Wedding Music

The prelude is the music that precedes the actual ceremony. It is music that is played while the guests gather and helps set the tone for the wedding itself. The prelude is usually 20 to 30 minutes in length. if you are having a very large wedding and are having a lot of out of town guests, you may consider having a longer prelude up to 45 minutes. For small weddings, the prelude may only be 10 to 15 minutes in length. For the prelude, you can make suggestions to the musicians of what you you may want played or sung. This is a good place to include selections that you were seriously considering for other parts of the ceremony but were not able to for whatever reason. Or you can let the musicians know the general style of music you would like for the prelude such as a variety of classical selections or popular music or hymn arrangements, etc.

The seating of the mothers and grandmothers occurs at the end of the prelude time and just before the processional. This either happens about five minutes before the ceremony is about to begin or right at the time the ceremony is to begin. If you have a few people to be seated during this time, you may want to have two separate musical selections; one for the grandmothers and one for the mothers. These music at this time is usually softer and more meditative.

A vocal solo can be a meaningful added touch for a wedding. You can use a female (soprano or alto) or a male soloist (tenor or bass), whatever your preference is. Soprano and tenor voices can sing in the higher range and the alto and bass voices typically sing in the lower range. You may wish to have a duet on a piece such as the popular "The Prayer" by Sager/Foster which requires a first-class soprano and tenor. Other possibilities are a quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) or octet (two sopranos, two altos, two tenors, two basses) for a fuller, choir like sound. The most common places in the wedding for vocal songs are during or after the seating of the mother's, or during communion or the unity candle. Some weddings have one vocal piece and some others have two or three. For those who have access to a church or community choir, you may wish to have them sing which can be a great honor and addition to the ceremony. If you would like to have a choir but do not have access to one, you may wish to hire one such as a community children's choir or an ensemble from a community adult choir.

The processional is typically divided into two sections, the attendant's entrance and the bridal entrance, each with a musical selection. The first part of the processional is when the bridal party enters and the second part of the processional is when the bride enters. See below for further details. Also, for your information, by selecting "Processional" in the filter of "My Music", the search result will bring up all the processionals for entrance of the attendants and the entrance of the bride

The processional is typically divided into two sections, the attendant's entrance and the bridal entrance, each with a musical selection. The first selection is played when the bridal party enters which usually begins with the the groom, groomsmen and minister coming from the side door followed by the bridesmaids, flowergirl, and ringbearer coming down the center aisle. Sometimes, the groomsmen will come down the center aisle as well before the bridesmaids. The piece that is played at this time is usually more upbeat and joyous but still softer in anticipation of the entry of the bride. For smaller weddings with one bridesmaid, sometimes one piece is used for the bridesmaid and the bride. in contrast, for large weddings, in addition to a piece played for the bridesmaids entrance, a separate piece could be used for the groomsmen. For example, a part of the first movement from The Royal Fireworks Suite by Handel could be used for the groomsmen as they enter and the second movement could be used for the bridesmaids entrance. This can be followed by a fanfare and then a third selection for the bridal entrance.

The processional is typically divided into two sections, the attendant's entrance and the bridal entrance, each with a musical selection. The bridal processional is often preceded by a fanfare played by one of the instruments such as the organ or trumpet. This helps set the tone for the processional and also announces to the congregation that it is time to stand-up in honor of the bride. The processional is typically a piece that is grand and stately and certainly sets the tone for this climatic and emotional part of the ceremony.

Congregational hymns are used in about one out of every three weddings. A wedding is really a service of worship and the singing of a congregational hymn is a great way to involved everyone in the ceremony. An excellent place to sing a congregational hymn is right after the processional and opening invocation while everyone is still on a euphoric mood from the processional. The hymn is not only a powerful way to worship God but is also symbolic and affirming that everyone there is willing to support the couple in whatever ways possible. Hymns work best when there are at least 75 or more people in attendance. All the stanzas of a hymn do not need to be sung but you can choose two or more stanzas that would be most pertinent for your wedding. If you already have instruments at your wedding such as a trumpet or strings, you can also add them to the organ or piano.

Some weddings have communion or the eucharist which can be a powerful symbol of the couple becoming "one" spiritually. Sometimes, just the couple partakes in communion. other times the whole bridal party, and occasionally the whole congregation, depending on the tradition or practices of the church or the preference of the couple. Musical selections at this time are more meditative in nature and can be just instrumental or vocal.