I've gotten a few reader requests asking me about the music we used for our wedding ceremony. So, here y'all go:
Image Courtesy of: Miranda Laine Photography
Our wedding ceremony was very casual and simple so we opted to nix having any live musicians or tons of different selections. Instead of the more traditional having-a-different-song-play-when-each-member-of-the-wedding-party-walks-the-aisle, we selected one song for everyone to walk into. And that song? Exactly the same one that played as a processional song for our Alaskan civil ceremony.
"Forever" by The Dropkick Murphys - New England dwellers know and love this band (and probably had this song play during their own wedding at some point). For the rest of you, this is a Irish punk band that wrote a beautiful, non-schmaltzy song about love making you stronger and better. It's got a great musical build that works really well for a wedding processional.
No music played during the wedding ceremony. I really wanted to focus on the words and readings and knew that music would just be a distraction. No one seemed to mind. The recessional was the song "Perfect" by Sara Evans. This is a pop-style, country song about how how marriage doesn't have to be a silly fairy tale to be great. It was a sweet way to leave our wedding ceremony.
For about a half and hour before the ceremony, we played a variety of country music love songs (from Johnny Cash to Trace Adkins to the Zac Brown Band) as a subtle nod to my dad (who introduced us and LOVED country music). All the music was played from my iPod and our Bose speaker system. It worked great and the sound was amazing. To organize the music, I just made separate playlists for each section of the ceremony - labeled "Processional", "Recessional", and "Pre-Ceremony Music". My friend Peabs manned the iPod and pushed the right playlist when our day-of-coordinator, Jana Evans, instructed.
Easy peasy.
What music did you/are you using for your wedding ceremony?
I love your perspective! Music can add to the wedding, but focusing on words and people is the best!
Posted by: Occasions In Print | 30 January 2013 at 11:59 AM
I'm having a low key ceremony with about 60 guests. I have been thinking about the Bose system, did it project the music pretty well? Battery operated? We're getting married under trees so no electricity! Did you guys use a microphone at any point?
Posted by: Lauren | 30 January 2013 at 03:48 PM
Lauren,
We used the exact one I linked to (it was a wedding gift from my sister) in a small clearing with about 75 guests. It worked perfectly. The wedding party walked down from the house to the ceremony spot (about 400 yards) and we could hear it loud and clear.
The one we used is a corded one (we ran a lot of extension cords) but I found this one: http://www.amazon.com/Bose-SoundDock-Portable-30-Pin-Speaker/dp/B000V2FJAS/ref=sr_1_14?s=mp3&srs=2529061011&ie=UTF8&qid=1359598716&sr=1-14&keywords=bose+wireless which is. We did not use a microphone during our ceremony because without music, our voices carried fine without one. Hope that helps!
Posted by: KissMyTulle | 30 January 2013 at 05:20 PM