Wedding Ceremony Music is obviously very important and is something you will remember for years to come. The music sets the tone, makes everything flow smoothly and also is one way you can personalise the day ahead.
There are many options for who will provide your ceremony music from venues themselves, to harpists, string quartet, singers and lastly, the one person people often overlook – your DJ !
Now who you choose is entirely down to your personal preference and of course, and venue restrictions, but let us share with you some of the benefits of using your DJ to provide your Wedding Ceremony Music and some things to consider no matter who you are using.
What Wedding Ceremony Music do I need ?
To make this easier I have broken this down below into different parts of the ceremony. As always I am using a ‘most common’ timeline so yours may have some differences.
Guests Gathering
After meeting for drinks etc, all guests (with exception of the bridal party) will be asked to move through to the ceremony room (Tip – you cannot take any drinks into the ceremony room with you) and await the bridal party.
The time between this and the bride walking down the aisle can be 15 minutes or longer, and will certainly feel longer for the groom stood awaiting his brides entrance. Music here helps people relax and also helps to pass the time.
A personal recommendation is to let the groom choose the music for this part of the day. Let’s be realistic, the groom has little input usually, however this is one part of the day which the bride will not be present.
We suggest a minimum of 4 songs, with a few more on standby for this.
Processional – Walking Down the Aisle
This will be one song that will stick with you for the rest of your life and where your choice of ‘playout’ is critical. By playout I mean whether you are using a string quartet, singer, DJ etc.
Do be careful at this point of choosing a song which has a long introduction too it. This is where a DJ can come in handy as they can fade in a song at the critical point, then fade out (as opposed to pressing stop and the music abruptly ceasing) at the correct time.
This song is often a difficult ones for couples to choose and more often than not, they have a song in mind which they think may be innapropriate. If this is you, have a word with your DJ, or musician, as often there are different versions of songs (ie acoustic) which may mean you can have your dream song, just in a different version.
There are occasions where we are hired to provide the ceremony music, but a live artist provides the music for walking down the aisle.This isn’t a problem at all, however we do like to know what song it is, then can have it ready ‘just in case’.
Signing of the Register
You are now married – CONGRATULATIONS !
The next part of the ceremony is to sign the register. This doesn’t take too long but can set the tone and atmosphere within the room.
The choice of music is entirely up to you but I do personally suggest thinking of something a little more upbeat, maybe one which people know the words too.
For this again, we recommend about 4 songs with a few on standby just in case – quite often only 1 song is needed, other times it can take longer depending on how long the photographs take.
Recessional – Walking up the Aisle as husband and wife
Now for this song a majority of people choose a more upbeat tune – in fact some are really upbeat – Is this the way to Amarillo as one example. This is the one song normally couples choose together and the tone can really set the tone for the day and the start of a happy married life.
This is where a good sound system can be an advantage. Playing the song slightly louder, especially if a upbeat song, really does encourage everyone to join in. Generally when we are providing ceremony music people are dancing and singing as they leave which really does help kick start the celebrations for the rest of the day.
