Wedding Ceremony
“Your Wedding Ceremony” is part one of a series looking into the elements of a wedding day. You’ll have decided what piece of music you want to walk down the aisle to, but what about everything else? Guest arrival, signing of the register, leaving together – it all contributes to your wedding atmosphere. Together we can create your own unique ceremony soundtrack that will not only evoke emotion in your guests but completely personalise your wedding.
Starting with the ceremony and for this article, we will look at a civil registrar ceremony, a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the UK, this person is normally called a registrar.
How does that affect your choices regarding music for your ceremony, well simply as it’s non-religious you are not able to have religious music which can include contemporary music that mentions religion or god.
The Prelude
Musically there are different parts to your ceremony starting with the music that plays as your guests arrive, The Prelude. Done well this can not only set the atmosphere but create anticipation for what will come next, right up until your guests get the first glimpse of the wedding dress. A nice touch is for this music to be chosen by the Bridegroom, music that can reflect his personality but also help him to relax – it can also be fun and quirky to raise a smile and even some laughter.
The bridle party entrance, The Processional.
The next piece of music to be played will be the Bride’s choice. This music is her “Entrance”, and the one to which she will walk up the Aisle, after the Registrar has asked the congregation, and your guests to stand. this piece of music may be proceeded by a separate piece for flower girls, page boys and bridesmaids or you may wish the whole bridal party to enter on one piece of music. The volume levels will raise and fall, at the appropriate time, to add dynamics to the event, and will have been agreed upon with the registrar beforehand. One of the biggest challenges with this being in the hands of a none professional is that when you arrive at the end of the aisle the music comes to an abrupt end as opposed to gently fading.
Signing the register, now married!
This section of music is typically a couple of tunes that can reflect the two of you and act as a background while the legal document is signed by the couple, two witnesses and the Officiant after the ceremony. Typically this is also the time when the official photographer may stage some photos and an opportunity for guests to move out of their seats to also take some pictures.
Leaving the ceremony, The Recessional
After you have been presented with your certificate of marriage by the registrar and the guests have been asked to stand, the next piece of music is celebratory and depending on the length of the aisle, this may need to be edited to create the right impact.
You’re undoubtedly going to be nervous on the most important day of your life, but with all your music backed up for peace of mind, and the ceremony music in the hands of a professional, together we can create your own ceremony soundtrack- the only thing you’ll have to think about is getting married.
