I hear this sad story over and over again:
A couple thinks wedding ceremony music will be a piece of cake. They wait until a month or so before the ceremony and then approach their church’s musician to see if he or she is available (or they start looking for outside musicians).
They quickly discover there’s a lot more to do than they thought.
Combined with everything else they’re already working on, they become completely stressed out. There’s got to be an easier way to plan wedding music.
Common sad story #2
There is also a “piece of cake” approach to wedding music planning. It’s just as sad and goes like this:
A couple just wants music for their ceremony and doesn’t much care what that music is. They find a musician and give permission to play whatever he or she wants. The musician assumes this means the couple wants the same music everyone else uses.
At the ceremony, the music ends up being all too familiar and has no connection whatsoever to the couple. It’s uninspiring. The music may be well-played, but it’s uninspiring because the couple had no interest in it. When it’s over, no one remembers it.
There is a better approach to wedding music planning
The approach I champion is different. It’s a more hands-on, “DIY” approach.
It gives better, more personal results and avoids surprises along the way.
But in case you fear it’s more work, you need not worry. It is more work than the “I don’t care, just play some music” approach, but it’s a lot less stressful than the first approach – because you’ll know about all the work up front instead of having to find out the hard way!
There are quite a few things that couples seem to not realize when thinking about their ceremony music.
These are the things that keep it from being a “piece of cake”. These are the surprises.
My top wedding music planning surprises
Here’s my top 3:
- It isn’t the musicians that make your ceremony music special (though it does help!). It’s having distinctive music that you chose (your choices will express your joy the way you want, making it personal). The musicians are there to make your music come alive.
- Your chosen music may not sound like the recording you probably based your choice on.
- Not knowing about and working with the church’s wedding music and musicians policies before making your decisions can lead to extra work and frustration.
How can you avoid these surprises?
What can you do about these three wedding music planning surprises?
- Start early.
- Get good, solid advice. If you didn’t start early, get even more advice to make sure you don’t waste any time.
- Listen to your music selections performed by your musician and make refinements if necessary.
- Talk to your church very early and be sure you know the ground rules before starting your planning in earnest.
Share your thoughts
What do you wish you had known up front before starting your wedding planning? What factors were you surprised by in your wedding music planning?
Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
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