Bitter And Sweet Blog

If 2010 is your year to get married, meaning that you have officially been proposed to already, then congratulations. But now the clock is ticking until the date of your wedding which means there isn’t a moment to spare. If you are having a Catholic ceremony, you really don’t have time; the music planning alone is confusing enough. So here is a little help.

First, you need to pick some prelude music. This is the music that will be played as your guests arrive to the ceremony. Usually people opt for classical music like Canon in D, Four Seasons, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, Ave Maria, and others. You only need about 20 minutes worth of prelude music. You can also hire a musician, i.e. a pianist, organist or string quartet, and let them make their own suggestions.

Next, you should choose the song that you are going to march down the aisle to. This song should be a religious song, although some priests will allow you to get away with a secular song. Check with the priest first though! “Here Comes The Bride” is a common choice, but its context should be considered before a choice is officially made.

The next song you will need to select is the one performed during the lighting of the unity candle. “Flesh of My Flesh” is a beautiful song to have sung here, however you can opt to choose something else or to have instrumental music played. Now if you are not having a full mass, then you will only need to choose one additional song which will be the song you march out on. “The Wedding March” is the best song at this time. However, if you are having a full mass, then you will want to read on.

The preparation and bringing of the gifts to the altar is the next point at which a song selection will need to be made. There are a number of beautiful songs that can be selected including “The Prayer” by Celine Dion, or “From This Moment’ by Shania Twain. Just make sure you clear any song with your priest first.

The Communion hymn follows and can be chosen from out of your church’s hymn book. Popular song choice at this point in the mass include “Taste and See”, “One Bread, One Body”, “Gift of Finest Wheat” and others.

If you would like to have a special song sung after Communion at meditation then that is acceptable. Again, depending on the priest, you may or may not be allowed to have secular music (non-religious) music sung at your wedding, so keep that in mind when making your song selections.

As mentioned above you can opt to end with “The Wedding March”. Planning music for you Catholic wedding can be simple and easy. The most important thing is that you understand what your priest will or will not allow and make adjustments as necessary. Most importantly though, plan early!

Sheila Dollarsby has attended and helped to plan a number of weddings, both Catholic and non-Catholic. She has not only helped with song selections, but flower selections as well and always uses 1800 Flowers to help. Thanks to 1800 Flowers, Sheila is able to deliver more to her brides than ever before!