Ashley Parker Angel

Proper Placement of Music for your Wedding Ceremony and Reception

by Kevin Kinyon

When planning a wedding ceremony, one of the most common questions wedding planners receive is, “How many songs do I need and where should they go?” The answer to that question varies simply because there is no wrong way to go. There are some guidelines to follow when placing music within a wedding ceremony. One sample program is included below.

Sample Wedding Ceremony Program

Prelude – For the prelude, you might select a pianist or perhaps a string quartet or flutist. The music played in the prelude is usually instrumental.

Processional – Whether you choose “Here Comes the Bride” or another accompaniment as you march down the aisle, your processional will announce your arrival. All in attendance will stand as you make your way toward the center point. The most common instrumentalists used for the processional are a pianist and organist. You could certainly opt for another instrument if you prefer. However, keep two things in mind. The instrument(s) need to be loud enough to hear. A flute would not be recommended. Also, if your wedding ceremony is indoors, be sure the instrument isn’t too loud, as it will make guests uncomfortable.

Poetry/Scripture Readings – If you choose to include this optional segment, you might consider having a soft instrumentalist playing in the background. A harpist, string quartet, organist or pianist would work well here. Most brides use the same instrumentalist who played during the prelude for the readings also.

Unity Candle/Soloist – A popular practice in a wedding ceremony is to light a unity candle. The bride’s parents and the groom’s parents each light separate candles. Then the bride takes one candle, the groom takes the other and they simultaneously light a new candle symbolizing the union of the two families.

Three scenarios have taken place during the unity candle lighting. Instrumentalists play softly in the background during the lighting or a soloist sings during the lighting. A third option is to have a gentle melody playing during the lighting and afterward have a soloist sing to the couple.

For those who choose not to light a unity candle, this section of the wedding ceremony is an excellent place for your soloist’s first song.

Vows – There are several places within the exchanging of vows where a soloist could sing a song. Before the vows, after the vows or before the rings are all practical and acceptable places for a soloist to sing.

Recessional – The part of the wedding ceremony you’ve been waiting for! Congratulations! You’re husband and wife. Of course, you’ll need music to leave by. The same principles apply to the recessional as did to the processional. All in attendance will stand as you make your way out of the gathering place. The most common instrumentalists used for the processional are a pianist and organist. If you choose another instrument, remember it needs to be loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to make guests uncomfortable.

Sample Wedding Reception Program

Your wedding reception will generally have some sort of entertainment. Typically, a wedding band or DJ will be used.

Arrival – Upon your arrival to the reception hall, the bandleader or DJ will announce you as man and wife.

Mingling – For the next few minutes, you and your groom will mix and mingle as you make your way to your reserved table. In order to alleviate feelings of awkwardness, music should be playing in the background.

Service of Food – At this point, if a formal meal is being served, it will generally take place now. If hors d’oeuvres are offered, guests and the bridal party will simply help themselves throughout the wedding reception. Throughout the meal, soft music should be playing.

First Dance – Obviously, you’ll want to select a special song for the band or DJ to play for your first dance. This is probably one of the most touching memories you’ll have of your wedding reception.

Best Man’s Toast – Just before the cutting of the cake, the best man will generally offer a toast to the couple. While no music is needed during the toast, your wedding band or DJ needs to be aware of the events, so they can stop and start the music as needed.

Cutting of the Cake – A fun and potentially dangerous portion of the wedding reception! Be gentle with one another. Don’t do anything you’ll regret later. As with the toast, no music is needed during this event.

Tossing of Bouquet – No music is played during the tossing of the bouquet or that of the garter.

Departure of Bride and Groom – As your friends and family gather to toss rose petals, rice or bird seed, or to blow bubbles, your special day will make way for a special life with your new mate.

Congratulations!

Violin Music in Demand for Los Angeles Weddings – Population is Very Sophisticated When it Comes to Ceremony and Reception Music

We all know that the sky is the limit when it comes to entertainment opportunities in Los Angeles. The high demand for musical events and the abundant supply of musicians and bands make LA one of the best places where to look for great wedding music in Los Angeles. Due to its close proximity to Hollywood, LA is one of the best targets for musicians from all over the world. Consequently, this city’s great diversity makes it almost impossible not to find something that will perfectly fit into your event. When it comes to weddings, people tend to preserve the traditions within their culture, which implies a certain style of music for a certain event. Also, each culture follows a certain ritual when it comes to weddings, so a good place to start your journey in finding the perfect band for your wedding is to establish what parts your wedding is made of and where would you need a band. Regardless of the ethnicity, the culture, or the age group of the people that attend your wedding, the artists that serve this great metropolis will provide you with the perfect wedding music.

Los Angeles wedding band members are usually very knowledgeable about the characteristics of the market they serve and adjust their repertoire based on the particularities of each and every wedding. There is no such thing as two identical weddings and the Los Angeles wedding bands know it very well. They will work with event planners, wedding coordinators, brides and grooms, and everyone else involved in the planning process to make sure that the celebration will be an absolute success, to the smallest detail. Everyone knows that the music is the salt and pepper of a wedding and everyone gets a little bit nervous when the time comes to take care of that task on the list. The countless challenges that a wedding band Los Angeles based has to face in order to survive in this highly competitive market force the musicians to permanently adjust their practice in order to meet the needs of such demanding clientele. With an extensive experience in the musical world, a professional Los Angeles wedding band will easily tailor its performance to match the atmosphere of any kind of ceremony or reception, even if more than one type of music is required for the same event.

The large exposure to the musical arena that the residents of LA have, has altered these people’s tastes and made them more sophisticated and demanding when it comes to ceremony and reception music in Los Angeles. The abundant offer and competition in this particular market gave them power but, at the same time, made them more vulnerable. The variety of styles and the multitude of choices are immense and choosing a Los Angeles wedding band can become an overwhelming experience. The idea of having many choices available at your finger tip is quite a tempting scenario, but making the actual decision may prove not to be as fun as it seemed to be at the beginning. You may even end up completely disoriented and realizing that you don’t know what music you actually want.

This is possible because the extended practice and experience of professional wedding musicians gives them the ability to play almost any kind of music style one can imagine. Famous wedding violin players usually do not limit their experience to only violin music for weddings; they play violin in any band and for any occasion, this making them familiar with various music styles. Over time they also develop an extra sense for perceiving the audience’s dynamics and adjusting their performance accordingly, which will prove very useful in moments when the music is the only one that could save something that wanted to be an extraordinary event but it is about to turn into something boring. We all know that most of the times, the music is the one that makes an event and wedding musicians are very well aware of this.

I have recently attended a wedding where the music was provided by a string quartet and a small band. The string quartet was made of two violins, one cello, and one double base. I know; when people think of a violin, they usually picture a concert hall where unless you are into the classical music, you will soon fall asleep. This was not the case here. This string quartet put together a beautiful repertoire for this wedding, and created a very romantic atmosphere with their beautiful, timeless music for the wedding ceremony, including prelude, processional, candle lighting, readings and recessional. Then, they added drums to this string quartet, and seamlessly and smoothly created a transition from the ceremony into the reception, performing swing, jazz, tango, Latin, and Celtic music. They included all pop classics or everyone’s favorite movie themes! It was unbelievable! I have learned that the violin is a magic instrument! All my life I limited the life of the violin to the classical world, but this wedding opened my eyes. A violin can be used for elegant solo violin music for wedding ceremonies; jazz, swing, tango, latin, and bossa novas for cocktail hours and dinner parties; as well as fiddle music, funk, rock, blues, latin, ska, celtic, and dance music for receptions, holiday parties, and corporate events.

The wedding musicians from a violin ensemble can usually feature solo, duo, and trio combinations, according to your event’s needs. Even if you require different types of music for more than one event in the same celebration, famous violin players for weddings usually play the violin in any band and are able to tailor their musical performance to fit the mood, the atmosphere, and the nature of the ceremony you have. If you want a classical touch to your wedding ceremony you will be using a solo violinist for weddings. This way, the actual ceremony will be just the beginning of a charming evening that the guests won’t soon forget. Following the ceremony, the violin ensemble can transform itself into a violin string quartet for receptions, bringing a touch of class to your after party. Then, with some drums and other exotic instruments such as a mandolin, or a flute, or an electric guitar, the band will invite you to an unforgetable night of joy, dance, and good disposition.

Wedding Ceremony Music By Dj Babylon Videobabylon.ca

Entertainment is a vital part of any Toronto wedding ceremony. In fact, all cities in Canada have realized the importance that entertainment plays in setting a good tempo in wedding ceremonies. At such, wedding DJ’s are setting up businesses in most Canadian cities to provide good nuptial music that forms the bulk of the ceremony music. It is advisable for couples or event planners organizing a Toronto wedding to discuss with the Wedding DJ what type of music will be played at both the venue and the reception.

Wedding DJs have a wide experience of playing music in Toronto wedding ceremonies and their advice is valuable. However, because the special day is primarily the couple’s day to make merry, their preferences should always override those of the DJ. Couples should therefore pick their favorite songs prior to the big day. In most Toronto weddings, Couples will allow the DJ to queue the music in whichever order, as long as he plays all the selected songs. Other couples will insist that the DJ slots the music in a particular order.

More luxurious Toronto weddings will use live bands to provide the ceremony music, though more expensive than hiring a wedding DJ, the live bands engage the audience more especially at the reception. Some couples choose to mix different music genres to give each stage of the ceremony a different tone. The biggest consideration when settling for such music mix is relevance. Couples mostly go for music that will have meaning even in future especially if their ceremony is video recorded.

When choosing music for Toronto weddings, it is important to consider the people who will attend the special ceremony and the point at which the music is played. Having done this professionally, experienced wedding DJs are able to advice the couple the best suitable music to play during the procession and recession. Ideally, this should be smooth music with a slow tempo. Most Toronto DJ’s prefer Jazz music for these parts. During the first dance, which is usually reserved for the marital couple, music with a faster beat can be queued. The couples should however practice the dance before hand to ensure that they are comfortable with the music.

As is custom in most Toronto weddings, the father-daughter dance is an important part of the reception party. Many people will be observing. The two should dance to music with comfortable beats, especially considering that the father to the bride may be elderly. The DJ should also know what music to play during the cake cutting ceremony and the last dance. In case couples based in Toronto cannot get a good DJ to carry out instructions, they can seek services of Mississauga DJs.

It is the responsibility of the wedding DJs to edit music for brevity. At such, they should be very careful to retain the relevant parts of the song. Toronto Wedding ceremonies especially those held in church take fixed times, the DJ should be aware of this and thus prepare his music to fit specified time slots.

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