Lizbeth's Top Ten Wedding Songs for a BRIDE who wore RED BOOTS

Hi Get Lost in a Story Friends and Family!

I’m so excited to welcome you to the book birthday celebration for my newest release THE BRIDE WORE RED BOOTS. This is the second book in my new Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys series from Avon, and I’m so thrilled with the reception the stories are getting.

Seven Brides  is the chronicle of the Crockett sisters—all heirs to  Paradise Ranch, one of the largest cattle spreads in Wyoming. The only trouble is—once they hit college age, every sister left home and never returned. Each one found success away from the world of cows, horses, ranch life AND cowboys. But when their father dies unexpectedly, they all travel home and each one has to find her reason for staying.

RED BOOTS is oldest sister Amelia’s story. Mia is a hard-driven, exceptionally talented surgeon in New York City. But when an expected promotion isn’t given to her, she takes her red cowboy boots and heads home to Paradise  Ranch. There she runs headlong into Gabriel Harrison, a patient advocate at the Veteran’s hospital where her sister is recuperating after an auto accident.

Gabe pushes all of Mia’s annoyance buttons, but the sparks that fly between them of course lead straight to love. It’s not necessarily a love that solves all their problems. At first.

I’ll be posting some excerpts and different giveaways the next two days. But since these are books about brides (or soon-to-be brides), what more appropriate way to start the wedding celebration than with music?  I want to share my favorite wedding songs with you and find out about yours!

I love wedding music, and I have to admit that I’m still a sucker for some of the most traditional songs out there, especially when it comes to entrances and recessionals. They might border on the corny to some, but I still get goose bumps when I hear Wagner’s Bridal Chorus (aka Here Comes the Bride) at the start of any wedding ceremony. And the same for Mendelssohn’s Wedding March at the end for a recessional.   

But having to “plan” a couple of weddings for my book series has led me to think about the more contemporary songs I love to hear performed during a service. And of course I’ve come up with a list of songs my heroines and their heroes might choose for their weddings. Here are my top ten favorite wedding songs. Hope you enjoy!

10. “Come What May” from the movie Moulin Rouge. This is such an epic tune and just the words make me cry. Everyone should have a love that fits these words. (Click on the link that's underlined in the box if you want to listen to this one!)

9. “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney. Again—this just has such epic love lyrics. I wish Paul had written it for me!

 

8. “I Swear” by John Michael Montgomery. This was pretty cliché at weddings for a while in the early 90s, but listen to the words and you know it could be brought back anytime!

7. “Everything” by Michael Buble. I love this. So upbeat and yet meaningful. This is what lovers/partners should be to each other. (Click on the link that's underlined in the box if you want to listen to this one!)

6. “Longer” by Dan Fogelberg. Another really towering song lyrically. “Deeper than any forest primeval . . .”  You can’t really get much deeper in love than that!

5. “Grow Old With Me” by John Lennon (Mary Chapin Carpenter). I love this song but it’s bittersweet, of course, because John never did have the chance to grow old with his love. Still, the sentiment (taken from a Robert Browning poem) is something we all have when we choose the love of our lives.

 

4. “When I Say I Do” by Matthew West. This is an amazing song that goes directly to the meaning of vows and knowing that you really mean to honor them. It’s pretty much perfect!

3.”Annie’s Song” by John Denver. One of my favorite songs about how love completes and fills you. There’s just something so peaceful that touches my ‘love is forever’ soul. 

2. “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. I have simply fallen in love with this song. It’s so simple. It’s so positive and there’s nothing fake or overwrought about it. It’s just a great counterpoint to all the wonderful but super-serious meaningful songs. This is the “recessional” song I used for the first wedding in Seven Brides. (You’ll find it in Book 3 THE BRIDE WORE STARLIGHT coming out in February!) 

And finally, here is my Number One favorite wedding song of all time:

1. “There Is Love (The Wedding Song)” by Noel Paul Stookey (Paul of Peter, Paul, and Mary). There are so many reasons I love this song and have listed it as number one. It speaks not only to love but to my faith. And most special of all to me, it’s the song my husband and I had sung at our wedding back in 1974. I was just nineteen years old and nobody thought I was old enough to know what I was doing. This song was my way of saying I definitely did—to my family and my groom. And—we’ll be celebrating 41 years this month, so I guess the song was (one of many) good luck charms for us!

 

So there you have it—my top ten. But I’d love to hear your favorites, too. Or tell me what music was performed at your (or a friend’s) wedding that you still love! Today I have an e-copy of Book #1 in this series THE BRIDE WORE DENIM for one lucky commenter!

And here are links to THE BRIDE WORE RED BOOTS--Hope you enjoy!!

AMAZON   B&N    iTUNES    KOBO

CHECK OUT THE GIVEAWAY:
Book Birthday, Book Birthday! It's release day for THE BRIDE WORE RED BOOTS (in case I haven't bugged you enough about it --here it is again!) As an added bonus--today is also the PAPERBACK release day for THE BRIDE WORE DENIM. It's a 2-brides Birthday! Let's celebrate with a two-book giveaway! I have a special surprise signed Avon book by one of your fave Avon authors -- oh, okay, it's one of Jennifer Bernard's fabulous Bachelor Fireman books: Four Weddings and a Fireman! Plus a brand new signed paperback of The Bride Wore Denim from me smile emoticon Tell me what the best (or most unique) birthday party you've ever been to!