A typical Christian wedding can be divided into four main sections: the ceremony, pre-meal drinks, wedding breakfast, and evening reception.
About half of the weddings we perform at have the ceremony in a church, so this means that if they do require us to provide live music it will be during the drinks and before the meal and the wedding breakfast, then the evening reception. Everyone's requirements are different so do feel free to discuss any special preferences with us.
As far as the choice of specific pieces of music is concerned, the only part of the wedding that you really have to think about is the wedding ceremony.
A church wedding is easier from the music point of view in that you very seldom have to provide someone to perform your choice of music--unlike the civil ceremony. However, a church service is very straight forward - you'll be able to discuss everything down to the finest detail with the relevant cleric and the resident organist if there is one.
One thing that has become popular over recent years is the civil wedding ceremony and I think that this is the reason that more and more musicians are booked for weddings each year. At one time you had to go to a registry office to have a civil ceremony. Things have changed as many hotels and other venues have been able to apply for a license to hold marriage ceremonies on their own premises. The main advantage of a civil wedding in a hotel is that everything to do with the marriage can be carried out at the same place. That means less travelling and less hassle for everyone. Even though you will have to arrange the music for a civil ceremony yourself there is an added bonus in that if you choose live music for the service, the musicians can provide music for the pre-meal drinks and for the wedding breakfast itself. Your specific choices of music should be discussed with us well before the event and we can also help to provide you with some ideas. If you don't want to pick each individual piece of music for the proceedings then just give us an idea of the style of music you would like or maybe a composer. For a civil ceremony you can have any music you want as long as neither the title or the lyrics have any reference to religion. Many couples prefer to have a classical piece for the ceremony and to have something lighter for the rest of the day. Eugene is classically trained and can advise on some beautiful classical pieces if you need ideas.
The civil ceremony has four main part's, as far as a musician is concerned, and they are:
1. The gathering of the congregation (sometimes called "the prelude")
2. The procession
3. The signing of the register (sometimes called "the interlude")
4. The recession
The Gathering of the Congregation
This section doesn't really have a time span, so when a couple does select music for this part of the ceremony, it may happen that either you won't be able to have all of your chosen pieces, or more frequently, the performer will have to play extra music of his choice.
The Procession
The next section is the entrance of the bride and traditionally this is carried out to Wagner's Bridal March. Although most people stick to the Wagner, you can have any music you like. The one thing you must consider when looking for an alternative is that it doesn't take long for the bride to walk down the aisle! so it might be easier to stick to the Bridal March.
The Signing of the Register
There never seems to be a problem with this part. A piece of up to five minutes is usually fine and anything goes really. If you did choose something that was too long there would come a point where the musician would have to stop playing - however, the piece would have to be excessively long for this to happen.
The Recession
This is where everyone leaves the place of the wedding ceremony and traditionally this was always carried out to Mendelssohn's Wedding March. Nowadays wedding couples tend to request everything but the Wedding March! Anything seems to be appropriate for the recession and there isn't a problem with the length of the music. As soon as the last person has gone; the musician or musicians finish.
After the ceremony everyone usually has so much to say because they've had
to keep so quiet throughout all the serious bits. There's not a lot to pre-
arrange for the music after the ceremony but it is a good idea to discuss the style of music you are looking for and maybe give us a couple of requests.
Live music for the wedding breakfast has now become very popular - there will often be jazz pianists, string quartets, harpists or even flamenco guitarists. It's always nice to have music while everyone is eating and chatting as long as the music isn't intrusive. Most of the time musicians just go with the crowd: playing more mellow music if the mood is relaxed and laid back or lively, up tempo choices as the atmosphere changes. One of the most important things to be aware of is whether the music is interfering with the conversation of the wedding guests: if it is, then there's something wrong. For most weddings you need the music to carry on right up to the speeches and that's where it finishes until the evening reception.
If you have any other questions about choosing the music for your wedding day, please get in touch with Eugene or Sheila through our Contact page or fill in the enquiry form on the Quote page.
Some Suggestions for First Dance Songs
• Our Love is Here to Stay
• Let There Be Love
• It Had to Be You
• L.O.V.E
• At Last
• Someone to Watch Over Me
• S'Wonderful
• The Way You Look Tonight
• I Only Have Eyes for You
• Because of You
• Come Rain or Come Shine
• Fly Me to the Moon
• I've Got a Crush on You
"Thank you so much Sheila, the band was fantastic and EXACTLY what we wanted!"
Rob Dearlove - Wedding, October 2009, Harrow, Middlesex
