Wedding Ceremony Music
Can my wedding location restrict what music I use during my ceremony?
Your wedding location will definitely play a part in restricting what music you play or what kind of music you have at your wedding. If you are in an outdoor space in a residential neighborhood, you're going to have a time cut-off for amplified music. There will be certain restrictions in the laws of your city that will not allow you to play amplified music after 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock at night - even on a Saturday. So that's something that you really want to check when you're booking your wedding location. Make sure that you can have the music you want at the time that you want. At other venues, you could have a restriction on their power. Perhaps you have a big band but they don't have enough power to support that. That's something that you really want to look into, too.
What is 'prelude' music in my wedding ceremony?
The prelude music is the music that's played as the guests are arriving and gathering for the wedding ceremony. Generally speaking, if you have live musicians, you might have a guitar and flute, or you might have a violinist. That music would generally be classical music, although very often brides and grooms ask for it to be a light blues or jazz sound.
When should the prelude start at my wedding ceremony?
The prelude music begins approximately half an hour before the wedding ceremony is expected to begin, because that's when your guests start arriving, and you don't want people arriving into a space that's just dead air. You want some music to fill your space, and it gives it a very lovely atmosphere to do that. For a 5:00 wedding, you want your prelude music to start approximately 4:30 or 4:45 and continue until you are ready to begin your wedding processional.
What is 'processional' music at my wedding ceremony?
Processional music is the music that is played as the wedding party is walking down the aisle. It can be whatever the bride and groom choose. Very often it's classical music; however, I've had lots of brides and grooms choose things that are much more contemporary.
When should the processional music start at my wedding?
Your processional music will begin when your wedding processional is ready to begin. Many times what we like to do if everyone is walking down the aisle, is send clergy or the officiate first because that gives the wedding guests a heads up: "Oh, we're starting." Or it would begin when, in the church, the clergy comes in from the side and walks onto the altar.
How many music selections should I choose for my wedding processional?
The number of musical selections for the wedding processional is very dependent on what you like. If you have a large wedding party, you may want to choose two different melodies; perhaps one for the parents to be escorted in, and then perhaps a second one for the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. Or you can choose just one piece of music for those people. The music should always change for the bride; she should have her own special music.
What types of processional music should I play at my wedding?
Many brides will choose classical music. Very popular processional music pieces are: melodies by Bach, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the Water Music, Air, things like that. They're very beautiful melodies. I personally like music that has a beautiful melody, but is not such a recognizable tune with words. I don't like it when the guests are humming to themselves, or doing the words to themselves as the people are walking in, because I like the guests to be paying attention to the people, and not to be trying to think of the words to the song.
What is 'recessional' music in my wedding ceremony?
The recessional music is the music that's played after the wedding ceremony is over. The bride and groom turn and kiss, and then immediately we have music for everybody to walk back down the aisle. While the entry music and the processional should be somewhat slow and stately, because that's the beginning of the ceremony, at the end everybody's happy. They're joyful, the wedding's over, and the recessional music should be very peppy and upbeat.
What types of recessional music should I play at my wedding?
The recessional music should definitely be an upbeat, peppier tune than the music for the processional. It can be whatever the bride and groom choose. The very traditional thing is Mendelssohn's Wedding March and that's very upbeat. Many brides and grooms choose something for the recessional wedding music that is personal to them because the ceremony is over and they don't feel the need to be so classical. I had one couple decide to walk down the aisle afterwards to the theme from Star Wars because that was their favorite music.
