Choosing Wedding Ceremony Music

“Here Comes the Bride” is far from your only option when it comes to wedding music. This is another great chance to personalize your wedding.

Choosing musicians:

If you want live music for your reception, try to contact musicians at least two months before the wedding- more if it is during peak season. Your least expensive option will probably be a solo performer, often a violinist, acoustic guitar player, or harpist. Any good musician will provide samples of their music and a list of all possible tunes; with enough leeway time, they may also be able to accommodate a request for a song they don’t know.

Processional:

The processional is the song the bridal party walks into. It can be anything from Chopin to the Beatles, but it should be a specific song, so that the bridesmaid and bride don’t miss their cue to enter. It may also help if the song has a recognizable, walkable rhythm, so that people can stride up the aisle in style.

 Music during the ceremony:

Some couples may want a special song performed during silent activities, such as while they light a Unity candle or take Communion. Music during the ceremony is a good way to keep the atmosphere relaxed while there are activities that don’t involve talking. You could also use a special song or performance instead of a wedding reading.

 Recessional:

Like the processional, this song is meant to get the bridal party down the aisle- in the opposite direction. These songs tend to be a little more upbeat and joyful than processionals, and can include classical, religious, or popular music. Chances are, you will be too giddy to be paying attention at this point, so don’t stress over this one!

There are millions of websites that will tell you what the “popular” tunes are for the ceremony, but you’d have to spend approximately $7 jillion to buy all of those songs and listen to them. Use a legal music website like Grooveshark.com to listen to full versions of nearly ANY song for free, or use a service like Pandora.com to suggest similar tunes if you hear something you like, but that isn’t quite perfect. This can save you a lot of time and sure beats trying to guess if you’d like the rest of the song from a 30-second sample.