To make sure each part of your ceremony appears distinct to your guests, you might like to alter the music in accordance with whichever phase you're moving into. Not only will this strengthen the thematic nature of each musical setting – it will also serve to prompt your guests that something new and different is happening. Here, we've separated a typical wedding ceremony into sections, and outlined which kind of wedding music and which kind of performer(s) would suit each one best.
Pre-ceremony
Before your wedding begins, you're going to want to set the tone for the rest of your ceremony as your guests filter in and find their seats. Remember – first impressions last! While you're probably going to want to save the more exciting, upbeat music for later on (definitely for a few drinks later), you still have quite a lot of scope here for choice. Try to avoid choosing completely different music from the rest of your playlist for this preliminary period – you do want some semblance of unity in the soundtrack to your union, after all. But don't feel obliged to stick to pre-recorded tracks of whispered vocals accompanied by barely audible piano – unless, of course, this ties into your overarching theme, and you plan to have piano and vocals of varying degrees of intensity to underpin each magical moment. Feel free to branch out into other genres – if, for example, you've hired a jazz band for the evening, you could ask them to play something light to welcome people into the room, or even for the pianist or guitarist to play a solo set. Just choose the kind of music that represents whatever theme of wedding you've opted for, be it traditional, modern or vintage, then take it down a peg or two – it'll really build the anticipation for what comes next.
