We Had Mates of State Fill Out a Wedding DJ's Questionnaire for Valentine's Day

Everyone’s favorite love-it-or-hate-it holiday is quickly approaching. While Valentine’s day can be all about trying to find some cheesy last minute gift to buy your significant other and figuring out where to take them that won’t be filled to the brim with overzealous obnoxious couples, if you’re lucky enough to have someone special in your life, you’re off to a pretty good start. If not, maybe this will be the year you get impaled by the long, pointy shaft of Cupid’s arrow. But whether or not love is in the air for you, indie pop duo Mates of State feel the love—they’ve been together musically and romantically since the late 90s, and married since 2001.

In the spirit of romance, we came up with the idea of having the husband-and-wife pair that is Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, fill out a wedding DJ’s standard questionnaire (the exact one that my wife and I had to fill out for our recent wedding, actually) and the results are really cute. In fact, I almost kind of wish they had DJed my wedding. We got the whole, sweet story of how they fell in love and enough to reimagine what went down at their own wedding, including their self-curated tracklist.

Despite being fully immersed in the ever-so-draining music industry since 1997, as well as having two young children and surviving a few relocations, from Kansas to San Francisco and now Connecticut—one the most lovable couples in music still seem to remain nearly attached at the hip. They are a true declaration of love, and hopefully an inspiration to all of you ungrateful partners out there. Hell, they may even restore your faith in the human race. No pressure.

Seven studio albums later, and an eighth coming this May (their first since 2011’s Mountaintops), Mates will be heading out on an extensive tour kicking off this April, so if you’ve never seen them, or just want to profess your love for their enchanted relationship after reading this questionnaire, you’ll be able to this spring. So here you go, eat your heart out.