From the first note played at your ceremony until the last, your wedding music choices will say something about you. You get to choose what that statement is.
Starting with that first note, the music played before your ceremony begins helps your guests focus on what is to come by establishing the mood you’ve selected.
Wedding prelude music helps achieve your goal of creating a wedding ceremony that is a memorable reflection of you (see my article “The Secret to Making Your Wedding Uniquely Yours”). Prelude music for weddings lets you have this at the same time as anticipation for the ceremony reaches its peak! Your guests can hear the music you’ve selected without distraction (nothing else is going on yet). This makes the music highly effective at setting your desired mood.
Wedding music is so much more than simply background filler or “music to be seated by”.
Some people don’t have any wedding prelude music or don’t think it’s important enough to bother with much of their attention. I suppose if their attitude is that its only purpose is covering up silence, then maybe they’re right.
Some people may tell you that the music before the ceremony needs to be quiet, non distracting. I even saw one wedding guidebook recommend that it “blend into the background”.
Don’t listen to them!
Moods & styles
Following the advice of someone who thinks the music should blend into the background won’t get you to your goal of a memorable ceremony filled with music that is a reflection of you. The depiction of you that this would reflect would be of a dull, bland person that blends into the background!
Certainly prelude music can be quieter than other, more festive parts of the service, but it does not need to be quiet. It can be quiet if that’s what sets the mood you want, but it is fine for it to be louder and livelier. You’re not trying to bore people, after all.
Remember, the purpose is to set the mood for what is to come, not to provide background music for people to chat or be seated to.
The mood you use does not need to be the same from beginning to end. You can have as much or as little variety as you choose (variety is a good thing!).
I recommend that you choose your processional music first and then choose your prelude music according to styles that blend with it. For help with processionals, see Wedding Music Unveiled’s four-part article that starts here: What Everyone Ought to Know About Wedding Processional Music
Exactly how your prelude music blends with your processional is up to you. You could have music that is either of the same or contrasting style as the processional. You can have your prelude music change styles over time, building in intensity, leading to a culmination in the processional.
It’s your choice. A contrasting style will make the processional stand out and seem more dramatic. A consistent style will make it stand out less. A change over time will build a sense of anticipation and offer a little variety.
Up next…
Part two of this article is all about wedding prelude music ideas. I’ll offer dozens of prelude songs for wedding ceremonies for you to choose from.
Any thoughts? Please leave a comment. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated!
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