The music of a wedding ceremony falls into four moments: the guests arriving, the entrance, the signing or symbolic ritual, and the walk back out. Choose one or two pieces for each and you have shaped the whole atmosphere, without needing a long list.
The four moments of a ceremony
- Prelude, as guests arrive: fifteen to twenty minutes of gentle background music
- Processional, the entrance: the piece you walk in to — the emotional heart of the ceremony
- Signing or ritual: quiet, flowing music that fills the pause
- Recessional, the walk back out: brighter and more joyful, celebrating the moment
Classical pieces that always work
- Canon in D — Pachelbel
- Clair de lune — Debussy
- Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring — Bach
- Nocturne in E-flat major — Chopin
- Ave Maria — Schubert or Bach/Gounod
- Salut d'Amour — Elgar
Modern songs and film music on piano
- A Thousand Years — Christina Perri
- Can't Help Falling in Love — Elvis Presley
- Your Song — Elton John
- River Flows in You — Yiruma
- Married Life, from Up — Michael Giacchino
- La Vie en Rose — Édith Piaf
Mixing classical and contemporary
There is no rule that a ceremony must be all classical or all modern. A Bach prelude for the entrance and a film theme for the recessional can feel completely natural together. What matters is that each piece belongs to you.
Making it personal
If a song that matters to you is not written for solo piano — the track from your first dance, a melody from home — I can arrange it from the recording so it fits the moment. Tell me the pieces you love, and we will build a ceremony that sounds like your own.
