Wedding music. Help!

[ang3199]

Hello my fellow BIW''s! What are some good songs to be played while guests are being seated for the ceremony? My FBIL is playing the piano and a good friend will be playing the flute.

Is there usually a musical number during the ceremony? Does "here comes the bride" have to be played when I walk up the aisle? What could be done in it''s place?

What is a good song for the processional?

My goodness, sorry for all the questions here. I tend to ramble.

 

[anchor31]

I''m having a brass quintet, and I''ll probably ask them to play some nice cheerful tunes before the ceremony begins.

As for the processional, I will be using Mussorgsky'' Pictures at an Exhibition, my favorite classical piece (I studied music for a time). My groom and the ladies will walk in on Promenade 1 and I will walk in on The Gates at Kiev. We chose Beethoven''s Ode to Joy from the 9th Symphony for the recessional. I have to say not many modern brides use "Here comes the Bride", it''s even become quite popular to use modern songs from known singers. As a musician and a bit of a classical purist when it comes to music, I''m not a fan of this idea, but to each their own!

 

[Fancy605]

You can have whatever music you like best.

Pre ceremony for us included a piano and 2 extremely talented violinists. They alternated with who played. They did all types of happy classical pieces as well as hymns. The only one we really insisted on was Amazing Grace. We let them pick the rest. They began about 20 min before the ceremony or so (as guests began to arrive).

During the ceremony, we had these songs:

Seating of grandmother and parents: Jesu Joy of Man''s Desiring
Brides Maids: Cannon in D (one of my favorites! Tried, but true i think)
I came in to the theme from Somewhere in Time (one of my FAVORITE pieces)
We didn''t have any music really during the vows and everything (it was a really short ceremony)
And we walked out to Ode to Joy.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

The other popular choice is pachabel''s cannon in D, which is lovely but like here come the bride, is over done.
We are going to have ours be to vivaldi''s four seasons which is my favorite. My FI''s favorite is Brahm''s hungarian dances so we may have a few of those for the reception.
You might also want to consider if their is a song from your background. We considered playing She moved through the fair or the Irish wedding song because that is what they use in Irish weddings.

 

[ang3199]

Anchor, Fancy, BIH Thanks for the replies and the great ideas. Both FI and I are lost with what to do for music!

 

[labbielove]

don''t forget the musicians as a resource! we were happy to find that the organist was a wealth of information/suggestions, after all it''s what they do.

as the guests were arriving we just had her play various pieces of her choosing, as a bit of background music.

our aisle was short so MIL was seated and FI and deacon walked in to Canon in D
my sisters and I all walked in to Trumpet Voluntary, which is beautiful.

we exited to Ode to Joy which was great- DH loves Beethoven

 

[karasue91]

I''ll be going the less-traditional route. We are having a stringed quartet and they said they can pretty much play whatever we want, and my FMIL has heard them play and they play all kinds of non-classical songs and they were super fun. So I''m undecided about what exactly I want them to play, but I think on the walk back up the aisle after we are married, I''ll have them jump into the chorus of U2''s "Beautiful Day". I think for music before the ceremony, I''ll see what they suggest but definitely contemporary songs. Maybe some classic rock tunes, I don''t really want the traditional classical music. I want people to say "hey, I know this song....what is this?...omg I love this song!!" hahaha I''m thinking for the walk down the aisle I would love to have Soundgarden''s "Sunshower", but we''ll see what they say.

For contemporary music translated into strings, I found the Vitamin String Quartet on iTunes. They have TONS of stuff there, and it will give you an idea of what certain songs sound like when they are just instrumental. That''s where I got a bunch of ideas from for songs.

 

[zoebartlett]

I know that Pachabel''s Canon in D is way over done, but I''ve never had it played at MY wedding yet. After our wedding, I could be like, "yeah, Canon in D...so over played."

Other than that, we have no idea what we want played. We''ll probably do a little Eva Cassidy but other than that, we have no idea. We''re hoping to get some suggestions from our DJ, who is providing the ceremony music as well as the reception. We have also asked a family friend if she''d play the harp during the ceremony, but it''s highly unlikely that she''ll be able to (she lives out of state and her harp is hard to transport).

 

[Fancy605]

Date: 11/29/2007 5:14:40 PM
Author: zoebartlett
I know that Pachabel''s Canon in D is way over done, but I''ve never had it played at MY wedding yet. After our wedding, I could be like, ''yeah, Canon in D...so over played.''

Yeah, but, it''s one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever, so who minds hearing it yet again and again?

Not me. When I was in 7th grade, I had a teacher who started every class period off by playing that song. We were to read silently until the little CD of that and 2 other songs ended. If I didn''t get sick of hearing it then, then I don''t think I ever will.

Someone else on here said about that song, "there''s a reason classics are classics."

 

[basil]

Fiance loves Canon in D, it''s the only song he requested for the whole wedding.

He was going through a scenario the other night. He is standing at the altar, the guests are all gathered. Canon in D is playing in the background. He looks at his watch nervously. A friend approaches and hands him a beautiful small envelope. He opens it, makes a serious face, carefully folds it up and puts it in his inside jacket pocket. The guests all wonder, what did the note say? Seconds later, the music changes and I start my walk down the aisle.

Ok, we''re weird. But I thought of you, Zoe, about having a secret to share with your fiance and that taking the pressure off the event. No one else will ever know that the note says "got you, sucker!"

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 11/29/2007 8:35:58 PM
Author: basil
Fiance loves Canon in D, it''s the only song he requested for the whole wedding.

He was going through a scenario the other night. He is standing at the altar, the guests are all gathered. Canon in D is playing in the background. He looks at his watch nervously. A friend approaches and hands him a beautiful small envelope. He opens it, makes a serious face, carefully folds it up and puts it in his inside jacket pocket. The guests all wonder, what did the note say? Seconds later, the music changes and I start my walk down the aisle.

Ok, we''re weird. But I thought of you, Zoe, about having a secret to share with your fiance and that taking the pressure off the event. No one else will ever know that the note says ''got you, sucker!''

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I am all for using music you love, whether it be traditional or not. Like Anchor, I decided to walk to one of my favorite pieces: Bach''s Prelude to Cello Suite #1 and that was the only piece of music that was important to me (the piece is 2 minutes long and I was sure to use every second--I had a LONG walk!). Our musician was fantastic, so all we had to tell him was what type of music we liked, who our favorite composers were, whether we wanted slower or more upbeat music and it all worked out perfectly.

I NEVER get tired of hearing Canon in D or even Jesu, Joy of Man''s Desire. While planning the wedding, I would literally cry when I heard Canon in D just thinking about walking down the aisle--and I didn''t even plan on having it played at the wedding, it''s just a piece that makes you emotional!