Step 63 - Meet and Review Song List with Wedding Musicians

1. (3 Months to 4 Months before the Wedding)
2. Music sets the tone tone of the ceremony. It helps make the event unforgettable and leaves your wedding guests with a lasting impression that they will always remember for the rest of their lives. The music should be primarily created to focus on music the wedding couple likes to put them into romantic mood and then secondarily to the wedding guests and bridal party and toward the wedding theme.
   
   Before meeting with the musicians, the wedding couple should come to an agreement on the type of music they want played at their wedding both at the wedding ceremony and wedding reception. At the wedding ceremony they will need music at different points of the ceremony. They will need music for the prelude, which is usually 5 to 6 songs played as wedding guests are arriving at the ceremony location as guests are taking their seats. Next is the bridal party processional, followed by the bridal processional when the bride enters the church usually in the arm of her father which should include some dramatical music. 

Next comes interlude music which might include candle lighting, readings, and after the exchanging of one's wedding vows. Then comes the recessional in which is when the bride and groom exit the service as husband and wife where the music is very dramatic then followed by postlude upbeat mellow music as the couple might be at a receiving line and the music should play until the church empties out. The wedding couple needs to first meet with the church wedding coordinator and sometimes it might be with the church secretary. The couple either needs to coordinate the music of the wedding service, is the church organist, pianist, chorus, soloist, or other music group associated with the church handling the music or does the couple provide their own ceremony musicians to the service. 

If the the wedding couple is using their own musicians they still need an okay from the church/ceremony site and need to arrange for the musicians to meet the venue coordinator of where they would be located and also a holding area for the musician. The wedding couple should meet with the wedding couple far in advance of the wedding with the wedding musicians and formulate a music selection they would like played. Sometimes the wedding musicians may give the wedding couple some music ideas. Many times, music selections are chosen by the wedding couple of music the musicians might have to learn from scratch or they may know the music but need to practice to get the selection down perfect. 

It's important that the wedding couple stay proactive with the wedding musicians to be sure they have mastered the selections and either hear the music live or get a tape of the music to be sure it sounds great for the wedding. If the music does not sound to the wedding couples liking, don't be afraid to change the music selections to music the musician is comfortable with, the music selection should be decided upon a couple of weeks before the wedding. 

 There are a number of websites that sheet music can be ordered from for almost any type if instrument. Some websites to check out include www.sheetmusicplus.com and www.weddingmusiccentral.com and also from amazon.com which can be ordered through the sidebar of this blog. It's a good idea to spend some time listening to all sorts of music with your honey and then coming up with a selection. Use rank order of music selections and then share the list with the other if you can't decide. You need to come to an agreement of the type of music you want at your wedding ceremony, it could traditional classic, traditional alternative, contemporary, or religious sacred. The type of music you choose should be consistent throughout the ceremony. Did you know, about 80% of religious affiliations don't allow taped music at their houses of worship. This rule has benefited many musicians.

Traditional Classic - Prelude Suggestions

"A Rose Is Gently Blooming," Op. 122, No. 8, (Johannes Brahms)
"Adagio for Strings" (Samuel Barber)
"Air on the G String" (Johann S. Bach)
"Aria, Bist du bei mir" (Be thou near me), BWV 508, (Johann S. Bach)
"Awake My Heart with Gladness," (Flor Peeters)
"Chorale in A Minor," Adagio, (Cesar Franck)
"Concerto in D Minor," Adagio, (Tomaso Albinoni)
"Largo" from (Xerxes), (George Frederic Handel)
"Perfect Love" (Sir Joseph Barnby)
"Rhosymedre" (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
"Serenade" (from String Quartet Op. 3 No. 5), (Franz Joseph Haydn)
"Sheep May Safely Graze" (Johann S. Bach)
"Sonata in G Minor for Flute and Organ" (George F. Handel)
"Toccata in E Minor" (Johann Pachelbel)
"Violin Concerto in A" (Franz Joseph Haydn)
"Water Music" (George F. Handel)


Traditional Classic - Processional Suggestions

"Air" (from Water Music Suite), (George F. Handel)
"Bridal Chorus" (from Lohengrin), (Richard Wagner)
"Canon in D" (Johann Pachelbel)
"Procession of Joy" (Hal Hopson)
"Rigaudon" (Andre Campra)
"Spring" (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)
"Te Deum" (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)
"The Prince of Denmark's March" (Jeremiah Clarke)
"Trumpet Tune" (Henry Purcell)
"Trumpet Voluntary" (Jeremiah Clarke)
"Wedding March" (from The Marriage of Figaro), (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)


Traditional Classic - Interlude Suggestions

"Adagio" (Felix Mendelssohn)
"Andantino" (Cesar Franck)
"Arioso" (Johann S. Bach)
"Cantabile in B-Flat Major (BI 84)" (Frederic Chopin)
"Ch'il bel sogno di doretta" (from La Rondine) (Giacomo Puccini)
"Clair de Lune" (Claude Debussy)
"Flower Duet" (from Lakme), (Leo Delibes)
"Lento con tenerezza" (Enrique Granados)
"Love That Will Not Let Me Go" (Albert L. Peace)
"Meditation" (from Thais), (Jules Massenet)
"Minuet" (from Berenice), (George F. Handel)
"Minuet, Melody" (from Orfeo ed Euriduce), (Christoph W. Gluck)
"O mio babbino caro" (from Gianni Schicchi), (Giacomo Puccini)
"Romanza" (Ludwig van Beethoven)
"Salut D'Amour" (Sir Edward Elgar)
"Still, Still With Thee" (Felix Mendelssohn)
"The River Is Wide" (Tune: "Waly Waly," traditional English)
"Through the Eyes of Love" (theme from Ice Castles), (Carole Sager & Marvin Hamlisch)
"Verset," (Leon Boellmann)
"Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (arr. by Richard Bradley)
"Where e'er You Walk" (from Semele), (George F. Handel)
"Whither Thou Goest," (Thomas Dewey)


Traditional Classic - Recessional Suggestions

"Allegro Maestoso" (from Water Music Suite), (George F. Handel)
"Brandenburg Concerto No. 1," Allegro, (Johann S. Bach)
"Brandenburg Concerto No. 4," Allegro, (Johann S. Bach)
"Coronation March" (from Crown imperial), (Sir William Walton)
"Fugue in E-Flat Major" (from St. Anne), (Johann S. Bach)
"Hallelujah Chorus" (from The Messiah), (George F. Handel)
"Hornpipe" (from Water Music Suite), (George F. Handel)
"Ode to Joy" (Ludwig van Beethoven)
"Spring," Allegro, (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)
"The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" (George F. Handel)
"Toccata" (from Symphonie 5, opus 42), (Charles-Marie Widor)
"Trumpet Tune and Bell Symphony," (Henry Purcell)
"Tuba Tune in D" (Craig Sellar Lang)
"Wedding March" (from A Midsummer Night's Dream), (Felix Mendelssohn)


Traditional Alternative - Prelude Suggestions

"Carolan's Welcome" (Irish Traditional)
"Concerto Grosso in D Major," Op. 3, No. 6 (Vivace), (George Frederic Handel)
"Courante" (from Three Lute Dances), (Anthoine Francisque)
"Gymnopedie No. 1" (Erik Satie)
"Nessun Dorma" (from Turandot), (Giacomo Puccini)
"Nocturne in E Flat" Op. 9, No. 2, (Frederic Chopin)
"Oboe Concerto in D Minor," Adagio, (Alessandro Marcello)
"Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" (Claude Debussy)
"Romance" Op. 44, No. 1, (Anton Rubenstein)
"Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren" (Johann S. Bach)
"Sonata in E Flat," Adagio, (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
"Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major," Allegro assai, (Johann S. Bach)"Vocalise" (Sergei Rachmaninoff)

Traditional Alternative - Processional Suggestions

"Canzon V" (Giovanni Gabrieli)
"Coronation March for Czar Alexander III" (Peter I. Tchaikovsky)
"Overture" (from Royal Fireworks Music), (George Frederic Handel)
"Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition), (Modest Mussorgsky)
"Romeo and Juliet Love Theme" (Tchaikovsky)
"Sinfonia" (from Cantata No. 156), (Johann S. Bach)
"Toccata" (from L'Orfeo), (Claudio Monteverdi)
"Trumpet Tune in A-Major" (David N. Johnson)
"Sonatas for Organ, Op. 65, No. 3 (con moto maestoso)," (Felix Mendelssohn)
"Winter," Largo, (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)


Traditional Alternative - Interlude Suggestions

"Barcarolle" (from Tales of Hoffman), (Jacques Offenbach)
"Pavane" (Gabriel Faure)
"Reverie" (Claude Debussy)
"The Call" (Vaughan Williams)
"Unconditional" (Will Ackerman)


Traditional Alternative - Recessional Suggestions

"Badinerie" (from Orchestral Suite No. 2), (Johann S. Bach)
"Concerto grosso in D Minor," Op. 2, No. 3 (Presto), (Francesco Geminiani)
"Rondeau" (from Abdelezar), (Henry Purcell)
"Sonata in G Major" (Giuseppe Tartini)
"Triumphal March" (Edvard Grieg)
"Variations on the Kanon by Pachelbel" (George Winston)31. "All I Ask Of You" (from Phantom of the Opera), (Andrew Lloyd Webber)


Contemporary - Prelude Suggestions

"All I Ask Of You" (from Phantom of the Opera), (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
"Angel Eyes" (Jim Brickman)
"Evergreen" (Barbra Streisand)
"Longer" (Dan Fogelberg)
"Paris Nocturne" (Dan Fogelberg)
"The Gift" (Jim Brickman)
"Truly" (Lionel Richie)
"Wedding Song" (The Band)
"You and I" (Stevie Wonder)


Contempory - Processional Suggestions

"Appalachia Waltz" (Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor)
"Sunrise, Sunset" (from Fiddler on the Roof), (Sheldon Harnick & Jerry Bock)
"The Look of Love" (Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach)
"The Vow" (Jeremy Lubbock)
"To A Wild Rose" (Edward MacDowell)
"Flatbush Waltz" (Andy Statman)
"Wedding Processional" (from The Sound of Music), (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein)


Contempory - Interlude Suggestions

"A Simple Song" (Leonard Bernstein)
"Annie's Song" (John Denver)
"Benedictus" (Simon & Garfunkel)
"Grow Old With Me" (John Lennon or Mary Chapin Carpenter)
"Kind & Generous" (Natalie Merchant)
"One Hand, One Heart" (from West Side Story), (Leondard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim)
"Take My Breath Away" (Tuck & Patti)
"Thank You" (Led Zeppelin)
"The Water Is Wide" (James Taylor)


Contemporary - Recessional Suggestions

"Anthem" (Suzanne Ciani)
"Beautiful Day" (U2)
"From This Moment On" (Cole Porter)
"Linus & Lucy" (Peanuts Theme), (Vince Guaraldi)
"Little Martha" (Allman Brothers Band)
"Oh! You Pretty Things" (David Bowie)
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered" (Stevie Wonder)
"Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder)
"The Long and Winding Road" (The Beatles)


Religious/Sacred - Prelude Suggestions

"Ave Verum Corpus" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
"Benediction Nuptiale" (Camille Saint-Saens)
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (from Cantata 147), (Johann S. Bach)
"Liebster Jesu, Wir Sind Hier (Blessed Jesus, We Are Here)," BWV 633, (Johann S. Bach)
"Praise To The Lord" (Johann G. Walther)
"Prelude" on the "Old 110th," (John Joubert)


Religious/Sacred - Processional Suggestions

"All People That On Earth Do Dwell" ("Old 100th" hymn)
"Dona Nobis Pacem" (16th century hymn)
"Hanava Babanot" (A Love Song), (Neeman)
"St. Anthony's Chorale" (Franz Joseph Haydn)
"Hymn Fanfare from The Triumphant" (Francois Couperin)
"Scalero de Oro" (traditional Sephardic)


Religious/Sacred - Interlude Suggestions

"All Things Bright and Beautiful" (traditional hymn)
"Amazing Grace" (traditional)
"Ave Maria" (Johann S. Bach/Charles Gounod)
"Dodi Li" (traditional Jewish)
"Erev Ba" (traditional Jewish)
"Erhame dich" (from St. Matthew's Passion), (Johann S. Bach)
"In This Very Room" (Ron & Carol Harris)
"Jerusalem of Gold" (traditional Jewish)
"Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" (traditional hymn)
"Let the Bright Seraphim" (George F. Handel)
"Love Divine, All Love's Excelling" (traditional hymn)
"Morning Has Broken" (traditional)
"Panis Angelicus" (Cesar Franck)
"Sanctus" (Gabriel Faure)
"Shalom Alechem" (traditional Jewish)
"Simple Gifts" (traditional Shaker hymn)
"The Prayer" (Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion)
"Yedid Nefefsh" (traditional Jewish)


Religious/Sacred - Recessional Suggestions

"Exultate, Jubilate" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
"Joy" (George Winston)
"Now Thank We All Our God" (Johann S. Bach)
"Psalm 19" (Benedetto Marcello)

Postlude Suggestions

"Allegro Maestoso for Organ in C Major" (Felix Mendelssohn)
"Carillon de Westminster" (Louis Vierne)

"Feelin' Alright" (Joe Cocker)
"For The Beauty Of The Earth" (traditional hymn)
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness" (William M. Runyan)
"Harp Concerto in B Flat Major: Allegro Moderato" (George F. Handel)
"La Rejouissance" (George F. Handel)
"Musette's Waltz" (from La Boheme), (Giacomo Puccini)
"Now Thank We All Our God" (Sigfried Karg-Elert)
"Oh! Had I Jubal's Lyre" (George F. Handel)
"Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" (Sergi Rachmaninoff)
"String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76, No. 3: Allegro (Austrian Hymn)" (Franz Joseph Haydn)
"Trumpet Voluntary" (Jeremiah Clarke)
"To God Be the Glory" (William H. Doane)
"When the Saints Go Marching In" (traditional)

Some of the wedding reception musicians, especially string quartets and other instrumental groups you need to meet with and agree to music selections just as you would for wedding ceremony musicians, especially for specific points of the wedding reception such as the couple's introduction, the wedding toast, the couple's first dance, etc. Also if you want specific music played for the cocktail hour. Some additional music selections can be found on www.weddingwire.com and www.weddingvendors.com/music

For other groups that play such as big bands, dance bands, jazz groups and the like, see of you can have the groups have a music list on hand to share with wedding guests so music can be played upon request. The important thing to is to come to agreement, if there is dancing, if the dance floor is empty they can switch to another song.