Your Parents’ Music
Years ago, there were very specific songs that couples were expected to, and were even required to use, for their wedding ceremony, whether the wedding ceremony was considered to be traditional or nontraditional. These songs are mostly what we would consider by today’s standards to be very traditional.
The music was typically time-honored, or of liturgical (religious) nature, and one wedding ceremony (for a given faith) was virtually identical to that of the next. The wedding guests could literally predict one song to the next. Well, times have changed.
That wedding ceremony of yesteryear, was, what we, as musicians, would consider to be an ‘easy gig’ from the musician’s standpoint, since we would only need to learn a very specific set of songs that would work with just about every wedding ceremony. Easy, yes. Stimulating, no. The song selections were all very predictable, and that was the norm.
Not Your Parents’ Music
The following considerations can serve as a brief guide to help you decide what may be considered appropriate “nontraditional wedding music”.
1. Select music that you and your fiance actually like, not what you are ‘expected’ to like. Although some of the music selection rules for the wedding ceremony may still apply for very traditional weddings, where liturgical, or religious music, is primarily used, or during the customary portions of the ceremony when the bride enters and exits the ceremony location (albeit, much more so for traditional weddings), these days, more couples are choosing music that is more personal to them. After all, this is YOUR wedding. Don’t be afraid to use a song that you both enjoy.
2. Use songs that are appropriate for the wedding day. Time-honored traditions can be varied and combined with your own original musical desires to form cherished memories that are uniquely your own. The simple key to choosing the music for your wedding ceremony is that the music must be appropriate for the occasion.
So long as you clear your selection(s) with your wedding officiant or musical director of your house of worship, keep in mind that this is your wedding day and the music should reflect just that. And if your wedding is not going to be in a traditional house of worship, your musical options can expand even more dramatically.
