So we didn’t finish the tracklist like I wanted Sunday…but we did register!  But that’s another post.

Instead, last night, I pinned the reluctant groom down and we hemmed, hawed, imported, split, and integrated tracks to create what we have as our perfect first go-round:

Who’s ready to WORK?

(Image from tv.yahoo.com)

Some notes:

• I’m a little concerned that it gets a little slow at times–especially with the inclusion of the exquisite-but-melancholy “I Loves You Porgy”, hence adding in the two-minute interlude of “Soul Finger” to liven things up towards the end;
• “Crane Wife 2″ is technically a song–this was the track we split in order to save on length, as The Decemberists are notorious for always including at least one multi-song on each album.  While this is more appropriate, it’s also a little softer than had we included both;
• SInce “Brompton Oratory” is a Nick Cave song, it’s filled with references to love and Jesus.  Very stark, rather obvious references to both, for that matter–and this is one of the more subtle songs in his catalog.  But the reluctant groom loves him some Nick Cave (he is a great songwriter)–do you think that folks may be turned off by such obvious references?

We still have some space left, so if anyone out there has any suggestions that would help make this an awesome mix, they will be much appreciated.

Did you make a CD (or wanted to)?  How did you determine which songs would make the cut?

April is rapidly coming to a close, and while I’ve made strides, I’m likely not doing nearly enough ahead of time.  So…despite it being a gorgeous day here in New Haven, I’m hankering down and as God as my witness, I’m going to finalize our CD-favor playlist and subsequently finish creating our CD cover.

We’ve had something in mind for well over a year–we knew that our focus would be “what would be fun to listen to in the car?” instead of just rehashing songs that were played at the wedding.  So if I hear something I love (which, admittedly, happens quite often) and it could be a good fit, I’ve been adding to my “october road trip” playlist.  It’s far from complete, but here are the songs that we’ve thought of so far:

I apologize for the lousy quality–my computer is being difficult.

There are a few songs on this list that are non-negotiables for various reasons:

• “Masterfade” by Andrew Bird–our wedding song!
• “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”–the runner up for our wedding song, but it just didn’t feel wedding-y enough to me.  Also, there are some who are expecting this and it’ll be fun to surprise them.
• “Ceremony” by New Order–because I just love this song.  And it’s fun to drive to.
• “Each Day Gets Better” by John Legend–because it’s peppy and has an amazing old-school Motown feel to it.
• “Inside and Out” by Feist–because this is one of Michael’s favorite covers (it’s crazy-sexy) and because we’ll be playing the BeeGees version at the reception.

The others can be excluded at whim.  So this I pose to you, dear readers:  what are YOUR favorite road trip songs?  What never fails to put a smile on your face?

If you checked out my inspiration board, you may have noticed that there is a big ol’ honking book cover that’s prominently displayed:

Image from amazon.com.

This happens to be from the 60’s-era Scribner Library Classics series and is my primary influence when it comes to designing our favors and our programs.

You see, I have a thing for vintage paperbacks due to their tendency to have strong, minimal graphics (but I also just happen to love old books in general).  I used to drag the RG to my favorite used bookstore in Paoli, PA armed with a $20 bill, and usually would come out a little sneezy (due to the mold and dust) and with a pile of books.  Sadly, the Paoli Book X-change has since closed (the last time I passed by it the building was completely gutted, to my horror), but it will live on in the spirit of the party as…

Our road-trip friendly wedding favor!

The RG and I are pretty serious about making awesome CD mixes whenever we’re faced with a drive to and from Pennsylvania.  So when the topic of wedding favors came up, I immediately knew that we’d make a CD, and together we decided that a mix geared towards carrying on our party’s spirit in the car would be more guest-friendly (and more fun to make) than one full of sappy love songs like I’ve seen in the past.

To be a bit romantic as well as a bit irreverent, we picked some of our favorite love-related quotes from unexpected places–The Office, The Godfather, Ulysses, and Okervil River’s album Black Sheep Boy.  Some are more serious than others, but they all reflect our very diverse taste in all things television, book, film, and music-related.

Now we have to just figure out the final playlist…which may prove to be tougher than deciding on a final guest list was.

 What was/were the best favor(s) you received at a wedding?