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If you're going to do the traditional mother-son dance, you'll need to be considering just your musical options, and as you do you'll want to take mom into account. No fair forcing her to dance to music that you forced on her as a teen (which we're pretty sure you've outgrown by now anyway, right?). Nor should you be trying to get her to groove to stuff you love which leaves her cold.

Though there's room for musical compromise, the odds are good that you'll be dancing to something that sits firmly on the "Oldies" section of the shelf. And that's all right. Cool and cutting-edge though you may be, if there's a time to trip the very traditional fantastic, the mother-son dance is it. Besides, that oldies stuff is generally pretty easy to dance to, which could save you both a heap of embarrassment. We doubt you and mom have spent many hours dancing together, at least not since she gave you a few pointers the night before your Senior Prom.

Okay, guys, it's your turn. Will you be having a mother-son dance? And if so, what music have you chosen, or are you considering?

Of course you want to have music at your reception. Who doesn't? The biggest question is whether you want to have a live band, or a DJ. Which will it be?

A live band is great. It can provide a sophisticated, upscale feel at your reception. Who doesn't love a live band? But be careful. Ask yourself the following:

• Do they play the type of music you and your guests will like?
• Do they have a large enough repertoire to satisfy you and your guests?
• Is your reception venue big enough to accommodate a band?
• Will a band fit your budget?

A DJ can provide great entertainment, too. And with the right DJ, you'll have a wider range of music than with a band. Can a band go from country to funk to soul, if that's what you want? A DJ can. But before you decide, think about these things:

• Do you want a DJ who just plays music and that's it, or do you want a "personality" to entertain the guests?
• Will a DJ play the music you want, or just what he likes?
• Will a DJ fit your budget?
• If you tell her NOT to play the chicken dance, will she listen?

There is no wrong choice when it comes to a band vs. a DJ. It just comes down to what works for you.

Image: tanjazz (CC)

This week it was all about the theme wedding. Renaissance weddings, to be exact. Let's take a look at what we've found for you:

Choosing the music for your wedding can be just as difficult and fraught with tension as anything else you have to decide on. There are any number of beautiful, traditional pieces of wedding music to choose from, but what if you just don't want the standard 'weddingy' tunes?

What if you're having a non-religious ceremony? You know that you want something emotive, perhaps, soul-stirring and uplifting, or maybe just a very pretty tune. What is suitable?

We've put together a few pieces of non-bridal music that are still perfect for a wedding.

• Beethoven's Pathetique sonata - a simple and elegant piano piece
• The theme song from True Romance - You're So Cool by Hans Zimmer - it's hauntingly beautiful.
• Somewhere over the rainbow - an acoustic version would be very moving.
• All You Need is Love by the Beatles - remember that scene in the movie Love Actually? Wonderful! What a 'memory moment' and fabulous music too.
• What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong - played on the saxophone, this is very stirring - there won't be a dry eye amongst your guests. Listen to a version here, on You Tube.
  

Tip 1: Good instruments would be: classical guitar, the ukulele and the saxophone

Tip 2: Check with your family to make sure they don't have any major requests, and avoid a family crisis!

Dear AisleDash,

I've picked out a song that I really want to use in my wedding when I walk down the aisle. It's a popular song with lyrics, so I know that's not really traditional, but it would mean a lot to me to use this song. The problem is that the song is almost four minutes long, and no matter how slowly I walk, I can't make my walk last more than a minute or so. Should we just start the song, walk really slowly, and then stand up at the front with my fiance until the song is over? How do I work around this problem?

~L.B.

Dear L.B.,

Lots of people use popular music these days in their weddings. If you play this song before the wedding begins, or as your recessional instead of your processional, you can play the whole song with no problem. If it is important to you to use as your processional specifically, then I'd suggest one of two simple solutions:

You could start the song as your attendants start walking down the aisle. Between their walk time and yours, you can use most of the song so that people aren't just standing around waiting for it to finish up after everyone makes it to the front.

Alternatively, you could simply have your sound person fade the song out when you make it to the front. Pick the one-minute part of the song you like best and instruct your sound tech to play that part of it. Of course you can play the whole thing and stand at the front waiting for it to finish up, but I think that would be sort of awkward.

Do you have a question for Ask AisleDash? Use the Contact AisleDash link at the top of the page, or leave it in the comments section. And be sure to look for our answers every Thursday.

The Renaissance was a time of huge cultural leaps. Literature, architecture, painting, and of course, music. The couple planning a Renaissance wedding has a huge range of choice. You can choose Renaissance music performed on modern instruments; you can find musicians who play on period instruments. If you're not sure what the music sounds like, you can click over to YouTube, and listen to some of their many examples.

A good way to find musicians to perform period music is to check out the many Renaissance fairs. You don't have to attend them, though you certainly can if you wish! For those who love the Renaissance, what could be a better way to spend a summer day than wandering a "Faire" and listening to the music?

However, if you can't get to a fair, a quick Google search will reveal dozens of Renaissance fairs. Go to the fair's website, and see which musicians are listed, and then find the musicians' websites. There you can usually hear samples of their work. (Isn't the internet a marvellous thing?)

All of us at AisleDash find creative inspiration from other Web sites and entertaining blogs on the Internet, as there are some true and talented gems out there to draw from. One blog I frequent for it's originality, intense and incredible color palettes and true creativity is Hostess with the Mostess (www.HostessBlog.com). The brains behind the brilliance, Jenn Sbranti, recently (and graciously!) took some time to answer a few questions that should help all brides-to-be and party planners for the upcoming wedding and entertaining seasons.

What are some up-and-coming themes in entertaining that you see emerging? For instance, we featured a pink-and-brown week on AisleDash.com, which has been a hot color-combination in weddings (and parties) for some time now, but what are some color combos or new themes that our readers might be pleasantly surprised to see in the coming seasons?

I'm starting to see a lot of color palettes featuring jet-black combined with a bright contrast color. Some of my favorite examples include yellow, aqua, lime green or coral-red paired with black. These color combos are especially great for summer because the bright element creates a playful, summery feel, and the black adds a chic, elegant factor that's perfect for special occasions like weddings and evening cocktail or dinner parties

Whether you, the bridal couple, need it not, your guests will want to give you a present. So how do you avoid being on the receiving end of a bunch of unwanted items? You could ask for cash but that can be a bit awkward.

For UK brides and grooms, there is a nicer way of asking your guests to dole out a wad of bank notes. It's called The Bottom Drawer.

This is how it works:

• You register with them, then direct your guests to the website.
• Guests can then choose to donate money to a specific item on your gift list.
• There are six categories of gifts for you to choose from, including paying towards a new kitchen, or your honeymoon.
  
• Guests choose a category on your list and make a payment

Wednesday Wedding Wrap-up is a weekly roundup of highlights from the past week, covering wedding blogs and websites, reality TV, even particularly hot scoop right here at AisleDash. Think we missed something? Leave your favorite highlight in the comments!

Manolo for the Brides evaluates the pros and cons of a destination wedding. What, you thought getting married in an exotic location was without its flaws?

Bridalwave tosses around some alternative first dance songs, none of which made the cut for the couple in question, but it might give you some ideas.

Hostess with the Mostess has a fabulous idea for centerpieces -- blumeboxes with ribbons. You can personalize them in lots of different ways to ensure they're perfect for your wedding (and they're affordable and reusable, so give them to guests or take them home at the end!).

This last week, we brought you a slew of kid-friendly wedding ideas.

Leah Wood (daughter of the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood) is getting married to television producer Jack McDonald later this month, and you'll never guess who is performing -- or maybe you will -- the Rolling Stones, naturally!

However, that's not the wedding entertainment that's making news.

Apparently, Ronnie has the wedding planners searching for dwarves, both male and female but shorter than four feet, who will dress up and act as "mischievous, giggling little imps." The inspiration for the, uh, unusual theme is Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a sprite who made a great deal of mischief. The hired dwarves will be asked to perform acts like stealing hats and leaping out of bushes to startle guests, but will be required to sign confidentiality agreements so that they can't tell any of the guests' secrets.

Whether it's being based on Shakespeare or not, we're not sure this is a terribly appropriate choice -- is it just us or does it seem more than a little politically incorrect?

If you've decided to have children at your wedding, you're going to need to provide some kind of entertainment to keep those little hands and minds busy. There a number of ways to keep kids amused and one that we really like is the "I Do" wedding activity pack from Kid Friendly Weddings.

There are two main options available, The Pak , at $6.50 and the SAK at $11.50. Both include the I DO activity book, which is packed with wedding related games, puzzles and activities. It's certainly enough to keep a child busy for quite a while and we love that the activities are wedding-themed.

The bags are available in a clear frosted gift sack. or you can choose a unique, handcrafted bag from one of their wedding themes available: Beach, Garden, Fairytale, Autumn, Winter.

There's something for almost every age-group, so you're guaranteed to have a bunch of happy, busy kids flexing their creative muscles. (And their parents will thank you too!)

According to The Knot, one of the big trends this year is to let your guests vote on things for your wedding, much along the lines of the Today Show's Race to the Altar. We're slightly skeptical.

If you're doing this on a television show, cost is irrelevant because the show is footing the bill. However, for the rest of us (at least those of us without supremely deep pockets), price is a consideration -- one that guests might not take into account. You could certainly only give them inexpensive options to vote on, but still, if they choose the most expensive for everything you let them vote on, you could bust your budget.

A cute way to keep the kids entertained at your wedding is to let them decorate a cake. No, not a real cake, of course, but a fake wedding cake from Twinkle Kids. The cake is made of white wool felt and comes in a kit form.

The kit includes 50 felt decorations in keeping with a specific 'theme'. For example, there is a Jack and the Beanstalk cake (see above), a Garden Cake, Space Cake, Ocean Cake and Heart Cake, so you could choose different designs for girls and boys. Priced at $59 per cake it doesn't come cheap but then what price can you put on keeping the kids occupied and happy?

The cake's dimension are 8" round and 6" tall and arrives in a white cake box tied with bakery twine.

If that strikes you as being just a bit too expensive, there are also the Baby Cakes, which are smaller and have only 20 decorations ( slightly less interesting designs as well) and is priced at $24.

It's a nifty idea and, as a reward for making a cake they can't actually eat, why not give them these Flower Pops - which they can gobble down after the activity, or take home as a little memento.