Beatles or Rolling Stones

Let's think about this like a wedding planner would, because that's the actual question. A wedding crowd runs from a four-year-old to a great-grandmother. The Beatles are one of the few catalogs that works for all of them. Grandma knows All You Need Is Love. Your cousin who only listens to indie knows Here Comes the Sun. The kids can shout along to Hey Jude, and nobody has to be taught the na-na-nas. Now look at the song titles. The Beatles gave us I Want to Hold Your Hand, In My Life, and Something. Those are songs people have actually walked down aisles to. The Stones gave us Paint It Black, Gimme Shelter, and Under My Thumb. Great records. Not what you want playing while you cut the cake. Satisfaction is a song about not getting what you want, which is a bold pick for the first dance. There's also the practical side. Beatles songs run short, mostly two to three minutes, so a band can pack a lot into a set and keep the dance floor moving. They also range from slow ballads to full-tilt rockers like Twist and Shout, so the band can read the room and adjust. That matters when Uncle Dave has just discovered the open bar. I like the Stones. But a wedding isn't a concert for the couple's taste in swagger. It's a long day where you want everyone singing together. For that job, the Beatles win.