Wedding Planning For Dummies by Marcy Blum

Author:Marcy Blum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2012-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Music to Get Married By

In This Chapter

Setting your ceremony’s musical tone

Looking over some sample musical menus

Selecting musicians who hit the right notes

The music at a wedding sets the tone for the entire ceremony. The pieces you choose and the way they’re played are decisions that you should consider carefully in tandem with the other elements of your ceremony. In this chapter, I provide suggestions for various types of ceremonies and guidelines for creating your own musical menu.

They’re Playing Our Song

Dozens of classical music pieces, although beautiful, are used so often in wedding ceremonies that they’ve lost the ability to inspire. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be afraid to use such standards. The key is to find musicians who know how to make the music sound as if the pieces are perfect for your wedding. Or, if you’re using recorded music, choose exemplary versions of the classics or new pieces that are fun and impactful.

If those commonly used pieces aren’t your cup of tea, begin your search by listening to CDs or MP3 files of classical wedding music collections (you can preview these on iTunes or Amazon.com before purchase — just enter “wedding music” into the search box). If you don’t have any luck with that, expand your musical horizons and listen to other classical selections. Consider, for example, such baroque composers as Handel, Marcello, and Quantz.

Before you get your heart set on a particular piece of music, check to see whether a solo organist can play it or whether it works for the number of musicians in the group you’ve contracted. Some of the musical pieces that you consider may only work for entire orchestras or may call for specific instruments that aren’t in your ensemble.

Generally, I recommend getting a list of approved or suggested musical selections if you’re marrying in a religious venue. Don’t assume that your selections, even if they’re standard, will coincide with the church’s guidelines. For many Christians, having the “Bridal Chorus” (commonly known as “Here Comes the Bride”) from Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin as the processional and Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the recessional are as integral to their ceremony as the vows. Conversely, many churches don’t allow those pieces, as they’re secular rather than religious. Most synagogues don’t allow those selections either, because Mendelssohn converted to Christianity and Wagner was a notorious anti-Semite.

Music in five parts

In general, a wedding ceremony has five facets of music:

Prelude: Played for 15 minutes to a half hour before the ceremony, this music welcomes the guests and plays in the background while they’re seated. Keep that in mind when you make your selections — whether you prefer a festive, elegant, or religious spirit.

The prelude music, if you have no restrictions, can comprise any number of untraditional possibilities — an a cappella trio, an operatic soloist, or a quartet that specializes in classical renditions of Beatles songs. Some couples, tired of the usual variety of classical wedding music, opt for recorded music.

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