Choosing Your Wedding Music

Depending on your particular musical tastes and preferences, the music you choose for your wedding can have your guests tingling in their wedding togs or rocking in the aisles. Your choice in music is only limited by your imagination (and possibly your ability to find a didgeridoo and ocarina duo whose repertoire includes Eric Satie's Gymnopedie No.3). Well actually, there are a few other small restrictions, but we'll cover those in a moment.

Music for religious wedding ceremonies

If you are planning a religious wedding ceremony, you will be able to choose hymns for your guests to sing at different stages of the proceedings - and let's face it, nothing beats a good 'ole sing-song! You may already have some favourite hymns that you would like to include but if not, have a chat with your minister to see what he or she recommends.

In addition to hymns, you will also need to choose the music for the entrance of the bride and the departure of the newly-married bride and groom. With both of these, you need to ensure they’re long enough to see you down the full length of the aisle (which, unless you are getting married at St Paul's, should not be too much of an issue!).

You may also want to have some music playing to welcome your guests as they arrive at the church and something playing during the signing of the register. You may choose to play a CD if you have access to a stereo system or you may want to consider hiring a musician such as a trumpeter or harpist to play the music live.

If you are providing your guests with an order of service for your marriage ceremony, you may want to include the wording for the hymns in this booklet. If this is what you are planning to do, you need to be aware that there are certain copyright restrictions around the reproduction of written material in this way.

With hymns, for example, you will need to seek permission from the copyright holder (which may be the writer or an agent – and definitely the latter if the writer is deceased) to reproduce the wording. This rule applies for 70 years after the death of the writer, after which time, copyright permission is no longer required.

If this all sounds a bit overwhelming, remember that it is highly unlikely that you are the first couple your minister has married during his time as a ‘man of the cloth’, so don’t be afraid to ask for guidance on which of your hymns may require copyright permissions for.

Most wedding stationers (us included) ask the wedding couple to seek the relevant copyright permissions themselves and will not be held responsible for any breach in copyright. Check this out with whoever is making your wedding stationery and don't forget to also ask them for lead-in times for producing your order of service booklets as you will need to have your permissions sorting in time to meet this deadline to ensure your order of service stationery is ready for your big day.

Music for civil wedding ceremonies

Because civil wedding ceremonies tend to be a lot shorter than religious ceremonies, there is less opportunity for playing your favourite music. It will still be possible, however, to include music – either live or recorded – as your guest arrive, while you are signing the register and again once you leave the ceremony. You should discuss your choice of music with the registrar in advance of your wedding.

The other thing you should be aware of is that religious material of any kind (such as hymns, psalms, readings etc.) is not permitted in a civil wedding ceremony.