 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Planning Your Wedding Music
After talking to hundreds of brides we see a range of experiences with
music but generally, everyone needs help figuring out the kind of
music they’d like for their wedding, finding performers and
coordinating all the planning. Many couples are starting from scratch
have family members giving them guidance or actually doing the
planning something like this and don’t know where to start. Others
have family members giving them guidance or actually doing the
about in planning wedding music to suit your needs.
Start planning the music at least 6 months in advance. If you are
getting married in the busiest wedding seasons, particularly May-June
you might find the musicians you want already booked. Here in
Asheville, North Carolina the fall is also a busy wedding season as
many couples come to the mountains specifically for their wedding
around the peak fall leaf season (October). Other areas of the
country may have busy seasons as well so think about your location
and be sure you have enough time to find the musicians you want.
As mentioned above, the location may determine how busy wedding
vendors are. But when thinking of live music, the location may also
determine the type of music you might have available. If you are
getting married on top of a mountain you won’t get a piano up there!
A solo performer like a guitarist or ensemble with very portable
instruments (flute, violin) may work. Some churches are specific in
the type of music they allow (no secular music) while others have
fewer restrictions. Some locations may have specific musicians they
recommend or require a booking fee included in the contract with
musicians. Talk to your contact at the location you have chosen to
see any requirements they may have. Some hotels, inns and
restaurants will give you a list of local musicians to contact while
others may leave you on your own.
While there is a lot of tradition associated with weddings, every one
does not have to include the Wagner Bridal March (Here Comes the
Bride) and the Mendelssohn Bridal Chorus (There Goes the Bride)!
There are many other familiar classical pieces to choose from which
are frequently included in wedding ceremonies. Suggestions will be
listed at the end of this page.
Today, people are buying CDs and books of wedding music and
searching the Internet for suggestions. However, choosing music that
way is often difficult. It may or may not be in your musician’s
repertoire and it might not suit their instruments. A harpist cannot do
much with the Halleluiah Chorus and a solo violinist cannot do a
symphony. Most musicians who play for weddings regularly will have
a demo tape for you to listen to. These include short segments of
music they already know to give you ideas for your wedding. There
may be an extra charge for musicians to learn new music and they will
have time requirements. Don’t expect them to find music and learn
new pieces at the last minute. The musicians you have chosen can
tell you what their instruments can do and what would be the right
combination of music and performers for your wedding.
In our area, we generally play for 20 to 30 minutes before a wedding
This sets the mood and keeps people’s attention as you are getting
everything ready. It also helps fill in when things are delayed.
Hopefully, your wedding won’t be too delayed but things happen. It is
great to be able to have the wedding director cue the musicians about
any delays so they can fill in with other music. It’s usually a matter of
5 to 10 minute delays because guests have arrived late or the flower
girl refuses to walk up the aisle. Pre-wedding music specifics are
generally determined by the repertoire of your musicians. They can
learn a new song or two for you but generally can’t learn a new
repertoire every weekend. Give them ideas of the type of music you’d
like or choose from their song list. Save your energy for the important
choices.
Starting time: Some people try to plan the exact time specific pieces
will be played. However, there are always things that change the day
of the wedding. You can’t control when all the guests will be in there
place as people get lost or delayed. It seems to work best for me to
arrange a starting time for pre-wedding music and then have the
wedding director cue me when to start the special selections. That
way, if things are running late, I know to keep playing pre-wedding
music until things are ready. Sometimes I arrange a hand signal for
the director to give me from the back of the church to let me know
things are late.
Brides often pick a song to be played as their Moms or Grandmothers
are seated. This is generally the beginning of the special music
choices. Seating of Mothers, Grandmothers, other special people
Lighting of unity candle or other candles may be before or during the
ceremony. I’ve played for a number of weddings where the two sets
of parents lit candles just before the wedding began. This can be
during the general pre-wedding music.
For the processional consider how many couples are in your wedding
party. For small weddings, you may pick one piece of music to be
played for the entrance of the entire wedding party (minister, groom,
groomsmen, bridesmaids and bride). If you have a longer distance to
walk or more than say, 3 couples, you might want to pick a separate
piece of music for the rest of the wedding party and something
different for the bride. You can then have a contrast in type of music
as the bride enters. You don’t have to worry about timing how fast to
walk or total time for the bridal party to enter. If you pick music that
can be prolonged or ended fairly easily, the musician can usually
watch the wedding party and wrap up the music after people are in
their places. This works best since timing doesn’t usually work when
everyone is under pressure the day of the wedding. The musician
just needs cues from the wedding director or any designated
individual as to when to start the various pieces of music.
Many people do not use any additional special music during the
service but that is up to you. Some people have family members sing
or perform special pieces, others want professional singers
performing classic pieces (Ave Maria, Lord’s Prayer). In most
instances, this is up to you. There are, however, some churches that
will specify the types of music allowed or want to review your
selections.
For recessional music I usually meet with the minister and find out the
very last thing he/she will say. (I introduce…You may kiss…) I
usually suggest some lively piece to be played as the whole bridal
party exits. Things usually move pretty fast at this point. If you want
to have ushers walk special people, like grandparents and parents,
out afterwards, the musician may play throughout this period.
Most musicians charge an additional fee to attend rehearsals. It is
time they could be performing somewhere else. Generally, I have
found I had nothing to do at rehearsals since so many other things
were being worked out. Discuss with your musician if this would be
something useful. If not, save yourself some money and plan by
phone, email or in person. You can select music by reviewing demo
tapes or meeting with the musician. Then plan the specifics of your
ceremony and review the sequence of music and any special
considerations.
music but generally, everyone needs help figuring out the kind of
music they’d like for their wedding, finding performers and
coordinating all the planning. Many couples are starting from scratch
have family members giving them guidance or actually doing the
planning something like this and don’t know where to start. Others
have family members giving them guidance or actually doing the
about in planning wedding music to suit your needs.
Start planning the music at least 6 months in advance. If you are
getting married in the busiest wedding seasons, particularly May-June
you might find the musicians you want already booked. Here in
Asheville, North Carolina the fall is also a busy wedding season as
many couples come to the mountains specifically for their wedding
around the peak fall leaf season (October). Other areas of the
country may have busy seasons as well so think about your location
and be sure you have enough time to find the musicians you want.
As mentioned above, the location may determine how busy wedding
vendors are. But when thinking of live music, the location may also
determine the type of music you might have available. If you are
getting married on top of a mountain you won’t get a piano up there!
A solo performer like a guitarist or ensemble with very portable
instruments (flute, violin) may work. Some churches are specific in
the type of music they allow (no secular music) while others have
fewer restrictions. Some locations may have specific musicians they
recommend or require a booking fee included in the contract with
musicians. Talk to your contact at the location you have chosen to
see any requirements they may have. Some hotels, inns and
restaurants will give you a list of local musicians to contact while
others may leave you on your own.
While there is a lot of tradition associated with weddings, every one
does not have to include the Wagner Bridal March (Here Comes the
Bride) and the Mendelssohn Bridal Chorus (There Goes the Bride)!
There are many other familiar classical pieces to choose from which
are frequently included in wedding ceremonies. Suggestions will be
listed at the end of this page.
Today, people are buying CDs and books of wedding music and
searching the Internet for suggestions. However, choosing music that
way is often difficult. It may or may not be in your musician’s
repertoire and it might not suit their instruments. A harpist cannot do
much with the Halleluiah Chorus and a solo violinist cannot do a
symphony. Most musicians who play for weddings regularly will have
a demo tape for you to listen to. These include short segments of
music they already know to give you ideas for your wedding. There
may be an extra charge for musicians to learn new music and they will
have time requirements. Don’t expect them to find music and learn
new pieces at the last minute. The musicians you have chosen can
tell you what their instruments can do and what would be the right
combination of music and performers for your wedding.
In our area, we generally play for 20 to 30 minutes before a wedding
This sets the mood and keeps people’s attention as you are getting
everything ready. It also helps fill in when things are delayed.
Hopefully, your wedding won’t be too delayed but things happen. It is
great to be able to have the wedding director cue the musicians about
any delays so they can fill in with other music. It’s usually a matter of
5 to 10 minute delays because guests have arrived late or the flower
girl refuses to walk up the aisle. Pre-wedding music specifics are
generally determined by the repertoire of your musicians. They can
learn a new song or two for you but generally can’t learn a new
repertoire every weekend. Give them ideas of the type of music you’d
like or choose from their song list. Save your energy for the important
choices.
Starting time: Some people try to plan the exact time specific pieces
will be played. However, there are always things that change the day
of the wedding. You can’t control when all the guests will be in there
place as people get lost or delayed. It seems to work best for me to
arrange a starting time for pre-wedding music and then have the
wedding director cue me when to start the special selections. That
way, if things are running late, I know to keep playing pre-wedding
music until things are ready. Sometimes I arrange a hand signal for
the director to give me from the back of the church to let me know
things are late.
Brides often pick a song to be played as their Moms or Grandmothers
are seated. This is generally the beginning of the special music
choices. Seating of Mothers, Grandmothers, other special people
Lighting of unity candle or other candles may be before or during the
ceremony. I’ve played for a number of weddings where the two sets
of parents lit candles just before the wedding began. This can be
during the general pre-wedding music.
For the processional consider how many couples are in your wedding
party. For small weddings, you may pick one piece of music to be
played for the entrance of the entire wedding party (minister, groom,
groomsmen, bridesmaids and bride). If you have a longer distance to
walk or more than say, 3 couples, you might want to pick a separate
piece of music for the rest of the wedding party and something
different for the bride. You can then have a contrast in type of music
as the bride enters. You don’t have to worry about timing how fast to
walk or total time for the bridal party to enter. If you pick music that
can be prolonged or ended fairly easily, the musician can usually
watch the wedding party and wrap up the music after people are in
their places. This works best since timing doesn’t usually work when
everyone is under pressure the day of the wedding. The musician
just needs cues from the wedding director or any designated
individual as to when to start the various pieces of music.
Many people do not use any additional special music during the
service but that is up to you. Some people have family members sing
or perform special pieces, others want professional singers
performing classic pieces (Ave Maria, Lord’s Prayer). In most
instances, this is up to you. There are, however, some churches that
will specify the types of music allowed or want to review your
selections.
For recessional music I usually meet with the minister and find out the
very last thing he/she will say. (I introduce…You may kiss…) I
usually suggest some lively piece to be played as the whole bridal
party exits. Things usually move pretty fast at this point. If you want
to have ushers walk special people, like grandparents and parents,
out afterwards, the musician may play throughout this period.
Most musicians charge an additional fee to attend rehearsals. It is
time they could be performing somewhere else. Generally, I have
found I had nothing to do at rehearsals since so many other things
were being worked out. Discuss with your musician if this would be
something useful. If not, save yourself some money and plan by
phone, email or in person. You can select music by reviewing demo
tapes or meeting with the musician. Then plan the specifics of your
ceremony and review the sequence of music and any special
considerations.
| Be sure you have enough time to find the musicians you want. |
| Talk to your contact at the location you have chosen to see any requirements they may have. |
| Performers can play as the guests are arriving. |
| .director cue musicians to start the special selections. |
| Seating of Mothers, Grandmothers and other special people is generally done at the beginning of the special music choices |
| For the processional consider how many couples are in your wedding party. |
| Additional special music during the ceremony is up to you and your place of worship. |
| relax and enjoy the party! |
| Be sure someone has been identified who will give cues the day of the wedding and convey any change of plans. |
| planning wedding music |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Interested in harp or hammered dulcimer music for your wedding? Here are suggestions to help plan your wedding music. |
The harp and hammered dulcimer are excellent instruments to
consider for wedding music. The instruments can be performed solo or
with various ensembles. Harpist, Donna Germano will be glad to help
you plan your ceremony music. Donna also performs with the
hammered dulcimer which makes an unusual alternative to instruments
traditionally chosen for wedding music.
consider for wedding music. The instruments can be performed solo or
with various ensembles. Harpist, Donna Germano will be glad to help
you plan your ceremony music. Donna also performs with the
hammered dulcimer which makes an unusual alternative to instruments
traditionally chosen for wedding music.