Wedding music is such a personal choice and many couples don’t know where to start.

Working in the wedding industry we are often asked by couples What music do we choose for the wedding ceremony?  Do we need a wedding music playlist?  I want music for my wedding but need some wedding entertainment ideas? I want to choose the best wedding music but don’t know where to start?

Well, music is a personal choice but its also an extremely important part of any celebration.

The Wedding Ceremony – Church or Civil

If you are having a Church wedding ceremony then you’ll need to choose entrance music for the bride, hymns to sing during the service, music for signing the register and exit music.

ENTRY MUSIC

You can choose classical wedding music for your entry/exit or pick a song that means something to you – perhaps a song that was playing when you first met – as long as it’s also suitable for playing in a church!

You’ll need an organist to play the hymns for your service but the rest of the music can be played by a small band, solo vocalist with backing tracks, harpist or why not opt for an acoustic guitarist who would sound fantastic in a church acoustic.

You will need to choose hymns though – so pick hymns that are popular if you can.  There’s nothing worse than choosing a hymn with a melody that nobody knows – they won’t sing along and the Vicar may feel a little vulnerable singing on their own!

Choose a entrance song that is beautiful, serene and gentle – this is the arrival of the bride after all.  Be clear in your choice when you relay the song to the organist – if you want the theme tune for Robin Hood – stress that you want “Everything I do” by Bryan Adams not THE theme tune for the 50’s TV show  – believe us – we’ve heard this one played before!  You don’t want the bride galloping down the aisle to the wrong song!

If you are having a civil reception – then you have a wider choice of songs to play for your entrance, recessional and exit music – but you can’t have anything played that has a religious side to it – so no hymns or similar.

Here are a few suggestions for entrance music – a few classical and a few modern:

They Long To Be Close To You – Carpenters
Songbird – Eva Cassidy
Make You Feel My Love – Adele
Bella’s Lullaby – Twilight
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Bridal Chorus (Here Comes The Bride) – Wagner
Clare de Lune – Claude Debussy
Canon in D
Nocturne – Chopin

You’ll need music for signing of the Register too.  Something classical, emotive, wonderful lyrics and reflective music.  If you are in a church then perhaps choose something classical or have a vocalist singing Ave Maria.  If you are having a civil ceremony then you are likely to remain in the same room whilst you sign the register – so choose something romantic that sums the pair of you up.

After signing of the register it’s time to leave the venue as a married couple.  This will be your first song you hear after the official side of the ceremony so pick something that is lively, fun and has amazing lyrics.

Here are a few exit suggestions:

Signed, Sealed Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder
Now That We’ve Found Love – Heavy D & The Boys
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
From This Moment On – Shania Twaine
Can You Feel The Love Tonight – Lion King

After the formalities are over it’s time for the Wedding Reception.

Lots of wedding entertainment ideas here!  Perhaps a steel band in the garden for a drinks reception, or a jazz trio, easy listening band? A harpist is always popular or for something a little different a brass quintet!  There’s also singing waiters which seem to be a popular addition these days – choose wisely though – there are some that should really stick to waiting on tables rather than singing! Go by recommendation or ask to see videos of them in action to make sure you hire the best ones!

Although Doctor Chocolate are a 9piece band we can also provide music for your wedding reception earlier in the day if required by scaling down to a 3/4 piece playing easy listening and soft jazz classics such as Fly Me To The Moon, Zing Went the Strings, Autumn Leaves, My Funny Valentine, Besame Mucho, Dream a Little Dream and lots of other hits by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams and all the other great crooners!Lots of ideas here for reception music.

The Evening Party

This is where your imagination can run and run!  You need to pick your evening entertainment based on your guests!  You may both absolutely love hard core Jazz, House Music, A Michael Buble tribute etc.  These are great for adding atmosphere to the evening and be exactly what you as a couple are totally into and you’ll love it!  Remember however that you are inviting guests along to the evening to celebrate with you and they will be of mixed age groups.  Remember also that not all your guests will also love extreme jazz – not everyone will be into hard house music – and a Michael Buble tribute may be excellent but you can’t dance along to it!   If your guests are not entertained or if they have their ears bashed with hard core jazz or house music – you’ll find they will start to leave the wedding venue early.  If budget is no option then book a tribute for part of the evening and get a live band in playing covers for the remainder of the evening.

If budget is a problem and you can’t afford to have lots of different entertainment – then we would recommend going for a party covers band who will play music that your whole wedding party will enjoy, dance and get involved with.  They will know the songs played, they can sing and dance along, they will have a great night dancing no matter what age group they are and most importantly everyone will have a brilliant evening.

Doctor Chocolate are a fantastic party covers band and we are experienced at celebrations where there is a mix in age groups and musical tastes.  The key is bringing everyone together to have a great night and help you celebrate one of the biggest nights of your lives!

The First Dance
This is definitely one that is super-personal.  It needs to be a song that you both love, that means something to you both.  Perhaps the song that was playing when you first met, had your first date, came on the radio when you had a special evening, was your holiday song or is just something a little different or it has lyrics in that just touch the very heart of you and sums up your relationship perfectly. Remember you also have to dance to it in front of your guests so pick a song that you are comfortable with.  If you can’t dance – pick a song where you just have to shuffle together and hold each other, encourage your guests to join you on the dance floor after the first 20 bars of the song.  If you can dance – pick something where you can bust out some moves and impress everyone with your dance prowess!

Moon River – Frank Sinatra
The Way You Look Tonight – Tony Bennett
All Of Me Loves All Of You – John Legend
Use Somebody – Kings Of Leon
Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars
1000 years – Christina Perry
Falling In Love with You Again – Imelda May
Better Together – Jack Johnson
For Once In My Life – Stevie Wonder

Read more articles on Wedding entertainment here:
Wedding Entrance Music
Wedding Recessional Music
Wedding Exit Music
Wedding Receptions – Music
Wedding Music  – First Dance
Wedding Evening Celebrations