Have you ever planned a church wedding ceremony before?
Probably not. If this is all new to you, you need to be shown what to tell your musicians and to ask your musicians. Asking questions will help make sure your ceremony is what you wanted. It doesn’t all just happen by magic, after all.
Some musicians will work closely with you, guiding you through the process and keeping you well-informed. Others (especially when they’re busy—and who isn’t these days?) will assume that if you don’t ask, everything is OK on your end and you’re not looking for information.
Stay in control for best results
It’s much better to be prepared and in control of the whole process.
In an earlier article, I gave you a list of information to provide your wedding musician (especially your church musician) for productive initial discussions. This is a great way to be in control of the process.
In this article, I’ll continue with questions to ask your musician.
You’ll be guided through the process of working with musicians in my new step-by-step church wedding music guide! Or check out my Church Wedding Music 101 videos to jump-start your wedding planning.
To keep this post short, I included the explanations behind these questions in my email newsletter. This is just one example of the extra tips and information you can get by signing up! Avoid missing out on extra helpful material by signing up in the box below or on the right-hand side of the screen near the top.
16 questions
Here are questions to ask as you’re considering a musician or starting to work with them.
- Do they have a set repertoire they’ll only play from or will they work with you on the music you want?
- Do they think they’ll be able to play the music you want?
- How much will their services cost? Is there a set fee? What are the payment terms (amount and payment schedule)?
- Are they available for the ceremony rehearsal (if you know you want them at the rehearsal).
- How many weddings have they played for (or how often do they play for weddings)?
- Have they played for a wedding in this church before? If not, have they played for a wedding in your church’s denomination (such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran, etc.)?
- When do we need to make our agreement official and what does that involve?
- Do they already have the sheet music for the pieces you know you want?
- Have they worked with the other musicians that you plan to have?
Here are some questions to ask later on, as your wedding plans are progressing:
- How’s the music coming along? Are any pieces proving to be troublesome (either difficult to learn or difficult to find sheet music for)?
- Are rehearsals needed with other musicians (when you’ll be having musicians playing together—including even just a singer and an accompanist)? Are the rehearsals scheduled yet?
- Does the rehearsal need to be at the church?
- Do you think we have the right amount of music planned for the ceremony?
- What concerns do they have?
- What information do they need from you?
- What will they need at the church to perform?
A recent email newsletter provided insight into each question. Be sure not to miss out on such extra information in the future that doesn’t fit in a blog article! With the newsletter, you also get my Church Wedding Music 101 videos.
Your thoughts?
Can you think of other questions to ask? Please leave a comment. As with all comments, it will be appreciated!
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