Choosing the Right Music for Your Wedding Day
Top tips for music at your wedding
There are a number of occasions during the day you need music
It can get complicated for the wedding planners or organisers to make sure they play the right music at the right time. And it’s crucial they get it right. I suggest you split your music into playlists – and clearly label them, even if there’s only one song in that playlist. If you can, remove everything else from the device that will be playing the music. That way, there’s no risk of the Bride walking down the aisle to some Death Metal or Gangster Rap when she wanted to enter to Ed Sheeran! Here’s the playlists I created for my wedding:
- Wedding Day Time – This was played as guests were arriving and during the meal. It was a calmer more chilled out playlist about four and a half hours long.
- Bride Entrance – This was obviously the song my beautiful bride and her party walked down the aisle to.
- Signing of the register – This was played while we signed the register. I suggest four or five songs. You’d be amazed how long this can take and the last thing you want to do is play the same song over and over again. What is often forgotten is that photos aren’t actually allowed to be taken while you do this. So what normally happens is the registrar will instruct you in signing the register, your witnesses will then sign. Then you will pose for your official photographer to take pictures followed by an invite for your guests to take pictures too. You’ll be glad of the extra songs on the day, I promise.
- Recessional – This is what you leave to. It’s a celebration! Choose something fun and upbeat.
- First Dance – Again, another one song playlist but at least it means you’ll get the right song to dance to!
- Early Evening – This was our playlist to start to get everyone in the party mood. More upbeat than our day time playlist.
- Late Evening – If you’re having a band remember that they will probably take a break so make sure you’ve got some tunes lined up for the guests to keep dancing too.
Music while guests are arriving
As listed above you will have noticed I made a playlist for during the day. You would be amazed at how many people forget about this. You’ve chosen your beautiful venue and guests are arriving ready to see you but there’s no music on, it really does affect the atmosphere. A little bit of background music makes all the difference. Many venues will have pre-determined playlists for you to use but there’s nothing wrong with choosing the music yourself to make your day a bit more individual to you.
Bride and Bridal party entrance
When choosing the music for the Bride and Bridal Party entrance don’t forget to consider the length of the song. Depending on the size of your bridal party it could take some time for them all to get down the aisle before the bride even begins her entrance. The last thing you want to happen is the music stops before you’ve finished your entrance. Also be wary of selecting a certain time during the song you want to make your entrance. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this but make sure there’s enough time in the song for you to do this.
How will you play the music
Make a plan as to how you will play the music. Check ahead of time what facilities the venue has. One of the biggest issues we regularly face is not getting the iPod (or other media player) off the groom – or groomsman – in time and when we do get it it’s different to what they had originally described. For example there’s no 3.5mm jack to plug into – a big problem on newer iPhones.
Get it checked
You’ve put loads of effort into your playlists, but have you checked it? It’s always worth getting someone else to check it over, just incase you’ve missed that all important song – or you’ve downloaded the wrong version!
Have a backup
I would definitely suggest this! Even if you just pop your playlists on your phone as well as your iPod for example. Imagine spending all that time on your music and then your iPod dies and you can’t play it. Let’s not add any stress to your special day! Better still would be to send a link of your playlists to the venue itself. That way they have a backup ready on hand and if anything fails, you don’t even have to know. The wedding team can sort it out.
Don’t rely on WIFI or 4G
Download your music! It sounds obvious but especially for us out in the middle of Northumberland, 4G and even our WIFI can be sketchy at times. Don’t rely on being able to stream all of your playlists. Which leads us nicely on to my next top tip…
Avoid the adverts
If you’re going to use Spotify – or something similar – make sure you’re not using the free version. No one wants to hear an advert for the latest Marvel release in the cinema while you’re signing your register.
Follow the rules
Did you know that during a wedding ceremony not held at a church your music and readings are not allowed to feature any religious reference? It’s in the small print when you book your registrar, but many people miss this. That includes any reference to even Angels for example. It makes choosing your music all the more complicated and is why you should give yourselves plenty of time to pick. You’re actually supposed to submit your choices before the day itself.
Choose for yourselves
Don’t let others sway you when you’re picking those special songs like your first dance. For the rest of your married life whenever you hear that song you will be reminded of your happy day. Make it something you both love and don’t worry about what other people think of it – or if you think anyone else will even know it. It’s your day, so pick your song!
Get your guests involved
With the above being said however, there’s nothing wrong with getting the guests involved with the music on the rest of your day. When I got married we asked our guests to suggest songs on their RSVP. It was great as it made them feel really involved and meant there was always people dancing to the music.
Well, I hope you found these tips useful. Whenever I chat to a Bride and Groom planning their wedding day I often mention these and they’re always very grateful. It’s one of the tasks in a build up to a wedding that can be so easily overlooked but will be very crucial on the big day!