Wedding Music Ideas

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Andrew Norton

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Wedding ceremony music ideas

How much?

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The down side of these is that a harp is not easily transportable, if you want for example to have music in two different parts (two floors) of the same building or two different places. As to a quartet, four players are more expensive than one and if you go with an agency they will, rightly, charge their share.

So, having considered the issues that couples face, if you are looking for some wedding music in Oxford or not very far from it, you may want to consider a soloist playing an easily movable instrument, maybe you're looking for a violinist, so what about...

Something different?

Wedding music for a civil ceremony in a
licensed restaurant, in Oxford

So, you'd like to have something different, unusual? Then a solo viola (or with piano/organ) is the answer (most people would say "violin" when they see it). The viola has a warm, mellow tone and once you hear it you’ll love it. At your ceremony and reception you can have a variety of works, from classical, to folk, opera arias and I can play your favourite tune, if I don't know it, I'll learn it at no extra charge! Also being the viola a portable instrument, it can be easily moved around the venue so, even if it's large, everybody can have his or her own personal music performance (see photo below) and you won't see unsightly music stand and sheet music flying around (especially outdoor with some breeze), everything is played from memory.

Click here to book your wedding music or call: (UK) 07985 025129.

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Wedding ceremony music ideas

Here is some music which is very often requested and played at a wedding ceremony, you can choose your favourite ones.

You can listen to some wedding music clips, click each name (more in the next few days). I warmly recommend you to use your headphones for better results!

Please, remember that in civil ceremonies you are not allowed to have religious music of any sort (marked with *).

The music works listed below are traditionally the most popular wedding music, commonly requested, although several times I've been asked for other music (for example Sally Gardens, The land of my fathers), by someone who wanted something more personal, for example the tune that the groom was playing when they first met. 

These pieces are to entertain your friends and family as they gather in the church or ceremony hall, so here's a selection of calm, solemn melodies

• Air on the G string, Bach
• Prélude 1, Prélude n. 3, Sarabande 3, from Cello Suites, Bach
• *Sheep may safely graze, Bach
• Largo, from Xerse, Handel
• Largo, from Viola concerto, Telemann

The Bridal procession

• Wedding March (Here comes the Bride), Wagner or
• Bridal March, Mendelssohn
• *Choral “Jesus, joy of Man's desiring” BWV 147, Bach or
• *Te Deum, Charpentier

Signing of the Register/Communion

• Canon, Pachelbel or
• Adagio from the Winter, Vivaldi or
• Air on the G string, Bach or
• *Ave Maria, Schubert or
• *Amazing grace
• Meditation from Thais, Massenet

• Handel, Largo, from Xerse

Recession

• *Choral “Jesus, joy of Man's desiring” BWV 147, Bach or
• Bridal March, Mendelssohn or
• Prelude in C, Bach
• Gigue 3

Music for an Indian, Asian wedding

• Mohabbatein
• Dil ne yeh kaha hai dil se (Dhadkan)
• Guzarish (Ghajini)
• Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne Jo Dil Ko - Yadon Ki Baraat

Convinced? Then click here to book your wedding music or call (UK) 07985 025129.

Wedding reception music ideas

For your wedding reception the choice of music is much broader and freer. Have a look and see how this ideas for music entertainment could fit your special event too, from famous classical music to folk. Warch this video or click the name to listen to a sample.

Classical Music

Bach, Cello Suites n.1 & 3 (Prélude n.1, Allemande 1, Courante 1, Sarabande 1, Menuet 1, Gigue 1; Prélude 3, Allemande 3, Courante 3, Sarabande 3, Bourrée 3, Gigue 3), Air on the G string, Choral “Jesus, joy of Man's desiring”, BWV147

Bernstein, Maria from West Side Story

Handel, Largo, from Xerse

Mascagni, Intermezzo from “Cavalleria rusticana”

Massenet, Meditation from "Thais"

Mozart, “Voi che sapete” from Marriage of Figaro, “Là ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni

Pachelbel, Canon

Paganini, Adagio cantabile

Puccini, “E lucean le stelle” from Tosca, “Ch’ella mi creda” from The girl from the west

Schubert, Ave Maria
Stamitz, Viola Concerto

Telemann, Viola Concerto (Largo, Allegro, Adagio, Presto)

Vivaldi, Adagio from the Winter

Folk music

To add variety, you can mix different genres and styles of music. Here is a list of folk music I play: English, Scottish, Irish, American, songs and dances (waltzes, jigs, etc.), including some of the most famous ones.

Another video for you

The lovely folk tune Fanny Power

and always new tunes added to the list...

How much?

So you're wondering, how much is my wedding music going to cost?

First of all, maybe it’s necessary to remind, since some people tend to forget it, that professionals musicians are professionals exactly like accountants, dentists, solicitors etc. and in order to maintain a high quality standard they need to be paid professional rates.

Therefore, when you pay for a music performance, like any professional service, you don’t pay just for that one or two hours the musician(s) perform there, you need to take into account the preparation of that service, that is the time spent to practice and learn the pieces of music and expenses (if you ever tried to learn to play an instrument you’ll understand what it takes, if you’ve never done it I’d encourage you to start learning one now, just to see what it means).

Of course, you can always find someone willing to do it for nearly no money but ask yourself why? If it’s a friend of yours who wants to do it as a present for you, fine, it’s a different matter, otherwise the answer is simple: like anything else, they're not doing it professionally and you get what you pay for.

Would you book your wedding dress, venue, catering, hairdressing, photographer and everything else for your wedding from someone who's not a professional in his or her business, based on the price only, choosing the cheapest you can get? Even if you are on a tight budget, there has to be a balance between the price and the quality.

Then the price for a wedding ceremony and reception music depends on many factors, like the number of performers and duration of the event.

Generally speaking, the more players there are, the less they get paid individually (within limits) and vice versa. This is because within a group the responsibility on each player is less heavy than the responsibility a duo or a soloist have. It’s easy to understand, if you are a solo player and something doesn’t go quite right, there is nobody around to blame. The difficulties of the music pieces are all on the shoulders of one or two players. Besides this, not all musicians feel happy about playing solo, so this reduces the number of solo/duo performers available.

As to duration, if you want music for the ceremony only the minimum is generally one hour, including the arrival of guests and some time after the celebration itself, everybody leaving the church or hall, congratulating the couple etc, when you can have some music played. However, from my experience, most couples like to have classical music for the ceremony and for a drink reception after it and all this could last about two or, more often, three hours.

So, to recapitulate, duo or solo performers are more expensive individually, but with a group you have to add up the individual amounts and so to have a quartet for example, you end up with paying more than a duo or a soloist. To give you a rough idea, you could get some professional music played at your wedding from a minimum of about £150-200, again based on the number of players and on how long you want the music for.

Anyway, whatever your budget and the style you choose, I’d recommend you to always book professional players, people who have experience and will really help you to organise the music for your wedding with the most suitable pieces.

After all, this is a day you’ll remember for all your life and the music will really contribute to make it more memorable.

Thanks for your visit, contact me for more information, to send a comment or to book your music entertainment. For a live chat call: (UK) 07985 025129.

Wedding links

Here are some links that may be useful to help organize your wedding

Wedding planner

Wedding Dresses Oxfordshire by Lily Bridal

For some ideas about where to celebrate your wedding in and around Oxford, go from Wedding music to Wedding venues

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