When it comes to choosing music, couples are often bewildered with the sheer volume of choice. For a unique but still traditional entrance song, we love Gabriel’s Oboe by Ennio Morricone. Oiginally composed as the score to the film The Mission, the piece manages to be light yet emotional all at the same time.
We can just see the bridal party gliding down the aisle to this satiny song. Meanwhile, its smooth notes set the perfect stage for the big moment…the bride’s entrance!
Last week I took a trip to see the fantastic Slumdog Millionaire. A. R. Rahman’s soundtrack is utterly beautiful and helped to paint a vivid picture of Mumbai. With wedding planning never far from my mind, I noticed Dreams on Fire, a beautiful track which would be perfect for entrance music; either for the entire bridal party or just for the bridesmaids before the music changes to something different for the bride.
Over the weekend we were away at a very muddy Greenbelt festival. On the last day there was a moment where the entire 10,000 strong crowd got together to sing ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by the Beatles. It was a fantastic moment and I thought that the song would make a great a bridal entrance/exit/first dance or perhaps even in place of a hymn in a civil ceremony.
I also recently discovered Bon Iver and cannot get enough of this amazing music which again would be perfect for somewhere within a wedding. My favourite track is Skinny Love. Go download the album if you haven’t already.
In recent years, as weddings have become more and more personalised, processional music (the bride’s entrance music) has also been given a makeover & many couples are looking for something beyond the traditional wedding march (not that there is anything wrong with traditional you understand!). At the too-many-to-count weddings I’ve been to in the last few years, I’ve always found that processional music is a great opportunity to express your personality whilst also setting the tone and developing the style of your celebration.
So….what will you choose?
One of my closest friends had this beautiful track & despite not being at her wedding (!! OK so I didn’t actually know her back then,) the track really captures something of them and their relationship.
Recently, I’ve heard this & this which both work beautifully as processionals. With the Coldplay track the bride entered at the ‘guitar crescendo’ – what an amazing moment!
For my own wedding I chose this (sorry you can’t hear more of it), the lyrics to which are:
“Hold my hand while you sleep So when you dream I’m there with you.
Home, feels like home
I hurry to make my way home Cos you are my truth and my light And when night falls I search for you Make my way closer to you, closer to you”
I chose this track not only because it’s beautiful but also because the lyrics were really meaningful. Getting married felt like coming home, finding that place where you’re suppossed to be and so ‘coming home’ became a minor theme to our wedding day.
For a long time I toyed with the idea of having this incredible piece (warning: long piece of music but definitely worth it) & I still think it would be incredible at a wedding. Maybe a cathedral wedding. A cathedral wedding with a huge budget where you could have the entire orchestra there ;)
I also recently found this Spiritual from Oh Brother Where Art Thou which I think would work brilliantly at a Christian wedding.
For our exit we also chose this iconic track (nb nothing to do with SATC). A great track that worked perfectly for that moment!
Today, we’re really excited to be launching a series of Planning Tricks. In this section, we’re going to be posting some of the simple ways we’ve learnt to make your wedding day that much more of a success. We hope you’ll enjoy and if you have any tricks of your own please contact us.
False Starts and Pre Ceremony Music: If you’ve ever been a guest at a wedding you’ll know all about the strange phenomenon of false starts. As the bride’s arrival draws ever near, waves of silence seem to move across guests and whispers of “is she here yet” fly around the room. As the minutes pass, these false starts happen more frequently, for longer periods of time and can create a strange, almost flat atmosphere. To avoid this, simply play some background music to stop any awkward silences. My absolute favourites are Zero 7, Sigur Ros and The Cinematic Orchestra as ambient music works perfectly for this part of the day.
We're Weddings by Zoë Lingard was born from a passion for beautiful, seamless weddings. Having attended countless celebrations that didn't quite fulfil their potential and whose bride and groom arrived at the altar stressed out and tired, we knew that a new approach was long overdue.
We're Weddings by Zoë Lingard, we believe that a wedding should always be personalised and never generic. We believe guests should never be hungry, transitions should always be smooth and evening entertainment so good, guests simply can't stop dancing. We believe the details really do matter and that above all, guests should leave your wedding feeling like they know you that little bit better.
London based wedding planners creating beautiful, bespoke weddings throughout the London and the Southeast of England. Lovers of seamless weddings and all things beautiful.
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