Wedding Blog
With the majority of the wedding plans so far, I’ve had a clear vision as to what we’re going for. The ceremony music is one of the things that is a little fuzzy, to say the least. So, who better to help me combat my indecisiveness than you, hive?
Let’s start at the bridal processional, shall we? A lot of lovely brides-to-be have a specific song that they’ve been dreaming of walking down the aisle to since they were little girls. There is no such song in my mind. I have no clue what song I want to walk down the aisle to. I do, however, know a few songs I do not want to enter the church to, including Canon in D and the Wedding March (you know… dum dum da dum… that one). There is nothing wrong with those songs; I’ve just been to a ton of weddings in my day and I’m looking for something a little outside the norm. I am getting married in the Catholic church though, so whatever songs I choose cannot be too far outside of the norm. Also, we are having a pianist play at the ceremony, so I need songs that don’t need other instruments to sound right. So, what are the options?
The only two songs I’ve found that I like enough to use for the bridal processional are:
Prelude in C (Major)
(source)
and Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
I really, really like Prelude in C for some reason, but I worry that it will be sort of anticlimactic if I use Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring before it for the wedding party processional. It just doesn’t seem to have enough “oomph” if you know what I mean. But, I really like it.
I feel like Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is the safe one of the two choices for the bridal processional. It’s pretty and I really do like it, but it feels a little more “normal” to me.
The other issue I am questioning is whether to have an instrumental song like the two above, or to have one or two of our sisters sing a song for the processional instead. My cousin’s wife walked down the aisle to her friend singing Ave Maria, and it was absolutely beautiful! If we went this route, I am clueless as to which song to have them sing to!
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Those songs aren’t horrible choices - but I do have another idea!
I’m walking down the isle to “Joy” by George Winston. It’s a version of sorts of Jesu, Joy…and it was requested by my fiance. It’s a great song!
Hmmmm….I’m not sure of a perfect song, but I’ll share this post with Sister Bruschetta (who teaches music) — she might have some ideas!
I have always loved this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVYXDJRaGiQ
the woman in the video also has several other songs you could consider.
Those are good choices if little anticlimactic. I am definitely not one of those girls who dreamed of their wedding, or song for that matter, since they were little girls.
I decided to walk down the aisle to Prince of Denmark March for organ ( you can add trumpet if you want, but organ at the church where we are getting married is so powerful and beautiful that we decided to cancel the trumpet). Bridesmaids are walking to Canon in D. They are both distinctly different and Prince of Denmark is very strong so I am not afraid it won’t stand out.
Oh, or this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfMoO_ixgD4
(yes, it is the opening theme from Shrek, but it is super soft and romantic)
I’m Catholic, too, and I was originally going to use “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for the processional. I still love it, but am going to use it for the signing of the register instead. I decided to use a regular hymn for the processional because it’s more like a regular Mass would be. The hymn we chose is “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”. The soloist is going to sing the Gounod “Ave Maria” right before the processional, though, while the mothers of the bride & groom are being seated.
My fiance and I are also going to walk in together for the processional, which is actually apparently the preferred way in the Catholic church, although I have never seen it done before. 
@usflilbull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWGACX7LXZ4 (a slightly faster version of the one above…. better tempo to walk to)
I think both of those are good processional songs for, like, mothers and bridesmaids. You need something much more oomphy, like you mentioned! That said, I’m not sure what that would be. I think an organ brings a lot of oomph to any piece and a piano makes a little less impact in the same repertoire. I’ll ponder…
Otherwise, I wouldn’t use a vocal soloist for your entrance — if you want to use the song in a processional, I’ve done Ave Maria for seating of grandmothers/mothers in a couple weddings. (I’m a singer, so I do a bunch of weddings, especially now that everyone and their mother is getting married.) It’s also nice to have a bit of music in the middle of the ceremony, so a soloist could fit there as well.
In my opinion, Prelude in C doesn’t have enough power behind it for you to walk down the aisle to it. So I voted for Jesu.
I’ve been trying to find a non-youtube version of this one for the walk-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzddlhy59Vg
Have you been out to wedding wire? They have many prelude and Processonal Songs that you can listen to. So many talented artists out there. I am traditionalist. [It's my second wedding, the first one was 30 years ago.] Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring while my step daughters and my mother is being seated, Pachebel’s Canon in D for my bridesmaids entrance and Bridal Chorus by Richard Wagner while my father and I walk [with tears] down the aisle. My Recessional is the Wedding March by Mendelsohn.
I like all your chocies (including an un-named instrumental) except prelude in C. I agree that the prelude does not have enough oomph 4 ur procession.
For more ideas on instrumental, check out the music provided by this church’s website They listed a couple of instrumental that sounds pretty good, e.g. Trumpet voluntary & organ. I have found some piano translation of those pieces on youtube. They may not have the same effect as if they were played by an organ or trumpet but they may still do the trick.
As for a vocal of Ave Maria, the above website also have several versions of Ave Maria that you can check out.
I used Jesu Joy for the processional, and then I walked down to Rondeau (Jean Joseph Mouret). It was beautiful!
I’m afraid I’m going to be absolutely no help, but I’d like to commiserate and say that I’m struggling with music to walk in to as well. If anyone wants to help me, here is the thread!
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/aisle-walking-music?replies=1#post-223197
I’m afraid I’m going to be absolutely no help, but I’d like to commiserate and say that I’m struggling with music to walk in to as well.
Whoops, I don’t know how that double posted… and the first one with text I had edited out. Sorry!
A friend had a section of the little mermaid - I think it was this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELYrQR0eJjM
The arranger fit it specifically to her walking down the aisle.
i was undecided and changed my song choices the week of the wedding…my finals were theme from forest gump and theme from legend of the fall
i’m a big fan of Chopin for piano tunes that have some “oomph”
i can’t think of a specific one to recommend but definitely take a look at his stuff
I’m also getting married in a Catholic church. I’m walking down the aisle to Trumpet Voluntary (Prince of Denmark’s March). Jesu is my seating of the mothers song, so I don’t think it has enough oomph for a bridal march.
FI and I sing in an Anglican choir. We’ve done a choral version (with organ accompaniment) of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” at weddings before. So, that might be an interesting amalgamation of two of your ideas.
I would also recommend the Tenor Chorale (which could be sung up an octave for soprano voices) from Bach’s Cantata for the 27th Sunday after Trinity- Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme. Sing it in German! (Or english, though the German is always fun.) BWV 140. My choir has done the whole cantata every year in conjunction with our annual concert of Handel’s Messiah. The editor/publisher is “Bärenreiter.”
Not sureof youur sisters’ skill level or range but I would love to walk down to a well sung “Flower Duet” from the opera Lakme.
It is beautiful and soft. Perfect for an intro. It is also easy to cut to your desired length (always an issue with other songs).
Besides….how awesome would it be to have your sisters sing? That is such a once in a lifetime thing!!!
I had a terrible time trying to come up with a processional song - it took forever to find something I liked! Eventually, though we settled on “Simple Gifts” (Copland’s version) and it turned out magical. The music swelled just at the perfect moment, and it was lovely. I think you could probably use a version of the song in a Catholic wedding.
i think it’ll be beautiful, sentimental and very memorable to have your sisters sing. i don’t have a song choice off the top of my head, but when i saw the option, i was like, WOW.
my brother + his brother were supposed to do a guitar duet for our processional, unfortunately the 8,000 mile distance and busy schedules of both caused us to nix the plan.
I considered Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring for my piece. I loved Trumpet Voluntary by Clark/Purcell on the organ more though. Another piece that sounded ooomph-y was Allegro Maestoso from Handel’s Water Music
These two are such classics - we’re using them too! The mothers & ‘maids will process to Jesu and I’ll be walking in to Prelude. I think they go well together and then you get both! As to your concern about anti-climatic, though most of the prelude is subdued, the opening of it is very powerful, very bridal, so if that is what you love, go with it But is true indecisiveness myself, I agree that having sisters singing, especially if they are more than just hobby singers would be awesome. Good luck!
I don’t think either of them are *awful* choices, but I absolutely adore the “Wedding Processional” from the Sound of Music. I’m also getting married in a Catholic church, and my priest has already ok-ed this!
Like “curiousfool” mentioned, “Jesu Joy” is actually a beautiful choral piece and I think it would be lovely to have your sisters sing it when you walk. I am too lazy to go look up how many attendants you have, but you could consider asking the pianist to play “Jesu Joy” solo while the attendants walk, and then have your sisters join in when you walk. If you can get in touch with the pianist, why not ask them what they think? They probably know a lot of pieces that could work but aren’t as common. Being from a family of musicians, I know firsthand how boring it gets to play wedding after wedding that use the same three or four songs for everything. So, the pianist might know something lovely that could be played during the attendants processional and that would dovetail nicely into “Jesu Joy” or another song. Just a thought.
I like both options, but Handel’s Water Music is my absolute favorite for a ceremony. My fiance and I are Catholic as well and if we were having our wedding indoors I would def have this playing! There are many parts but the Overture has a nice “arrival” type fanfare and the Air is nice and soft.
[...] of all, thank you so much for all of your suggestions in part one of this series! I listened to all of them, and there were a ton of options for beautiful [...]
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Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper Michigan
Age and Occupation: 25, Biomedical Engineer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process Engineer
Engagement Date: July 27, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009
Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armory
About Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
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