First Dance

Grace is doing a linkup about first dance songs, so here's ours. We're only newlyweds for one more month, so I better get in the wedding pictures while I can!

We didn't really have an official song during our 4 years of dating. Most of the time we were listening to music to pass the time while we were apart. Despite our nerdy mind-meld at times, the Southern Baron and I have very different musical impulses. He dreams of listening to Wagner's entire Ring Cycle nonstop on a road trip, while I can happily memorize the lyrics to any stupid pop song within two listens. When we first fell for each other, he sent me a gorgeous Chopin nocturne and I emailed him Aretha Franklin's "Baby I Love You."

We do associate certain songs with missing one another, especially on the long drives back and forth for weekend visits. He would always text me when Doc Watson's "Shady Grove" came on. "Ain't no gal on this whole world that's prettier than mine." One Republic was one of my highway staples, and their song "All This Time" would always have me crying into my steering wheel somewhere along I-95. "All this time we've been waiting for each other...Got all this love, can't waste it on another/ So I'm straight in a straight line, running back to you."

Classics and folk rock are two genres we can agree on though. The Wailin Jennys became a favorite of our visits, and were playing on the car stereo as we drove home from our engagement dinner. Their song "Asleep At Last" was an easy choice for our first dance. It describes the happiness and relief we felt at finally being together forever.

Be my asleep at last

Kiss me slow and hold me fast

Be my sail and be my mast

In the blue forever cast your love

Far from pain and past

Be my this one’s meant to last

It's a slow song, so we didn't pull out any wild dance moves. Having a calm romantic moment together was the perfect antidote to all the crazy schedule juggling the week before. Back when I was on my college's ballroom dance team I had dreams of elaborate choreographed wedding dances. Maybe now that we live in the same state we can finally take dance lessons together. But the memories of our sweet and simple first dance are way better than what my college self imagined.

Photos by JeanneMarie Photography