Wedding music

Wedding music applies to music played at wedding celebrations, including the ceremony and any festivities before or after the event. The music can be performed live by instrumentalists or vocalists or may use pre-recorded songs, depending on the format of the event, traditions associated with the prevailing culture and the wishes of the couple being married.

There are many different styles of music that can be played during the entrance and ceremony. During the service there may be a few hymns, especially in liturgical settings.

Music can be used to announce the arrival of the participants of the wedding (such as a bride's processional), and in many western cultures, this takes the form of a wedding march. For more than a century, the Bridal Chorus from Wagner's Lohengrin (1850), often called "Here Comes The Bride", is the most popular processional, and has been traditionally played on a pipe organ or by a string quartet.

Some couples may consider traditional wedding marches clichéd and choose a more modern piece of music or an alternative such as Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. Since the televised wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, there has been an upsurge in popularity of Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March" for use as processional music; the piece was formerly (and incorrectly) attributed to Henry Purcell as Trumpet Voluntary.

At the end of the service, in Western services, the bride and groom march back up the aisle to a lively recessional tune, a popular one being Mendelssohn's Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826). The piece achieved popularity after it was played during the wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal to Prince Frederick William of Prussia in 1858. Another popular choice is Widor's from Symphony for Organ No. 5 (1880).

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