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how to create your wedding music program
While wedding ceremonies vary tremendously, there are certain parts that always go better with music. Unless you are a musician, however, it can be
very hard to determine what music can and should be played! Here we will try to demystify the process of selecting ceremony music and get you
started in the planning process.
The prelude is generally light background music chosen by the
musicians in accordance with the overall ambience of the moment. As
guests arrive and mill about before the ceremony begins, we find that a
mood of relaxed elegance is usually called for. You are welcome to
indicate a few favorite pieces and we will incorporate them. Most
ceremonies don’t start exactly on time, so we are prepared to play
enough background music to fill the necessary time until the
processionals start, rather than planning a strict “set list”.
The ceremony itself has several parts that you’ll need to choose music
for, including:
• Seating of parents/honored guests and procession of
attendants (one or more pieces depending on the number of
participants)
• Entrance of the bride (usually a separate piece, but can be
included in the entire processional if you desire)
• Interlude music where applicable - usually for Unity Candle,
rememberance, communion, or similar event.
• Recessional/exit music
After the recessional, we often play what we call “post-lude” music as
guests are departing the ceremony area. Like the prelude music, we
usually choose a few pieces ourselves that are similar in style to the
recessional.
choosing the pieces
So many possibilities! The first step is to narrow the field. The first
question to ask yourself is:
• Do I want the traditional “Here Comes the Bride”?
If yes, then the rest of your ceremony music should be similarly
traditional and you’ll likely have a very easy time choosing it.
If not, then you’ll need to decide from one of the following styles of
processional:
1. Elegant and lyrical
2. Stately and march-like
3. Contemporary/non-classical
A few examples of the Elegant-Lyrical type of processional:
“Jesu, joy of man’s desiring” - Bach
“Canon in D” - Pachelbel
“Wachet Auf” - Bach
A few examples of the Stately/March-like type of processional:
“Trumpet Voluntary” - Clarke
“Rondeau” - Mouret
Once you’ve determined which type of processional you favor,
consult the repertoire list for classical
ceremony selections that are tried and true. If you’re not familiar with
classical music, now’s the time to listen to
demo clips, or get on YouTube and search for good renditions of each
tune. If you’d prefer to depart from classical music entirely, then your
selection may not even be on our repertoire list at all. You’ll want to
consult with us to determine if it’s playable, and we may have to
charge extra for a special arrangement. If you have a great song in
mind, it’s probably worth it!
Here are a few examples of Contemporary/Non-Classical special
request songs that we have recently played instrumentally as
processionals or recessional - all of which were fantastic.
“Each Coming Night” - Iron & Wine
“Say Yes” - Elliott Smith
“We’re Going To Be Friends” - the White Stripes
“Viva La Vida” - Coldplay
our two cents
After accompanying hundreds of wedding ceremonies and seeing a lot
of things go really well and a few things not work out so well, we have
a few suggestions for your consideration, which we hope will help in
the design of a seamless ceremony:
• If your bridal party is under 6 people (including flower girls/ring
bearers) and your parents/honored guests who will be part of the
processional number less than 4, then we strongly advise choosing
only one piece of music to accompany all of them down the aisle.
The only advisable exceptions to this would be if the mothers will be
lighting large candelabras immediately after coming down the aisle,
OR if the distance of the processional is very long (more than 150 ft).
• For those of you who lean toward the non-traditional, we highly
recommend bending to tradition just slightly and using a fairly
recognizable traditional piece for the parents/attendants’
processional. Your guests will likely be listenting for something
they’ve heard before, and this will help minimize confusion and/or
astonishment. Also, if you’re using a contemporary song for the
entrance of the bride, preceding it with a traditional piece will give the
contemporary song greater impact and memorability.
• When using two separate pieces for parents and attendants, many
couples are inclined toward a more up-tempo selection for the
attendants; this is a fine idea, however, we advise against using a
march-like piece, as it will diminish the impact of the bride’s entrance.
• Consult with your officiant to determine which points during the
ceremony, if any, will require music. Most commonly, we are asked
to play a very short and lyrical piece during the lighting of a unity
candle, when this is part of the ceremony. We have a number of
selections that can be logically brought to a cadence in under one
minute. We will need a detailed outline of the ceremony so we know
when to play any interlude music; if you have one, a copy of a printed
ceremony program is sufficient.
• For the recessional, we need to know whether we should start
immediately after the kiss, or after the breaking of the glass, or after
the introduction. Most often, this is what we see:
- Pronouncement: “I now prounounce you ....”
- Kiss, followed by much applause
- Introduction: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. ________ !” -
more applause, and we start the recessional at the apex of that second
round of applause.