Your wedding day music guide
- Your Love Story -
Music is always an important part of every story. Your wedding is a celebration of your love story, the pages past and the ones yet to come, so your music should accompany that. Was there a song playing in the background somewhere on your first date? Are there songs that you shared with each other when you first met? What songs have you realized together that you both really like? What songs do you associate with your love? Start writing down that list and hold on to it. As you start to plan the soundtrack to your night's itinerary, notice where each song might fit best. It is important to place the right song at the right time to maximize the emotional support music offers to each moment.
- Bridal Party Entrance -
The processional is enhanced by beautiful melodies, elegant and joyous songs. You can choose an uplifting song that represents the family members as they enter and then pause and switch to a song to signify the bride’s entrance. Sometimes even a bit of humor in the music is a great way to help the bridal party and guests relax into the ceremony time a bit.
- Ceremony -
The ceremony is a very intimate part of a wedding, so you’ll want to choose songs that set the right tone and support the emotions of your ceremony. An acoustic guitarist, vocalist, string section of cello and violin, a singer/acoustic guitarist, perhaps an elegant harpist or a combination of any of those types of musicians will deliver non-obtrusive,heartwarming and pleasing melodies to weave around your vows and officiant’s words. If you have special meaningful songs for your ceremony, you can have a singer/guitarist perform a rendition. Another option, if you want to go without live musicians, is to ask your DJ to arrange a pre-recorded set of your song selections. Often, ceremonies have special moments, like sand ceremonies, where there are no words spoken and music can weave in and out of these to support the moment and fill the silence.
- Recessional -
Here's a moment to turn it up a notch, it's time to celebrate! This should be a fun, positive song, meaningful to you as your first song walking forward, hand in hand as a married couple.
- Cocktail Hour Music -
Often you can use the musicians from your ceremony for this time before dinner. A string quartet makes for nice mingling music and a singer/songwriter is a great way to entertain guests. They often come with their own love song based repertoire to blend in with your requests.
- Dinner -
Dinner music is about creating a comfortable ambiance, a soft background soundtrack for social conversations. Find some mellow (but not boring) music and create your own playlist, or have your live musicians or DJ provide this light dinner music. Often this music fades in and out with various stories being told and speeches being made in honor of the newly married couple. - First Dance - This song should have a special meaning to you as a couple, and be a slower, sweet and intimate song. Perhaps you will have danced to it many times before and have choreographed your moves.
- Reception -
If you can find one that can deliver the right music for your reception’s dancing and celebration, a live band is always a great option. Your other option is recorded music, either you or a family member can run a playlist through the PA or you can hire a DJ. DJs arrive on the scene to create a solid beat to keep all the guests moving but the dance floor tunes don’t have to be an hour-long mega-mix, you can pull together your own playlist that the DJ can be inspired from. A week before the ceremony you can jot down a list of your ‘must play’ songs, or even your ‘must not play’ songs. A DJ will only need about 7 tracks here to get an idea of the vibe you’re going for.
What else would you include in this guide to selecting the perfect soundtrack to your special wedding day? Look for Magnetic West Music's Guide to Music for Wedding Videos coming soon!
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