Wedding Blog
I have a question. How do you time out your processional music, if using popular tunes?
I mean, as it stands, we’re thinking of using one song for the bridal party/families, and another song for my grand entrance.
Our aisle is probably all of 20 seconds long to walk.
So, how does it work? Do we fade it out when it’s time to switch tunes, and then fade it out again after I reach the altar? Do we genetically alter the songs to be xx minutes long? But then, what about the fact that my walk is only going to last all of 30 seconds of a 4 minute song? Should I just suck it up and do one song for the whole thing, so my song doesn’t seem so… piddly?
Tell me, wise ones. How do/did you do it?
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Anxiously awaiting replies to this post! I have the question!!
We did the fade in and out technique and for our recessional song, we cut the song to begin where we wanted it to. I think it’s nice to have the bride walk in to a different song - makes it more special 
I haven’t quite got this far yet, so I don’t have the answer, but how about starting your bridal party song ‘early’ and then have them come in towards the end of the song.
You could do something similar for your entrance, but that would involve having a larger gap after the bridal party. Would build up the suspense though!
Hmmm…I’d say splice and dice the songs so you get all the good parts.
And I like lou’s suggestion about starting the bridal party song a bit earlier…
Maybe if you shared your selections, it could help us out?
We did basically what lou said. Started the bridesmaids music, waited maybe 20 seconds, then they processed. After the last one got in place, faded the song out. Then, started the bridal song and let it play for 10 or 20 seconds before I came out. Our aisle was super short, so we just made a big effort to waaalk slooowlyyyy so it wasn’t over too quickly.
I was going through the same thing, but I think we’re just going to skip the recorded music and go with a Cellist instead…
I think I’m going to have this problem too! I’m interested to hear suggestions!!
We had a friend of ours play and sing “angel” by Jack Johnson when I walked down the aisle. Its a super short song, but I kept holding my dad back and telling him not to walk because i knew it wouldnt take long to walk down the aisle. My husband and I STILL ended up standing at the alter for what seemed like a really long time waiting for him to finish singing because it took us about half as long as I expected to walk the aisle.
I say fade in and fade out is the best way to go. Just make sure the person “fading” knows the first song well enough not to end it in a weird spot. Also I don’t think theres a problem with a slight pause between songs. It lets your guests know you are coming, so they can stand and anticipate your bride-ness!
I am doing recorded music too, and I think fading in and out is the way to go too, splicing seems to not leave room for inforseen circumstance. But I rather play it safe then not have enough song.
I am doing recorded music too, and I think fading in and out is the way to go too, splicing seems to not leave room for unforseen circumstance. But I rather play it safe then not have enough song.
i’m doing the same thing as mrs. bluebell– start the bridesmaids song and let it play for about 15 seconds, have the girls walk down, fade out their song… then start my song, wait 10-15 seconds, then walk down with my parents.
it also helps for me because although our aisle is short, we’ll all be coming from our reception foyer to the courtyard where the ceremony will be held… so we’ll have a little bit of extra time.
I don’t think two songs will be “piddly.” We did two songs and it turned out perfectly. Find the place in the song that you love, estimate how much time it’s going to take (but be generous in your estimate), and then slice-and-dice. Fade in and out as necessary. Don’t worry. It will sound awesome!
Be sure to have someone (DOC, MOH, etc.) remind you to walk slowly before you head down the aisle. My cousin was very stern about not having the bridal party walk too fast down the aisle at her rehearsal, but on the wedding day nerves took over and she and her father practically ran down the aisle.
I’m so glad you asked this question! I was JUST thinking about this the other night and I had no clue how to handle it! Yay for Weddingbee once again
I have no idea… I never even thought about this! I guess this is the plus side of having live music… Let us know what you come up with!
I too had a tiny aisle. I chose 1 song for everyone.
The song was Ashokan Farewell, but what I did could be done with other songs and/or instruments.
For the family (mom, groom and ILs) the song was played on the violin.
For the BMs the pianist joined in on harmony.
When they were done processing and the verse ended the pianist switched to the flute.
It gave each portion distinction, but because it was all one song it was more cohesive that 30 seconds of 3 difference songs.
Something similar could be done with any combination of instruments and music with melody and harmony.
We used two pieces of music. I cut the good bits and wrote them to cd. My FIL pressed play for the bridesmaids, they walked in, and then he faded out. Then it seemed to take an interminable time (for one bride waiting outside!) to start the next track. We walked super slowly and he faded out when I arrived at the altar. Worked beautifully!
We are having one song for everyone, Peaches and Cream by John Butler Trio except it is being played by an acoustic guitarist that way he can subtly finish it early if need be or keep playing if we take a while. This is one of our favourite songs and was shortlisted for the processional early on, when we were trialing guitarists we told them to play anything and one guy actually played this, needless to say I cried and told him he had the job.
Hi all– please keep the ideas coming– to make this worse– I only have one person in my wedding party!! So it’s gonna be REALLY short!!
We went to a wedding recently where everybody got a different theme song, and it was complete anarchy–bad cross-fades, cutting in and out of songs, missing cues, just utter madness. Ours had one song for the whole processional, and it happened to kind of change tone halfway through. Bridesmaids on the first half, bride on the second half. Easy!
Eeek! I am nervous about this one too! I have no idea how long it takes to walk down my aisle, and it is in a different country so I can’t go try it out!
Okay. Kitten: the venue knows exactly how long their aisle is so just ask them how long it is and measure an equal distance in your home or driveway. Practice walking there but then remember you’ll speed up a bit because of nerves.
I have 2 solutions to this problem:
First, you can pick a long song with a couple different feels (Spring by Vivaldi is a classic example). The bridesmaids can walk in to the slower middle part and you can walk in to the faster more well known part. This will require some mixing on garage band or a similar app.
Other solution: Have the regular bridesmaid procession. Fade their song out and start the bridal procession song. Give people about 10 seconds to get to their feet, open the door so they get a glimpse of you but don’t start walking. Photogs will be shooting you and your dad. Take this time to look around and smile at everyone (it will help you remember the moment as well) and then take it slow down the aisle. You can also choreograph the hand off from your dad to your groom during this time that the music is playing. He gives you a kiss, shakes your grooms hand and then you two take a couple steps up to the altar area. If you do all of the above, it should run about a minute long.
I agree with everyone else in that two songs is the way to go. Start the first one a little early and fade it out slowly when the bridesmaids are done and slowly fade your music in. I would slice and dice the song to start about 5-10 seconds before your favorite part of the song to make sure that’s the part you walk down too. I would walk slow and then have it slowly fade out when you reach the end of the alter. I think it will all work out just fine!
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Mrs. Meatball, Hollywood
Age and Occupation: 30, Actor/Writer/Office Maven
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Actor/Writer
Engagement Date: October 7, 2007
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: September 16, 2008
Venue: Private Garden/The Bungalow Club
About Me: I love melty cheese and diet coke almost as much as I love my man. I'm from Chicago, he's from NYC, and we both miss public transit and great pizza. We have an adorable muppet dog called Paco. I'm part hippie with a healthy dash of hip hop superstar, have excessive empathy for animals, and have not one, but two bionic eyes (long story). We're broke and it ain't no joke. It can't stop us from planning the bold and whimsical wedding of our dreams, but we've had to get pretty creative to make it work, yo!
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