There are all kinds of musical options to choose from for your wedding.
The Prelude
It is usual to have some music played as your guests arrive to get them into the “wedding mood”! Often the organist of the day will pick suitable music from their repertoire but if you have a special request then please let us know and we may be able to accommodate this.
Arrival of the Bride
Usually a joyful piece as the bride arrives.
Popular choices include:
Bridal March – Richard Wagner
Trumpet Voluntary – Jeremiah Clarke
Trumpet Tune – Henry Purcell
Hornpipe from Water Music – G.F. Handel
Air from Water Music – G.F. Handel
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba – G.F. Handel
Hymns or Songs
During the service there are usually two or three hymns or songs. We currently have two hymn books available:
-Ancient and Modern New Standard (AMNS)
-Songs and Hymns of Fellowship (SHF)
Most wedding hymns are printed in the above collections although some are not. Please note that there are many diverse versions of hymns and songs often in different language styles using different selections of words and so we advise you to check with us prior to commiting to a particular version and definitely before you print your Order of Service. This will avoid any confusion and disappointment on the day!
When choosing your hymns it is useful to consider your guests – their number and hymn singing experience! To help you choose we have listed some of the most popular choices below. Where (V) and (T) appear alongside the hymns above this indicates that there are different versions (V) and different tunes (T) available.
AMNS/126 The King of love (T)
AMNS/224 Lead us Heavenly Father
AMNS/192 Praise my soul
AMNS/394 Lord of all hopefulness
AMNS/131 Love Divine (T)
AMNS/426 The Lord’s my shepherd
In addition, the following have been chosen occasionally:
AMNS/101 O worship the King (V)
AMNS/391 Living Lord (V)
AMNS/199 Immortal invisible
AMNS/148 At the name of Jesus (V,T)
AMNS/235 O Jesus I have promised (V,T)
AMNS/125 O for a thousand tongues (V,T)
SHF/176 Our God reigns
AMNS/95 Holy, Holy, Holy (T)
AMNS/205 Now thank we all our God
AMNS/115 Dear Lord and Father (V)
AMNS/105 All creatures of our God (V)
Morning has broken
SHF/277 Jesus is Lord
AMNS/428 Thine be the Glory
AMNS/100 All people that on earth (V)
AMNS/172 Glorious things of thee
AMNS/343 Be Thou my vision
AMNS/280 O perfect love
SHF/559 To God be the glory
AMNS/113 Father hear the prayer we offer
AMNS/239 Forth in Thy Name
AMNS/249 Take my life
AMNS/207 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
AMNS/262 Allelujah, sing to Jesus
SHF/266 I will sing the wondrous story
Signing of the Register
Some couples like to choose a piece of music to be played during the signing of the register such as:
Priere à Notre Dame – Boëllman
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring – Bach
Exit of the Bridal Party (recession)
Usually another joyful piece of music as you exit the church as a married couple:
Wedding March – Mendelssohn
Toccata from 5th Symphony – Widor
Trumpet Voluntary – Jerimiah Clarke
Hornpipe from Water Music – G.F. Handel
Nun Danket – S. Karg-Elert
Final from 1st Symphony for organ – L. Vierne
There are many other pieces which are suitable for the above parts of the service. Wedding music CD’s often are a useful resource for you to listen to, in order to help you choose – it’s well worth getting one (available in all good record shops).
Copyright
Permission to reproduce copyright music and words must always be obtained. You will need to print in your Order of Service the following information:
– title, author, owner of copyright if applicable for each hymn/song.
– the phrase “Words for the above hymns/songs are reproduced with permission under CCL 518890” (for St James) or CCL 5841 (for Emmanuel)
It is sufficient to print the CCL information discreetly at the end of your Order of Service.
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