Wedding Music: Areas And Options

For each of these choices, you will have to decide if you want to go with a live band, a DJ, a mix of your own music, or a combination. Most people decide on a combination, with each area getting a different treatment.

As guests enter the ceremony venue, music is best handled by having an organist or a pianist playing songs as they enter the main auditorium. This is by no means concrete, and you may also choose to just have a CD playing in the background.

For the processional, you may again choose between live music and recorded music. The processional should be mainly instrumental, and there are

many songs to choose from. Most processional songs are ones that are originally recorded using instruments only, and are often classics such as the popular Canon in D.

The musical selection should change with the entrance of the bride, and though "Here Comes the Bride" remains the most popular choice for the bride's walk, many brides are beginning to select their songs as an illustration of their individual tastes. Again, the song choice should be one that does not include words in the original writing.

As the bride and groom and others sign the marriage license, most weddings will include a special number by a live singer or group and some accompanying instruments. The song choice should reflect the emotion of the moment, as two lives are joined together in harmony by free will.

The recessional offers a great opportunity to choose a fun song that reflects a festive mood as well as the tastes of the couple. The recessional represents the moment that the couple is first introduced as being married to the public, and there will often be clapping and cheering. Have some fun with the moment- some songs that I have known couples to choose include "Winnie the Pooh", a punk version of "Earth Angel", "Rock the Kasbah" and "Oh, Boy!" by both Buddy Holly and MXPX.

At the reception, you will want to make sure you have a sound system set up that is suitable for your chosen music. There should be music played as guests come in and during dinner, as well as any planned performances during the formal program. After the program, it is time for the music to be turned up and the dancing to begin.

The bride and groom should pick the music for both their first dance together and the second dance, which will be with the parents. These song choices are totally up to the discretion of the couple.
sourceby Porche Reingold

Fun Wedding Music Activities

Music is as much a component of a good wedding as food and drink. You can have a wedding without music, but it's likely it will seem a little quiet and dull. So whether you have a full live band, a string quartet, a DJ spinning tunes or recorded music from a boom box, it should be included.

But music's not just for dancing. There are a myriad of activities you can plan around the music that will add an element of fun to your wedding.

One popular idea is to play musical chairs. Sure, this is a fun kid's game and you don't want to insult your guests in any way, but you can have some fun with this version of musical chairs. The chairs can be just about anything, from chairs lined up from the food tables, to the floor, if you think your guests might be open to sitting on the floor (and then having to get up and down again). One fun option is to use the men as the chairs - they kneel on the floor, with one knee on the floor and the other bent. The women sit lightly on the men's' knees as they are playing musical chairs. When either the man or woman falls down, that couple is out, until one couple is left.

Some brides and grooms like to play musical chairs in order to give away the table centerpiece, which many guests like to take home. Instead of assigning a number and awarding the centerpiece to the person in possession of that number, you have each table play musical chairs until the person left standing is the one that gets to take home the centerpiece.

How about a rousing game of "name that tune"? This is a game that's best for a smaller, intimate wedding where everyone knows the bride and groom well. Prior to the wedding, whoever is planning the wedding should get a list of favorite songs of both the bride and groom. Create a CD of those songs, and then create a game of "name that tune". Guests can be divided into teams and then be played just a small snippet of each song.

After guests hear that first snippet, they can then "bid" on how quickly they can name the tune. So one group might say they can name the tune in 10 seconds, while the other group might say 5 seconds. Once one group has bowed out, the other group will then have to "name that tune". This is a fun game that gets everyone involved and which the bride and groom are particularly delighted by.

Depending on the style of the wedding, there are many fun games you can play to get the bride and groom out on the dance floor. Now, if this is a very large and very elegant wedding, this option might not work since there is certain decorum to maintain, but for a casual, fun, family-centered wedding some of these games can be fun.

If guests want to "call out" the wedding couple onto the dance floor, they can be asked to get out on the dance floor themselves first and hula hoop or perform their own version of a break dance. Much in the way guests sometimes have to "perform" to get the couple the kiss this is another way to get the guests involved and having fun in order to create fun wedding memories for the bride and groom.
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