk Rock Girl            2:38            The Dead Milkmen           

Ladyflash            4:18            The Go Team                                               

Poker Face            3:57            Lady GaGa           

The Rubberband Man            3:37            The Spinners           

O-o-h Child            3:15            The Five Stairsteps           

Pass the Dutchie            3:20            Musical Youth           

White Lines            4:29            Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five           

Beyond the Sea            2:54            Bobby Darin           

It's A Shame            3:11            The Spinners           

Ballad Of A Comeback Kid            3:51            The New Pornographers           

Hoover Dam            5:28            Sugar           

Blue Monday            7:26            New Order           

Lay All Your Love On Me            4:36            Abba                                               

September            3:35            Earth, Wind & Fire           

Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe            3:50            Barry White           

Think            2:19            Aretha Franklin           

Come on Eileen            4:13            Dexy's Midnight Runners           

Girlfriend            3:40            Matthew Sweet           

Take Your Mama            4:32            Scissor Sisters           

Oh Girl            3:36            The Chi-Lites                       

If You Don't Know Me By Now            3:26            Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes           

Bang a Gong (Get It On)            4:28            T. Rex            Electric Warrior

Surrender            4:12            Cheap Trick           

Under Pressure            3:58            David Bowie & Queen           

My Girls            5:45            Animal Collective

Peek-a-Boo            3:11            Siouxsie and the Banshees                       

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais    4:01    The Clash    (Big Finish)

These were on the list, but didn't make it on in time.

Soldier Girl [UK Single Version]            2:23            The Polyphonic Spree           

Blister in the Sun            2:26            Violent Femmes            Vilolent Femmes                        

Letter From An Occupant            3:46            The New Pornographers           

She Bangs The Drum            3:45            The Stone Roses           

Sheila Take a Bow            2:42            The Smiths            Louder Than Bombs            Rock/Pop

Genius of Love            5:34            Tom Tom Club                                   

Grandma's Hands            2:02            Bill Withers

Tired of Being Alone            2:43            Al Green

Hold It Now, Hit It            3:26            The Beastie Boys

Me Myself and I             3:44            De La Soul            Three Feet High and Rising                        She Moves In Her Own Way            2:50            The Kooks

Lovefool             3:16            The Cardigans                                                           

 

The title of this post is the subject line of an e-mail that delinquent Voxer and all around good egg Jason P set me and CarrieNation to congratulate us on our impending nuptials (I'm glad I can stop struggling to spell that word after this weekend).

Because my blog has mostly been a vehicle for hurling insults, bickering over music and perpetuating my decade-long (and counting!) War Over Nothing with Hotrod, I sometimes struggle to find the appropriate tone to discuss serious matters...such as, say, the most important -- and best -- decision I've ever made. Or, for example, one of the biggest days of my life.

But that day is fast upon us, and it seems appropriate that I say something about it from my small public platform in the hinterlands of the blogosphere.

Over the past few days I've been a bit of a nervous wreck. Although CarrieNation has done the lion's share of the planning and work for the big event, I've done enough to know how many balls we have in the air (catering, music, venue, clothes, etc.) and every day I'm worried about a new variable. The phalanx of relatives and friends descending on our fair city for the event also has me rattled, as does the prospect of being responsible for all of them having a good time.

What doesn't worry me -- even a little -- is the prospect of being married to CarrieNation. In fact, I'll let my dear readers in on a little secret: because our officiant isn't a member of a church recognized by our great commonwealth (fake Internet ministers rule) we went ahead and made it official with an officer of the court on Monday. To me, the notion that I will spend the rest of my life with CarrieNation is as natural as the notion that I'll continue to breathe air, eat breakfast and listen to the Clash for the rest of my life. To imagine any other scenario is what would scare me.

So that's it. Wish us luck on this wedding business. Cross your fingers that all of our assorted vendors show up, my Grandmother doesn't cuff my ears when she hears some of the more profane tracks on the wedding mix, and Hotrod stays sober long enough to make a coherent toast. The marriage is the easy part.

In a little less than 24 hours I strike out for Las Vegas where I'll meet Hotrod and the other proud members of my wedding party for a weekend of gambling, football, gambling, shooting machine guns and gambling. I couldn't be more excited. For a non drinking, non-smoking vegetarian who is mildly creeped out by strippers, the traditional bachelor party mainstays (steakhouse, copious booze, naked ladies) don't hold much appeal.

Thankfully, I love to play cards and I love Las Vegas. One of my favorite descriptions of Las Vegas came from Fast Food Nation. I'm paraphrasing here, but the author essentially said that all the commercial influences that are homogenizing the rest of America actually have the converse effect in Las Vegas, where unchecked greed and excess have combined to create a unique, vulgar animal all its own.

The moment I knew I loved Las Vegas came on a work trip about a decade ago. I was walking back from a Bill Gates keynote that I was covering at the MGM Grand. As I was schlepping down the strip with my 900-pound laptop bag, I heard a fanfare from across the street. The Bellagio's world-famous fountain show was starting to the tune of "Hey Big Spender." It was so over the top that it somehow bridged the gap between crass and sublime. I've been a fan ever since.

If there's one troubling thing about this excursion, it's that I meant to post in the 104p52w challenge yesterday, so I could gamble away the weekend without any concern for my blogging duties. Las Vegas has a way of making people lose track of time, so I shall have to be vigilant. Expect a picture of me holding a giant cash fan on Saturday. 

Not to turn this into a wedding blog (I've learned in recent weeks that there are quite enough of those on the Interwebs) but on matters musical, it seems the Voxosphere has a great deal to contribute.

As any post-ironic hispsters worth their salt would, we're making our own iPod (TM) wedding mix. This kills a lot of birds with one stone: saving money, assuring a complete moratorium on line dancing, and allowing us to foist our clearly superior musical predelictions on all of our friends and family.

But making your own list begs a very important question. To wit: how filthy/inappropriate can we make it before we start scaring off/alienating relatives?

I, for instance, am extremely keen on having Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines" on the mix. Now in its defense, White Lines is technically an anti-drug song, but it still contains many loving cocaine references, including the shouted, one-word refrain "FREEBASE!"

Things got even dicier when we started trying to wedge some Liz Phair onto the playlist, and settled on the comparatively benign "Supernova." Of course, relatively benign is, in fact, relative, as this song does contain the phrase "fuck like a volcano."

You can see the bind we're in. What should be off base? Sacrelige? Swear words? Overt drug references? Two or more of the above in the same song?

I'm sure the moral compass that is the Vox readership will help sort it out.