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Tips & Advice
When you’ve got the ring and decided where you’re going to do the deed, all you need is some beautiful music to set your destination wedding to. There are probably some special songs you and your groom want to hear, plus old favorites of your parents and traditional ceremony music, so it’s time to sit down and figure out exactly what you want and need to set the mood for your storybook destination wedding.
There is music for the guests to gather at the ceremony, music to walk down the aisle, music to celebrate the joining of you and your groom, and then music to party to for the rest of the evening. So you’ll have a couple of decisions to make. First, the wedding music. If you’re having a small, intimate wedding, you may just want instrumental music – piano or violins – or a soloist and a guitar, depending on the style you’ve chosen. You may want something more traditional – an organ or cello, even a violin or flute. Or you may want to use the same person/people to do both the wedding, the reception and a dance, if you’re having one.
Once you’ve got the wedding music in place, you’ll need to decide about the reception, and whether or not you’ll want a dance. Even if you can’t stay for the whole thing, it’s something your guests might enjoy. If you’re getting married in Mexico, perhaps you want guitars and regional salsa music. In the Caribbean, you might use “lovers rock” (reggae versions of well-known love songs) or Calypso. A beach wedding might be a guitar or an acapella singer, followed by a DJ or band. There are several choices, no matter where you’re getting married, so pick the one that best fits your destination wedding theme.
Below is a guideline for what music you may want to choose as a couple for your destination wedding music. Whatever style you’ve chosen, you’ll most likely want to have a few signature songs, and these can always be provided by a recording, if you can’t find someone at your destination wedding locale to perform them live. The choices are up to you and your groom, to make this wedding a day for everyone to remember.
Ceremony Music:
Prelude – Before the wedding party enters the church
Processional – Special song for the bride to walk down the aisle
Recessional – Special song for the couple to exit
Postlude – Music for the guests to leave to
Reception & Dance Music:
Introduction – Usually, this is preceded by toasts
First Dance – Your song as a couple or some other special song, usually slow
Father & Daughter – A waltz, hopefully special to your parents
Mother & Son – A waltz, hopefully special to your mother
Cake Cutting – Background music while you cut the cake and toast each other
Bouquet Toss – Background music to toss your bouquet
Last Dance – When the couple is ready to leave, they should have a last dance, even if the music goes on after they exit the reception |
