I've been asked to play processional/recessional music at a family member's wedding (tomorrow! ), and I'm looking for some recommendations on what to play. The bride and groom have asked for the standard fare -- Pachelbel's Canon in D, Wagner's Wedding March (for the bride's walk), and Mendelssohn's Wedding March (for the bride/groom exit). Anything else, however, is up to me.

So, do you guys have any recommendations for good pieces while the guests are coming in and/or walking out? This will be a very casual affair at an outdoor venue, in case that influences your thinking in any way.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Noah

P.S. Don't suggest anything too hard. If I don't already know it, I've only got 24 hours to learn it!

If you have any generic classical music from back in the day, you could play that. I very rarely do the solo piano gig, but I did a wedding like you describe a few years back and I just grabbed some Bach, Mozart, Clair de Lune and a few other standards. You just need kind of soft and pretty music. You could probably vamp on some stylized rock tunes, if you were really desperate. Just a little improv in a new-agey kind of way.

One day notice, huh? Sweet!

Just go through what you already know, and grab what's appropriate. You don't have time to do it any other way. It doesn't have to be classical. Like Eric, I do wedding ceremonies rarely, but when I do I mostly fill them up with my piano bar material.

If this helps- no one ever listens unless you hit a wrong note. That's why it's best to stick with the familiar.

They'd better appreciate this. What happened?

Here's my list of wedding faves:

Processional
Variation on Ava Maria (sounds classical and familiar)
Arioso
Air on a G String
Canon in D
Let There Be Peace on Earth
There is Love (Wedding Song)
Rondeau (Masterpiece Theater song)
On Eagle's Wings
My Heart Ever Faithful
Only God Could Love You More
Sheep, May Safely Graze
Simple Gifts
The Lord Is My Shepard
I Will Be Here
How Beautiful
Love Will Be Our Home
He
Morning Has Broken
Bridal Chorus/Trumpet Voluntary
________________________
Unity Candle Lighting
O Perfect Love
The Lord's Prayer
__________________________
Recessional
Wedding March or Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Ode to Joy
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Psalm 19


Hope this helps! Good Luck!

I do loads of weddings and am always surprised at how little attention the bride and groom put into the song selections, which actually makes it easier for me to play what I want/like.

Depending on the crowd, "Shotgun" and "White Wedding" might do. (I am joking!!!)

Thanks, everyone. I actually thought of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring after my original post. Now, I just need to dig through my old (and I mean OLD!) classical books to see if I have the music for it somewhere. While I'm at it, I'll try to find some other stuff that I might still be able to play.

And, Bill H., I'm not sure you really want to hear the story, but here goes anyway: My wife's 18 year-old cousin got his girlfriend pregnant about a year ago. Around the same time, he enlisted in the Army. They had the baby a few months ago, and he just learned that he's being shipped off to Iraq in a few weeks. Long story short? On literally a week's notice, they've decided to get married before he ships out. Frankly, I have a sneaking suspicion that my playing of the Canon in D may be the only thing to go RIGHT tomorrow! And goodness knows my optimism for the marriage isn't high. That said, I'll certainly appreciate any good thoughts you guys care to throw their way, especially since he's heading off to war.

Noah

Weddings songs that I really like playing:

Je te Veux - Satie
Arabesque - Debussy
Claire de Lune - Debussy
Prelude #1 WTC - Bach
Jesus Joy Of Man - Bach
New Bridal March - Jonathan Cain (beautiful new age version of Wagner's "Here Comes The Bride")
Largo From Winter - Vivaldi
Spring (Recessional) - Vivaldi
Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto - Largo
To A Wild Rose - MacDowell
Wedding March - Mendelsshon
Linus and Lucy (Recessional)
Schubert Waltzes Opus 9a
Pachelbel's Canon in D
Ode To Joy
Air from Water Music by Handel
Cinema Paradiso
The River - Monty Alexander
Your Song
Here There And Everywhere
Gabriel's Oboe
In My Life - Lennon
Edelweiss
Smile
What A Wonderful World
Polka Dots & Moonbeams
Over The Rainbow
For Sentimental Reasons
My Romance
Someday My Prince Will Come

When I'm Sexty-Four

I'm Too Sexy (recessional)

Right. I only did one wedding ceremony in my life, and the bride and groom only wanted the Wedding March, but I was free to play anything else before that. So I just improvised some classical sounding, faux wedding music in a 'reverent' way, and it went fine. It's not like someone's going to run over and ask "Who was the composer of that last piece?!?"

Jesu Joy is a great one. I have that in my stack of music that I take whenever such a need arises. The Chopin preludes also work well, as do the the Erik Satie Gymnopédies (easy, but beautiful). Per SK's comment about 'reverent improv,' not sure if there is some kind of military-themed tune that you could mash up on the spot, in honor of the groom.

Great story about the quickie wedding - have fun with it!

It wasn't a suggestion anyway. ("Don't try this at home") I was just replying to b3keys point that sometimes even at weddings you can play what you want.

I think it is a great idea!

SK, I've done the 'reverent improv' before. My very first "cocktail piano" gig was in High School when I was probably 14 or 15 years old. One of my parents' friends hired me to play background music for some kind of awards banquet at the Sheraton Hotel and paid me $50, which was cool money to me back then. I had NO IDEA what to play, but my piano chops were better at the time. I pulled out the usual classical stuff, mixed in a little Take Five and then vamped on Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon tunes for at least 30 minutes (I got that music for Christmas one year), in a noodly, new age kind of way. Us and Them worked very well in this context.

Well, there ya' go! It's cool when it can work in some situations. And you made a little music history by playing Pink Floyd and Take Five in the same set.

On that wedding gig, at least I had enough sense not to play an inappropriate ballad like "You Don't Know What Love Is" or something.

There are a couple Trumpet Voluntaries from Henry Purcell that are nice to use, and not too hard. If you had more time to prepare I would suggest the Widor Toccata.

I'd do almost anything to avoid that dreadful Mendelsshon and Here Comes the Bride. Boring and cliched.

For my wedding I really made the organist work. I chose a nice Bach fugue for the processional and the Tu Es Petra by Mulet for the recessional.

I did that once in a church service and got caught. I played "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from "Jesus Christ Superstar" and somebody noticed. Fortunately they were complimentary and not scandalized.

Totally agree. I also feel the same way about the Canon in D. Unfortunately, it's what everyone knows and what most want, including the bride and groom here. In that respect, it's a lot like that reading from Corinthians that has become a running joke for my wife and me every time we go to a wedding. ("Betcha five bucks they read Corinthians." "You're on.") Anyway, I didn't feel like trying to talk these guys out of those boring and cliched pieces here (especially since I know them well, I'm doing this on two days' notice, and they gave me free reign to play anything else).

Thanks again, everyone!

Noah

That's funny. You were lucky Moe. Well, there goes my theory - but you may be the only one who ever got caught. I improvised it so nothing could be identified.

Imagining worst case scenario or worst song selection: maybe playing "NY, NY" on the organ at Baltimore's Camden Yards during a game - instant riot.

The secret to making those two sound great is to not play some stock arrangement. I play them in the style of George Winston and I find a pretty moving experience each time. Same with Pachelbel's Canon. David Lanz, George Winston, and Jonathan Cain have recorded some beautiful renditions. I do my own versions inpsired by listening to those recordings.

Jazz+, you always post about all these great things you can play...I would sincerely LOVE to hear some recordings of your music. Please share!

It's late and I didn't look so how about...

ava maria.... nice easy and I played it non stop for 30 mins as the couple stood at the door of the church shaking hands with folks as they tried to get out of the church. I was told to keep playing.... agh...

+1

Even though I don't care for the tune, I especially like Cain's version of "Here Comes the Bride." Very classy version.

Another "+1" here for the doing classical/new age noodling/improv thing to fill in the gaps between the mandated songs. I've only played a couple of wedding ceremonies (thank god, as I find them to be nerve-racking gigs!), but I've never got busted doing this yet. One of them was for this rock guitar player dude, and I actually did the piano ending portion of "Lela" for the recessional. It was a big hit!

Then play some Jazz, that way there are no wrong notes, just poor choices

I have heard "On Eagles Wings" at enough funerals that I wouldn't want to play it at a wedding. YMMV.

John

Reminds me of a solo piano gig I did a long time back. I was playing "You don't know what love is" and a couple of older ladies were sitting right next to the piano, after I finished one of them said,
"What a beautiful song that is, I've never heard that, What's the title"? I said,"You don't what love is"...she said "I BEG YOUR PARDON"?
I replied....Hey, you asked lady!

Noah, how was the gig? I think you had this performance on Saturday.

Unless the bride, groom, coordinator and/or family has specific recommendations, anything seems to go nowadays.

I attended a wedding this past weekend. The musician noodled pre-processional. Maybe one familiar tune. Accompanied two solo selections one of which was 'The Lord's Prayer'.

The recessional was an improvisational jam. There was no 'traditional' wedding music.

Mmmmmmmmm . . . jam session . . . sounds like a nice time.

Contact the wedding planner and/or coordinator pronto! Don't assume anything. This way, you can also use (and schedule) the music in order to help add make the occasion grander than it would have been. You can use a song for the processional of the parents, then one for the processional of the groom, groomsmen, and bridesmaids. The bride already has her processional. Then you can use music in different parts of the receptions to annouce things and to set the general mood.

It's also important to find out from the wedding planner and/or coordinator if a sound person was also hired.