How Sweet the Sound: Wedding Ceremony Music Tips

While planning your wedding entertainment, you'll want to take just as much care choosing your wedding ceremony music as you do your wedding reception music. Music played during your wedding ceremony should enhance your ceremony and stir the emotions of everyone present. By the same token, mediocre music or lack of wedding music altogether can detract from an otherwise perfect ceremony. The following tips can help ensure that your wedding music is the perfect backdrop to your ceremony.   

·         Book wedding ceremony musicians as soon as possible, and even up to a year in advance for a popular or in-demand group or soloist.

·         Make sure your wedding ceremony location has room for your wedding musicians and their equipment.

·         If you're not sure what musical selections to choose, don't hesitate to ask for recommendations from your musician. Aside from the wedding standards, she should be able to suggest several options.

·         Ask if there are any acoustical considerations at your ceremony venue. Your wedding musicians may need to adjust their volume or use specific equipment.

·         Set the tone with music before the ceremony. To avoid your first few guests sitting in silence, have your wedding musicians start at least a half hour before the ceremony, preferably as the first guests begin arriving.

·         Don't be afraid to mix music styles. Whether you're trendy or traditional, a mixture of classical and soft contemporary has wide appeal.

·         While it's not necessary to have a special wedding song during the ceremony, it can lend a poignant and moving moment for guests, family, and the couple. You may choose to have a musical number during the exchange of rings or lighting of the unity candle.

·          Unless you are completely confident in her musical ability, don't necessarily have a friend provide the music. While it's a lovely gesture to have a friend perform at your wedding, it's still important to discuss your expectations and her abilities beforehand.

·         Some places of worship have rules regarding live music on the premises. There may be restrictions regarding the type of wedding music that may be played.

·         You may choose to have your musicians play all of the wedding music in the ceremony, or have musicians for the prelude and postlude and a solo vocalist to perform mid-ceremony.

·         Meet with a representative of the group before you book and then again several weeks before your event to go over last minute details.

·         Pay attention to song lengths. If the bride will be walking down the aisle, prelude music length should coincide with song length. It's best for prelude music to fade out, not stop abruptly or play too long. If you having music mid-ceremony during the ring exchange or unity candle, the times should coincide as well.

If, as they say, music is the soundtrack of our lives, you'll want to choose wedding ceremony music that speaks to the senses and lingers in the memory long after the event has passed. Carefully chosen ceremony musicians will leave a lasting impression for your guests and a precious memory for you and your partner.