This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime.

Music is important to the success of your wedding. Why it is so important? It creates a sense of expectation before the ceremony for the guests. It provides the bride with support on the most important walk of her life. It creates an atmosphere of calm reflection during the lull in the ceremony, the signing of the register. It also brings everyone to their feet for the bridal party’s final procession down the aisle. Yes, music is very important.

Choosing The Right Music For Your Wedding Day

Is Classical Music Your Choice?

For many, classical music in particular is still the preferred choice to create the perfect atmosphere for each stage of the wedding service. Classical music with the finest organs have graced weddings for hundreds of years. It can still be classical music, but it is rare that an organ is involved with the preference for outdoor ceremonies.

For some, choosing music for the wedding feels like a chore and put in the “too hard” basket. It doesn’t need to be hard, as today more than ever you can choose to have the music that you want. So how do you decide?

Here Comes The Bride

Let us start with the music for the traditional bride (or for same sex marriage, it might be groom) to enter to. In fact, you might need two entrance pieces of music for two members of the same sex to enter to. I would suggest if you need two pieces of music for the entrance, you will need to choose complimentary music to create a cohesive environment

Listen to classical music first to see if anything creates the atmosphere and the mood you want to create. That stately entrance may be your preference. More times than not the traditional entrance piece is passed over for something more upbeat! Often instrumental but becoming more popular are pieces of music with vocals. I say again, whatever you want to have as music, the choice is yours!!

Popular Choices For Wedding Music

I have put a selection of links to videos – check out a few of them and see if any of these feel right for your wedding day. This will get you into thinking about music and how they will impact your wedding day and evening.

Johann Pachelbel – Canon in D Major https://youtu.be/8Af372EQLck

Wedding String Quartet – Canon in D (Best Version) (Johann Pachelbel) https://youtu.be/es_3F3TLJS0?list=PLvHgOnbH8zxwRwb-QIhjvpPSe0vfcskNn

John Legend – All of Me https://youtu.be/450p7goxZqg?list=PLvHgOnbH8zxwRwb-QIhjvpPSe0vfcskNn

Wedding Song (Acoustic) – Yeah Yeah Yeahs https://youtu.be/Dm-fql_mrAQ?list=PLvHgOnbH8zxwRwb-QIhjvpPSe0vfcskNn

Can’t Help Falling In Love https://youtu.be/5sQeQC4hT10?list=PLvHgOnbH8zxwRwb-QIhjvpPSe0vfcskNn

And one of my favourites:

OFFICIAL Somewhere over the Rainbow – Israel “IZ” KamakawiwoÊ»ole

https://youtu.be/V1bFr2SWP1I?list=PLvHgOnbH8zxwRwb-QIhjvpPSe0vfcskNn

Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy https://youtu.be/d-diB65scQU?list=RDV1bFr2SWP1I

Jason Mraz – I’m Yours [Official Music Video] https://youtu.be/EkHTsc9PU2A?list=RDV1bFr2SWP1I

Bob Marley – One Love https://youtu.be/vdB-8eLEW8g?list=RDV1bFr2SWP1I

Choose The Right Music For Your Live Music Choice

Before you have your heart set on a piece of music, you should decide if you having a harpist, piper, or other form of live music. They may have a selection of music they suggest you choose from. If you were having a Bag Piper to pipe you in, Wagner’s Bridal Chorus might be just the right piece of music.

Fill The Lulls With Music

After you have chosen the entrance music you must then choose the music for the lull in the ceremony, the signing to the register and any marriage documents. Your choice of music here might be a friend singing with another friend accompanying on a guitar or a piece of recorded music. Your personal taste and the feeling you want to portray at this time will influence your decision on music.

Exit with Aplomb

Then our third and final piece of music is the for your procession down the aisle – for you are announcing to the world you are now married. With a sense of humour I have had a couple choose “Another One Bites the Dust” and other such statement pieces. Such is the individual choice that you must make to mark these three points of your wedding ceremony. The choice is yours!

Next Musical Steps

After the ceremony, you are on to the reception and more music that may be in the hands of a DJ or band. You have some choices to make here too. For the wedding dance – here is a Top 10 Modern Wedding Songs  from Watchmojo.com

Deciding On Your Musical Choices

Some couples divide up the decision making. The bride works on the entrance; together they work on the signing; the groom works on the exit. Whatever way you choose to do it enjoy the fun of selecting the music to make your magical day the best day ever.

Remember the music you choose will remind you of your wedding day whenever you hear it in the future.

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Bio: Julie is an experienced Civil Union and Wedding Celebrant and a member of the Celebrants Guild of New Zealand (South Island Inc). Julie lives in Huntsbury, Christchurch with her husband David and their beautiful daughter Amelia. They too, enjoyed their own unique wedding ceremony on New Years Eve 2001.

Over the years Julie has participated as a wedding celebrant for couples of all ages and backgrounds. Photos from some of these weddings can be seen on this website and Julie would like thank all the couples and photographers for allowing these to be displayed.

Julie delights in sharing her clients’ special day, and many return to her when wishing to have a naming ceremony or renewal of vows. Known as the ˜smiling celebrant’, her relaxing and friendly character is noticeable from your first contact with her. Please feel welcome to contact Julie to discuss how she can help make your day a very special one.