The Wedding Jam Blog
Memorable Stories from Unforgettable Weddings.
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Feeling Folky?
Over the last decade or so, we've seen a much increased demand for folky vibes and sounds at weddings - with folk singers and fiddles and banjos and ukuleles taking a much more prominent role than anyone could possibly have imagined at the turn of the century.
The contemporary folk revival probably kicked off in around 2007-2008, thanks to indie-folk types such as Fleet Foxes, Laura Marling, Bon Iver and Iron & Wine - and it hasn't really abated since.
With all this in mind, we thought we'd round up a few fab folky tunes that you may want to consider for your big day!
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Between late 2006 and early 2007, Justin Vernon took himself off to his father's remote hunting cabin to be alone and to make music. The result was 'For Emma, Forever Ago', with Skinny Love the centrepiece. Both the album and this song became surprise monster hits, racking up accolades and acclaim beyond Vernon's wildest dreams. Skinny Love might be about a love turned sour, but it hits just the same as it did when it was released 13 years ago. A love song for the ages.
Alela Diane - To Be Still
A beautiful song that taps into the essence of what marriage is really all about - the lifetime together. In this timeless piece, a 19th century wife sings to her husband who is out looking for gold while she remains at home, alone. This is her plea to him to come back home, telling him that the riches he craves - gold - are really the loving family life, at home together, that she longs for.
Joni Mitchell - Help Me
Arguably no-one wrote and sang about love more profoundly than the incomparable Joni Mitchell. This song, with Joni's sweet vocals soaring and gliding throughout, describes falling in love from a woman's perspective. The love, the lust, the longing, the works.
Nick Drake - Northern Sky
Nick Drake didn't express happiness or feelings of love too often in his music, but when he did it was every bit as powerful and beautiful as the sorrow he so often did express. A gorgeous song that would enrich any wedding, at any point of the day. We'll let his words say the rest...
I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten my northern sky
The Leisure Society - Love's Enormous Wings
This is taken from their debut album The Sleeper, which features the heartbreaking The Last of the Melting Snow. That song was nominated for a 2009 Ivor Novello Award, for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. At the time its nomination was announced, The Leisure Society were without a record deal, making songwriter Nick Hemming the first ever Novello nominee without a publishing contract.
Love's Enormous Wings closes the record. A chirpily strummed ukulele captures the joyous feeling of falling in love, as Hemming sings "love's enormous wings fly down / engulfing us and all around / I had a heart / she owns it now / I'll get it back some day".
John Prine (feat Iris DeMent) - In Spite of Ourselves
More a country song than a folk song but we make the rules around here. And in any case, we can hardly think of a more heartwarming song about a couple in for the long haul together.
'In Spite of Ourselves' is the story of two imperfect people who, "against all odds", are kind of a perfect couple. He drinks too much and tells corny jokes, she swears too much and likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs. It's a funny and utterly delightful account of how they not only learned to look past each other's flaws, but actually find them endearing. It's a love that will last, as they sing, in spite of themselves.
Check out our Spotify folky playlist below!