Your Wedding Ceremony: The Order of the Wedding Music

While today's wedding ceremonies range from simple to highly choreographed events, live ceremony music adds a special element to any wedding ceremony. Live ceremony music is not only lovely, but it helps with transitions during the ceremony. While most weddings are an individual affair, many still follow a similar order.

The Prelude

A wedding doesn't start when the bride walks down the aisle. The wedding starts when the first guest arrives. As guests are arriving and being escorted down the aisle to their seats, a mix of classical pieces and soft contemporary songs lets them know that something special is about to happen. This is when the tone for the entire event is being set.

The Pre-processional

Wedding Music helps build emotion as family members and other honored guests that are not members of the wedding party are escorted down the aisle. The mother of the bride is usually the last to be seated before the wedding party comes down the aisle. Couples could honor family members or the mother of the bride with a special wedding music selection.

The Processional

This is the point in the ceremony when the groomsmen, best man, groom, bridesmaids, maid of honor, ring bearer, and flower girl walk down the aisle. Anticipation is building, and a classical song like Pachelbel's Canon in D major or a soft contemporary song with special meaning works well here. The bride and father of the bride are the last ones to walk down the aisle in the most dramatic part of the ceremony. The traditional "The Bridal Chorus/Here Comes the Bride" is a perennial favorite, but a carefully selected contemporary song can be just as dramatic.

The Ceremony

In a traditional church wedding, hymns, calls to worship, or other wedding music that is part of the order of the wedding service can be performed by your wedding musicians as the ceremony unfolds. This is also the appropriate time for an instrumental or vocal solo. Some couples opt for a "unity candle" lighting during the ceremony. The unity candle signifies the blending of the bride's and groom's families.

Recessional

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the wedding officiant announces that the bride and groom are married and music is usually played at this point. This is when many couples let their personalities shine through with their music selection. During the recessional, the bride and groom are first, followed by the wedding party and the officiant. The "Wedding March" and "Ode to Joy" are perennial favorite here, but some couples choose to be a bit more playful with songs like the Beatles' "When I'm 64," or Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."

Interlude or Postlude

This is when the guests exit the church. Wedding music can be played until the guests are out of the ceremony area.

With a few modifications, this order is appropriate for a quicker or less traditional ceremony. It's always a good idea to have wedding music as guests arrive and as the bride and groom come together. There may also be a musical number during the service and wedding music immediately afterward.