I do not want to this played as I walked down the aisle with my father. It's a great dramatic opener, but I just don't feel it for my own ceremony. For one thing, our church does not have an organ, just a piano and I thought the piece wouldn't sound as great on piano. Our pianist suggested the other often-used piece Mendelssohn's "Wedding March," but as stately and regal as it is, I didn't feel that either.
After scouring classical pieces on Youtube, I decided on Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" for the rest of the wedding party's entrance (sponsors, parents, bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc.) and then switching to the ever-lovely "Cannon in D" by Pachelbel for my father and I. No, it's not as grand and dramatic as the other pieces, but I have always loved the piece. I love the exquisite build up in the first few bars. I think it's a gorgeous piece as I come walking toward my new husband-to-be!
This past week, aside from trying to find the great soundtrack to my "dramatic entrance," I had been trying to come up with a music program for our ceremony. My sister's choir and pianist have so graciously agreed to perform for our ceremony. I did, however, need to provide them the music selections (which, according to our church's rules, must be Christian hymns or classical pieces).
While I am familiar with a lot of hymns sung during mass, I couldn't think of any songs that were appropriate. I wanted the songs to reflect our readings as well (Song of Songs 2:8-10,14,16a;8:6-7a, 1 Corinthians:12-31-13-8a, and Mark 10:6-9). There are several resources on the Web (and good ole Youtube) that helped me narrow down my choices. Here's what we came up with for our Catholic ceremony (without communion):
Prelude:
"Where there is Love"
"I Have Loved You"
"Set me as a Seal"
Processional:
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Johann Sebastian Bach
"Canon in D" - Pachelbel
Psalm 145: The Lord is Compassionate (sung by cantor)
Lighting of the Unity Candle
"When Love is Found"
Recessional:
“Ode to Joy” by Beethoven
Yay! Our musical program is complete....now onto the reception!
3 comments:
You're probably going to want more songs for the prelude than that. If you run late (which you most likely will), you will want music in place.
Thanks, Ashley! Unfortunately, our church runs on a very timely schedule and we don't really have the option of being late (10 minutes late and they cancel the ceremony!)But if we are a few minutes late, my pianist says she has solo piano pieces to fill the time.
The Canon is a nice choice for the processional!
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