Choosing your ceremony music

A few years ago I was conducting a wedding rehearsal. The musicians were there and the leader of the quartet asked me, “Have you heard Canon in D?” I replied, “Do you mean yet today?”

Most wedding professionals long to hear unique ceremony music because we hear Pachelbel’s Canon in D at close to half of the weddings we participate in. And most of the couples who don’t have Pachelbel choose what TV and movies have convinced us is the traditional processional, the dum dum dum-dum Here Comes the Bride, which is Wagner’s Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin. And if that’s what you have your heart set on, by all means you should have what you want at your wedding.

But to impress your guests and leave them saying, “That was so you!,” choose something memorable and unique. For the processional you might have Lara’s Theme from the classic movie Dr. Zhivago. It’s lovely and evocative. There are some Beatles songs that, when played by a string trio or cello and guitar are wonderful additions, songs such as Here, There and Everywhere, And I Love Her or Till There Was You. Enya’s Only Time is an instrumental that’s beautiful lilting and haunting.

The choices are endless for the recessional. You can bridge the gap between the ceremony and the reception by choosing something upbeat whether it’s Dixieland jazz, a rock song or a classic that guests will recognize. I’ve heard the 80’s rock song Melt with You by Modern English, Hey Ya by Outkast, the ukulele version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow done by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and Linus and Lucy famous from the Charlie Brown specials. One of my favorites is It’s a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

At our wedding my husband and I had a string quartet. For the recessional we chose Dean Martin’s That’s Amore. The guests heard the sound of the strings and assumed it was going to be a classical piece and then all laughed when they recognized the strains of “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore!” It was touching, unique, memorable and wholly us. Talk to your DJ or musicians about ceremony music and let them help you choose the perfect songs to match your personality.