Perfect Wedding Playlist (For a Cool Couple)

The fact that Peter Gabriel covered the Magnetic Fields’ ‘Book of Love’ is a testament to its rightful place in the canon of classic love songs. Of course, the acoustic ballad wouldn’t belong in the band’s three-disc '69 Love Songs’ -- or its entire catalog, for that matter -- if it weren’t a little quirky, which is exactly what makes it the perfect addition to any indie couple’s wedding playlist. In less than three minutes, Stephen Merrit packs in plenty of lovely sentiment, but true to form, he opens the song with his signature oddball style: “The book of love is long and boring / No one can lift the damn thing.”

Even ultra-hip couples need to take a break from all of the dreary love songs for a few upbeat songs they can actually cut a rug to -- that’s where this Grouplove hit comes into play. Bursting at the seams with its own gleefulness, this tune would be the perfect party starter for the reception.

Between Robert Smith’s pained vocals and heartfelt lyrics promising forever, this Cure song is a must-have for indie nuptials -- even for the diehard Cure fans who turn up their noses at this, the Cure’s most popular and well-known hit, in favor of the band’s deeper, more obscure cuts. We still think they’d sway the night away to this classic.

Indie-rock fans still broken-hearted over the dissolution of the White Stripes would undoubtedly want to pay tribute to Jack and Meg White on their wedding day -- and what better song than their breakthrough hit, ‘Fell in Love with a Girl’? If you can set aside the song’s hints at cheating and focus on its fun, not quite two-minute urgency, this song would get everyone in attendance on their feet.

Cat Power’s sparse, brooding cover of ‘Sea of Love’ -- originally by John Philip Baptiste -- was immortalized by another famous indie couple: Ellen Page and Michael Cera in the 2007 film, ‘Juno.’ We think engaged hipsters would want to follow their lead and include Chan Marshall’s sweet ballad on the playlist for their big day.

Though there is still debate as to whether Lou Reed wrote ‘Perfect Day’ about his first wife or his addiction to heroin, we think any soon-to-be-married indie fans would want this piano-driven ballad on their wedding playlist as the perfect summation of the day: “It’s such a perfect day / I’m glad I spent it with you.”

Wilco’s spaced-out rocker, ‘I’m the Man Who Loves You,’ would make for a rollicking sing-along at the reception. It would give the groom a chance to profess his love by singing along with Jeff Tweedy’s alt-country warble: “If I could you know I would / Just hold your hand and you’d understand / I’m the man who loves you.”

Bright Eyes’ ‘First Day of My Life’ is one of the band’s most popular songs, undoubtedly due to the fact it’s one of Conor Oberst’s least melancholy, most earnest -- and downright optimistic -- tunes. We think the alt-country singer-songwriter’s declaration, “I think I was blind before I met you,” is bound to make any indie couple a bit teary-eyed.

Amidst heartfelt professions of love, you’ll want to inject the soundtrack with some fun -- and She & Him’s cheery ‘I Was Made for You’ is up to the task. It’s a simple message, one that’ll fit in with the day’s theme, but Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s country-tinged indie-pop diddy would be the perfect reprieve from all of the moody ballads.

Frank Ocean’s masterful noir R&B would make excellent slow dance material for an indie wedding. The ultra-cool opener to his 2012 ‘Channel Orange,’ ‘Thinkin Bout You’ offers up Ocean’s impressive falsetto and moody crooning as he appropriately sings, “I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout forever.”