Wedding Ceremonies

I don't know how many of you provide music for ceremonies, but for me it has been a great add on. With some ceremonies it is the only service that the bride requests. Not many DJ's in my area provide this service. Every area has some beautiful outdoor settings, parks, beaches that can be used for ceremonies.


The first ceremonies I worked were for friends. I wanted to get a couple under my belt before I was paid for it.

With ceremonies it's all about timing. For me in the beginning it was a little intimidating. I know that the bride has been dreaming of this moment since she was a little girl and I don't want to be the one to ruin it. I want to create the best experience possible for her and the groom. So for example if they want an entire song played, you will need to know how many people are going down the aisle with that song and what kind of pace they should have also take into consideration how long the aisle or entrance will be. Otherwise they will be standing at the alter looking around. I try to encourage them to allow me to fade the music out.

Ok, lets talk about some terminology:

Prelude Music - The beginning this is when the guests are arriving and being seated.

Pre- Processional Music - This is when the Grooms and Brides families entrance and seating.

Processional Music - This is when the Bridal party enters, First the Groomsmen, last up to best man then the Groom. Then the bridesmaids starting from last in line up to the Maid/Matron of honor.

The Bridal entrance - Brides entry

Some couples have backround music for the unity candle or the sand ceremony as well.

The Recessional - end of the ceremony after being pronounced.

Here are some examples of some traditional/classical music for weddings.


Prelude
(The Beginning)
Guests arrival


1. Ave Maria...........J.S. Bach
2. Lasia Ch'io Pianga........
G.F. Handel
3. Arioso ...........J.S. Bach
4. Air On The G String.........J.S. Bach
5. Adagio Fom Sonata......Mozart
6. Water Music.......Handel
7. Duos for Violin Adagio........Mozart
8. Nocturne in E minor........Chopin
9. Waltz.........Tchaikovsky
10. Swan Lake......Tchaikovsky



Pre- Processional/Processional


(Family and Bridal Party Entrance)


1.Jesu, Joy of man's desiring...J.S. Bach
2. Air On The G String.....J.S. Bach
3. Canon in D11......Pachelbel
4.Romance From Piano
Concerto.....Mozart
5. Con Te Partino


The Bridal Entrance


1.The BridalChorus
(Here Comes the Bride)........Wagner
2. Rondeau....... Mouret
3. Ave Maria.........J.S.Bach
4. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring .....J.S. Bach


Recessional

(End of Ceremony after being
pronounced husband and wife)

1. Ave Maria.......J.S.Bach
2. Minuet............Mozart
3. Four Seasons..........Vivaldi
4. Trumpet Voluntary..........Clarke
5. Con Te Partiro

Can I get some input for some more contemporary music suggestions?

There are some great CD's that contain traditional wedding ceremony music by a company called Music Concepts: Set Your Wedding to Music, For Your Wedding Ceremony and Yours, Mine & Ours. These contain some beautiful classical pieces.

When I have a bride that wants to have a more Contemporary Ceremony I make some suggestions and I ask her what she has in mind. Many times they already have alot of their songs selected but I have told several of the brides I have worked with where the song would fit, so the ceremony will flow.

Here are some of the suggestions I use for Contemporary Ceremonies:
Prelude Music
( The beginning)

1. Pachelbel's Canon in D
2. Greensleeves
3.Through the eye's of love
(instrumental)
4. At Last .......... Etta James
5. Only Time.........Enya
6. Can't Help Falling in Love
..... Elvis
7. Amazed........Lonestar
8. Breathe.........Faith Hill
9. Endless Love
.......Lionel Richie
10. From This Moment
.....Shania Twain



Pre-processional/Processional
(Family and Bridal Party entrance)


1. Have I Told You Lately
.....Rod Stewart
2. Because you Loved me
......instrumental
3. Unforgettable
.....Natalie and Nat King Cole
4 Can You Feel The Love
Tonight...... Elton John


The Bridal Entrance


1. At Last...........Etta James
2. From this moment
.....Shania Twain
3. I swear
.....John Michael Montgomery
4. Only Time ....Enya


Recessional
(After Being Pronounced Husband and Wife)
1. Can You Feel The Love Tonight?....Elton John

2. At Last...........Etta James
3. From this Moment..... Shania Twain
4. Time In a Bottle.....Jim Croce

Thanks, Carolyn.

Yes, absolutely. I have always carried wedding ceremony music in the library. We don't use it a lot but it's a must-have when needed.

We have been doing more outdoor weddings this year than usual... got another coming up on the 23rd. There aren't many rented halls available that make for good indoor wedding photos. So folks are doing more outdoor ceremonies. Even at the Maple Dale Country Club and Wild Quail, B&Gs often wish to have the ceremony outside.

So there's a hall employee with a big boombox in the background playing one of our simple wedding comps for the music. It is sooo good to have it when needed. :D

The CDs mentioned are great references. That being said, there are some real pigs out there, too. One early wedding music CD I got on the Scotty Bros label sounded like an AM radio. :( Always listen to a CD in full before taking it on the road. The full, rich tone of that big organ is very important, trust me on this one.

Some years ago, someone suggested a visit to the Borders Bookstore. There I found more wedding music CDs than I could have possible afforded, LOL. I picked up a few and comped 'em to CDR to remove the duplicates. We now have most of the tracks mentioned here and two versions of the processional and recessional ~ traditional organ and orchestra.

Hope it helps.

Piano Brothers Wedding CDs are also a Great Guide.
The is a 2 CD Comp out called a Bride's Guide to Wedding Music (Also a Great set to have)

I hope you don't mind that I copied and pasted this to my hard drive. Great job on the list!

Thank you, of Course Tyrone that's what it is there for. I am glad it helped.

Being a mountain resort town DJ (mostly), We do MANY events out in the woods (so-to-speak)
We've done ceremonies in an open field at around the 9500 foot level that we had to all-wheel drive our gear up a road that was more like a wash-out than a road. Set-up...run the equipment off an inverter plugged into the truck battery and then pack it back out.
We've done events with Inverters, a small Honda generator all the way up to our 4000watt Generac that powers not only our sound system but also lights and a few other things.
Outdoor events/ceremonies where no power exists is a GREAT upsell

I do a lot of ceremonies as well. Here are a couple of songs I recommend.

"Once Upon A Time" Storybook Love Instrumental from the Princess Bride Soundtrack. Great for the processional.

Also, here's an odd but very different and beautiful one. There is an instrumental track called "Birds" by Ben Folds Five but you can only get it on the Japanese release of the album "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner." We walked down the aisle to it at our wedding and I have used it a few more times for my clients.

Also, the prelude music I use most often is a Romantic Instrumental Guitar album by John Williams. It's called Guitar Romance or something. Beautiful.

-Aaron

Have trombone, will travel.
I have 4 other musicians and teachers in the area that play many of the songs listed in a brass quintet. I'm making my "roadie" our "ceremony music coordinator" and will be adding as a feature on a new version of my website called "wedding planner" in 2007.

Carolyn, you have amassed a great wealth of songs for all to draw on! thanks!

I love the magic that we can bring to a ceremony, expecially an outdoors one.


http://rap.midco.net/kpetersen/Sylv1Cropped.jpg
This place (Sylvan Lake), not only offers an awesome backdrop, but it is nestled in the forest rather nicely.

This particular backdrop does get some extra attention from me regarding the selections of music. As ackward as it is to describe on a message board, if a client is selecting music for a ceremony here - the piece selected is honored, it is the choice of instruments that recorded the piece that I ask the client about (just think: "Pipe organ in the forest" and you'll understand). It's almost like auditioning the actual track, for it's surroundings.

The gear and it's use can have a dramatic impression on the event.

I usually will front load the sound, split very widely (so equipment is outta the formal pictures).
But we have taken a remote system and placed it in the trees due south of the clearing pictured below. That little system only played one song - the unity candle bed (actually shifting of the sands) - and the impact of "Jessica's Theme (Breaking in the Colt)" - Man From Snowy River lightly drifting in from an area that was not initially expected, raised many goosebumps.

http://rap.midco.net/kpetersen/Sylv5Cord.jpg
Cord routing

Another added feature I've done to impact the ceremony is the addition of a Audio-Technica ATM-33a. This little shotgun is placed groom's side either in front or behind the groom pointed at the trio (officiant/bride/groom) so when the bride turns for vows shes facing it.

It's an incredibly discreet shotgun area mic and it is actually in view in this shot:

Full, 16-person bridal party, on a differant location and property - Spearfish Canyon Lodge (http://rap.midco.net/kpetersen/Setups/SCResort.jpg)

View the above link, before the "show" button
http://rap.midco.net/kpetersen/Setups/33a_2.jpg
http://rap.midco.net/kpetersen/Setups/33a.jpg

Wow Ken, thank you for posting that extremely beautiful.

We do a lot of outdoor ceremonies here in Northern Michigan as well. Always our goal to hide our equipment as much as possible. In the top pic our speakers are covered with tule. Sneaky sneaky eh?

TOM!!!!

Glad to see you finally made it over here!!! :sqbiggrin:

I ran into Tom at my wife's company Christmas party (he was working, I was drinking ;) ) I told him about our little site of course. Great guy and a welcome addition to ODJT!!!

Always our goal to hide our equipment as much as possible. In the top pic our speakers are covered with tule. Sneaky sneaky eh?

Great idea with the tuling (I'm gonna steal it :sqwink: )

What's the location in the top pic, I don't recognize it.

Great Pictures Tom! Thanks for sharing them!

Great idea with the tuling (I'm gonna steal it :sqwink: )

What's the location in the top pic, I don't recognize it.

That is located at the Petoskey Waterfront Park. (Near the baeball diamond and the clock tower.)

Thanks for the compliment on the pics. I took them myself. :sqwink:

I have done one ceremony and I'm getting more requests for ceremonies. I to will be using your list for help thanks very much. I guess you would recommend going to the practice if you can aye. If that is not an option then helping them pick there songs and talking about timing I see is quite important. The Ceremony I did was a few years ago when I was a sound tech at my church. I will be watching this thread closely and I may even bug a few of you for more advice. If you don't mind.

whatever happened to the lists of ceremony songs and grand entrance songs which were started? Also Tom French shared a couple himself I used to look at it on occasion on site anyone point me with links to these? Thanks in advance.

Jon, they are in the wedding song list sub forum.

I've been busy/occupied/drunk and haven't got too far with compiling those lists. I'm hoping to have some time in the next few weeks to work on them.

Did our first "Ceremony" today. Wedding and reception was all held in the same venue.

Interesting. We are currently looking at buying a small portable system so that we might be able to to offer this service in the future.

Another add to this list
Michael Soloway has all the classics using a guitar
VERY classy sound, you'd never know it was one guy playing
it can be found here
http://cdbaby.com/cd/msoloway

I always ask about the ceremony to provide sound and microphones for singer or musicians. Well I ask if the ceremony is at the same location, since I'm a single OP. I guess I could get a buddy to setup at the reception and go take care of the ceremony. What suprises me very often the bride and groom having a ceremony at the same venue, maybe outside have not even thought about how they would have music or microphones for the officiant and groom. I always, well try to always have all the ceremony music on two cd's for back up and if the song is running out and the event is still running I can blend it back in on the second cd in the other drive.

Small wonderful ceremony system?
Numark CDmix and a Yamaha Stagepas 300 or 500.
Add a couple Shure ULX's and you're all set. :)

I have been doing these for years (single op) At least 1/2 my wedding bookings include the ceremony.

You gotta have 2 systems. I arrive early enough to setup both systems.
(Setup reception system first)

Trying to do it in 2 locations & racing from one to the other with the same system is not good. (Here it can get you blacklisted from some venues...they hate this)

In our area, the the music when the bride comes down the isle is called the "Bride's processional"

At the end where the B & G leave, & bridal party follow is the "Recessional".

Wireless mics is also a must.

This works great "" Firebird swite 1917 ""version from Disneys Fantasia the Last 30 secs are the most moving Composition ever written, normally this sonita is 17 minutes long and very slow and drowning but the last part of the song all you need ... i use it a lot and here How

I instruct the Bride and father to step in to the room just as the Trumpets sound And ( heres the best part ) turn and face each other hold hands and stare into each others eyes for " This is where Dad Looses it " and because of the power of the music everyone will have goose bumps... the Mood has been set and Not a dry eye in the house .... Cannon in D for the walk down the isle

who said Classical Music wasn't fun

We do ceremony set up quite a bit..I'd say 80% of the time. It includes our smaller cermony set up and a pair of lav mics. The most recent change I've been seeing with B&G's is wanting to change the recessional song. They want traditional for the majority and then want something fun after they are pronounced.

Some of the songs we've used....

I Feel Good - James Brown
Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Would You Go With Me - Josh Turner
Theme from Battlestar Galactica (Not Kidding)
Jump - Van Halen

I too have noticed an increase of not using classical music for redding ceremonies.

I with I could remeber the the songs people have used.

One was Jack Johnson and music like that.


But the best I remeber used all Brad Mehldau tracks. They used Exit Music (a radiohead cover) as Recessional.

And the Prosessional was Alavarado

This guy is great. Look him up on the net and take a listen.

An excellent list, Carolyn. It's very interesting to see how different the DJ business is in different areas and in different countries. We are now providing the music for about 80 wedding ceremonies each year and have done so for at least ten years. I sit down with almost all of the brides and grooms and go over the ceremony in some detail. In addition to the classical music selections you have listed I will also suggest some new age material such as Enya, newer artists such as Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, and classic love songs such as A Kiss To Build A Dream On (Louis Armstrong).or LOVE (Nat King Cole). Some also want newer pop love songs, a lot of which are first dance material. I'll also encourage them to think happy and upbeat for the recessional, including I Feel Good, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, Love Shack, Happy Together, and That's Amore. I also mention to them a few lighthearted touches leading up to the ceremony including playing Chapel Of Love when the bridemaids walk down the aisle or a few bars of Sharp Dressed Man for the guys. It all depends on the mood that they want to create.
I use a separate system for most ceremonies, usually a powered EV speaker and a CDMix2.