So, you want live music at your wedding?
I always love hearing live music at weddings. To me, it allows more of the couple’s personality to be expressed, ensuring their special day is memorable for all their guests as well as them. Whether it’s a solo guitarist strumming “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley, a pianist playing “All of Me” by John Legend or a string quartet playing the ubiquitous “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel, live music adds an element of uniqueness to the day.
The gorgeous visuals of a wedding are usually the first things couples think of when they start to plan (The dress! The flowers! The décor!) But there is also the soundtrack to your wedding day that you should consider. Music can be played throughout the day, and there are many ways to incorporate musicians into the celebrations. This post is going to delve into the music for the ceremony.
Wedding Ceremony Music
The wedding ceremony music can be divided into three main parts: the prelude, the ceremony, and the postlude. The prelude is the music that your guests hear as they are arriving to the ceremony and getting seated. It’s the “waiting” music until the ceremony gets started. Typically, if you are hiring live musicians, their fee includes about 15 minutes of prelude music that they will play from their repertoire.
When it comes to the ceremony, whether it is a formal church wedding or an informal backyard wedding, you have several songs you need to decide on. These are the songs you will be asked about when talking to your musicians or DJ.
1. Processional Songs – These are the songs that are played when the wedding party walks down the aisle and takes their place at the front. The music can start when the wedding officiant walks down the aisle, followed by the groom and groomsmen, or you can choose to have them already be in place at the front before the music starts. I usually advise the couple to have at least two songs for the processional, one for the parents, bridesmaids, and children to walk down the aisle, and a second song for the bride’s processional. If you have a large bridal party, you may even opt for three songs. Just keep in mind, this adds to the length of the ceremony overall.
2. Signing of the Marriage License – This song is played when the couple, the witnesses (think Best Man and Maid of Honour) and the officiant are signing the marriage license, making the wedding legal. As this usually takes around five minutes or so, it would be wise to choose a longer song. That is also the beauty of hiring musicians, they can continue to play or begin a song again if they see you aren’t quite finished signing the documents.
3. Recessional Song – This is the song that is played once the ceremony concludes and the happy couple walks back down the aisle. It is usually more upbeat and celebratory than the other songs chosen and signals an end to the formalities and a beginning of the festivities!
The postlude music is similar to the prelude music. Musicians often include 15 minutes of music as guests are leaving the church or moving on to the cocktail reception. You can request specific songs for this part if you wish, but most couples leave it up to the musicians.
Quite often, when looking to hire musicians for the ceremony, you can also hire them for the cocktail hour. They are typically able to relocate to another venue and play an additional hour or two if needed. At venues where everything is happening at the same property, musicians can take a small break and situate themselves where the cocktail reception is happening and start playing again until dinner begins.
Anna Wedlock as captured by @fallonfraserphoto
Nova Scotia has no shortage of amazing musicians you can hire for your wedding. One of my favourites is Bela Strings. I recently sat down with Anna Wedlock to chat about the wedding music she has been providing since 2008. Anna is the Creative Director behind Bela Strings. We met about 10 years ago and I have been recommending them ever since. They are always, punctual, professional and sound exquisite!
As the name implies, Bela Strings can give you different combinations of stringed instruments for your wedding. From a soloist to a quartet, they can offer the violin, viola, cello, fiddle, as well as piano.
The most practical choice for those couples who know they want strings at their wedding is a duo of a violin and a cello. Not as expensive as a quartet, but giving a fuller sound than a soloist, this duo is able to play most classical pieces for your walk down the aisle.
If budget is an issue, then you certainly can have a solo instrument (piano is the best option here), but this is only recommended for smaller, more intimate gatherings. If budget isn’t an issue and you are having a larger wedding, then you may want to consider the quartet. This will also give you more flexibility in the types of music they can offer. Aside from the classical standards, the quartet has the ability to play pop, jazz and Celtic music, so they can be a very flexible option. Bela Strings has approximately 300 songs in their repertoire!
Some things to note
In general, you should expect to pay around $200/hour per musician plus any booking fee or travel fee to hire professional musicians in Nova Scotia. Some musicians come with ways to amplify their music (a keyboard usually needs to amplify to be heard), but sometimes amplification costs extra as they will be lugging more gear around and it will require more time to set up. Most of the time, amplification isn’t required indoors, but you may want to consider it for an outdoor wedding.
In the case of most musicians, they will need chairs provided. String musicians need to have armless chairs. If they are playing outdoors, please consider providing them shade (place them under a tree or shelter of some kind). Their instruments are very expensive and can get damaged in the blazing sun or in a light mist. It’s also not very comfortable for the musicians if they are playing on a hot summer day, and you don’t want their playing affected.
Most seasoned musicians that play for weddings have quite a few songs to choose from, but if you want them to play a song not in their repertoire, expect to pay extra for that. They will need to arrange the music for their instruments and rehearse it several times to ensure they know it for your wedding. So, if there is a song that is important to you, be sure to bring it up in your first conversation with your musicians.
For the most part, musicians like Bela Strings are hired to play for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Once the guests move on to dinner and dance, you can switch to a DJ, or a playlist on your phone. If you want the musicians to continue playing through the dinner service (but not during speeches of course!) they certainly can be hired to do that. They will need a 10-minute break each hour and likely will need meals provided if they are playing for 3-4 hours.
I hope that gives you a good overview of what to expect when hiring musicians for your wedding ceremony. This province has so many talented people to pick from and they are usually quite willing to play for weddings. Happy planning!