Wedding Music

Being a lifelong musician, there is a lot more pressure surrounding musical selections for our upcoming wedding.
Being a soloist for weddings, I think it would be surprising to know that we are going super simple for the ceremony.

As hard as it is to admit, I was not wanting to hire a soloist unless it was a singer I knew and loved. Even then, I think I might be slightly distracted listening to the voice and the words. So we opted for simple piano accompaniment with some of my favourite classic and Catholic-approved piano arrangements.
Clean.
Simple.
Background loveliness for that beautiful walk down the aisle.

The other decision we made was opting for a simple playlist that we came up with for the party.
I know, I know, it can seem very taboo, but this was very much a financial decision. We simply had to make concessions, and this one would have been the biggest bulk of our budget, and we needed to compromise somewhere. Ideally we would have loved to hire a live band for a portion and a DJ for another portion. It just isn't financially feasible.
So we have (so far) spent a combined amount of about 14 hours compiling lists of music. We divided it into 5 categories: Country, Pop, Oldies, Rock, and Slow. We had designated percentages, and then tried to pick out our favourites for the party. We went through every artist that we could think of and added every song we would like to be played.
This was massive.
We started out with having over 10 hours of music selected.
Oops.
So first cuts were made.
Then second cuts.
Then third cuts.
Then fourth cuts.
Now I think we have it down to where we need it... so then we have to actually take all of those songs and try to make a cohesive setlist, which I am not exactly reeeeeally adept at. I have a system in mind, but overall I am just grateful that our guests all really love music and love dancing. All of the music is fan-favourites. It won't be flawless, but I have no doubt that people will be up dancing - even if it is just a playlist on a laptop. ;)

I am also not planning to sing at all for our wedding. I would feel awkward singing a very intimate & personal song to my hubby-to-be - but in front of everyone. Plus, I don't want to feel like our wedding might become a performance of sorts.
I think it's beautiful when someone sings to their significant other on their wedding day - especially people who are pros - it is just not something I am particularly comfortable with.

Of course, though, we would take the playlists and musical selections a step further...
(Why not make more work for ourselves right?)
Instead of planning to set our tablets or phones to a particular satellite radio station or ambiance music for the dinner, for setting up the hall the night before the wedding, and for when us girls get ready in the morning, we made setlists for those parts of the two days. (The whole weekend is going to be FILLED with music). Really, most of the songs that are on my 'Getting Ready' and 'Hall Setup' playlists are ones we had to cut from the 'Party' playlist. It made it easier to cut songs out when I knew I'd still get to listen to them anyways. (Basically I was able to be ruthless in making cuts. It can be tough cutting songs you like!!!)

I know that it might seem weird for a musician and complete music lover - a person whose life is surrounded by all things music - to forego a live band or even a DJ, but we had to cut costs somewhere, and we kept our focus on other areas.
You know the best part though?
Because we were so involved in making the playlists ourselves, I don't think I will be at all disappointed. Music is a HUGE part of our day, it's just not a really expensive part, and we love each and every single song that we are going to be listening to, so how can we go wrong?

Our entire lives are filled with music. It can make or break movies, videos, atmospheres, and moments. I am just thrilled that there will be music the entire day - and then for the rest of our lives.

I love My Musical Life!