Wedding Music HELP!!!!!!

[ralessi]

I am playing for a wedding of my girlfriend's sister in a few weeks and she's just given me the go ahead to play anything I want, all she needs is a processional, recessional (spellings?) from me.  I have a few ideas but i really never play weddings so I have no idea what would fit.  I want them to be classical of course (possibly light Chopin, Bach, ect....) but something accessible in a week or so...thanks all!

Cheers!
Rick

[cherub_rocker1979]

I do this for a living so maybe I can be of some help.

Here's some nice alternatives to Here Comes the Bride and the Wedding March:

Processional:
Satie's Gymnopedie

Air on the G String

Jesu Joy

Handel's Largo from Xerxes

Bach's "Sheep May Safely Grace"

To a Wild Rose by MacDowell

Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition

Recessional:
Mouret Rondeau

Schumann's Faschingsschwank aus Wien

Hornpipe from Water Music

[kyliec]

Maybe Bach's C major prelude from book 1 of the well tempered clavier. very pretty and quite easy...
kylie

[eyeballnick]

Maybe Bach's C major prelude from book 1 of the well tempered clavier. very pretty and quite easy...
kylie

Schuberts - Ave maria - Impromptu in Gb and Eb
Saint saens (Godowsky transcription) The swan
hmmmm Chopin nocturne op9 no.2 - Raindrop prelude

Not alot there but could be somthing

[keyofc]

I assume you're playing the 2 traditional wedding songs?

Some others I've used are:
Sunrise, Sunset
I usually play their favorite song too
Canon in D is a great one too

[rob47]

I'd imagine Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets transcription would go over smashingly, wot?

[a_vampire_knight]

You could play Pachebel's Canon in D major. This is one piece that many people play in weddings. The sheet music is available at this site.

[rc]

So far my only paid job was for a wedding, I kept the rep pretty basic, typical wedding music.

I learned two important lessons that day:

Lesson 1:  BE THERE FOR THE REHEARSAL!  My teacher told me this, and I tried, but the groom told me "Don't worry about it, you don't have to come to the rehearsal".  What happens as a result?  At the ceremony, I have no idea what order things are happening.  It's hard enough to play the music well, but also to split my attention to figuring out what's happening - stressful.

I saw a girl in a dress come down the hall so I began the "here comes the bride" theme, but it was the maid of honour, not the bride!  When I realized this, my hands turned to ice and the music fell apart.  It was a blatant fumble - embarassing!

Lesson 2:  Mistakes don't matter so long as it's recovered by the time the bride arrives.  Even though my hands were ice, I managed to pull it together and make a graceful ending by the time the bride arrived.  The groom can forgive the mistake, the guests can forgive the mistake - so long as the bride is happy!

[rc]

Oh, I should mention, that for Wagners bridal chorus, the bride will not take as long to walk down the aisle as it takes to play the entire piece.  So it's good to be prepared to end the piece at any phrase.  I was ready to end with a plagal cadence at any point.

Plagal cadence, because the ceremony is following the march, and a perfect cadence would be too final.  Plagal sounded appropriate as a lead in to the ceremony "do you take... etc"

[invictious]

Prokofiev - Toccata in D minor.
 
Enough said.

[keyofc]

I love classical - but it's not my only kind of music

Annies Song - by John Denver is a beautiful wedding song.

[communist]

Mendelssohn wedding march from the midsummer night dream overature

[redbaron]

You could try some of Enya's piano pieces. Very easy to learn and beautiful to listen to.

[healdie]

Shostakovich prelude No. 1 not too hard and beautiful

[Bob]

You can look for "church music" too.  Wedding and church as nearly the same.

Look for something titled processional, recessional. 

There are books you can buy.  Then you don't have to think so much.  That can defeat the point of getting paid for the ceremony if you don't do too many and buy too many books.

For the recessional, I would play the whole piece.  The rest of the people are still milling about and you'll probably have to play more after that anyway.  Everyone knows the openning -- How many get to hear the middle or the whole thing?

Rehearsal is good.  Or have a detailed schedule of events.  The bride should be easy to spot.  Make sure you can see what's happening when you're at the keyboard or get someone to prompt you.  I did an extra round of the processional music once.  Concentrating too much on the music.  Sometimes a small mirror with an adjustable stand or back can help that too.  Like a rearview mirror.

[jinfiesto]

Liszt-Schumann Widmung, if you have the time....