Recently alongside my blogging and video work I’ve been working on creating the sound designs for Hull Truck Theatre‘s Christmas productions of The Flame Haired Dynamo and Little Red Riding Hood (now showing at Hull Truck) and as someone who also spends a lot of time creating soundtracks for videos, today I thought I’d take a look at some suggestions for a possible soundtrack to a Christmas wedding! Music is an incredibly powerful tool and can change the tone, heighten the emotions or get people up and dancing but choosing the right tune for the right moment is rarely easy. Musical taste is of course completely subjective and many of you will already have songs prepared that are particularly special to you, and indeed certain styles of wedding suit different styles of song better. We’ll be talking more about Christmas reception songs in next week’s post, but here are a few ideas for the ceremony that might help you to get started in getting the right balance of integrating those Christmas tones without going too far!
As the Guests Arrive
As the guests arrive you ideally want nothing too big and distracting so that the music does fall into the background but perhaps something sweet and emotional to get everyone in the mood for what’s about to take place… here’s some ideas!
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Matt Wertz
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/have-yourself-merry-little/id568139349?i=568139521
If ever there was a song that changes mood depending on the singing style and context it’s this one! Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is a beautiful song but I’ve always found that the most famous versions by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra are almost too emotive and can actually become very sad. This version though is much more upbeat and sets just the right tone as your guests arrive!
Christmas for You and Me – Drew Holcomb & The Neighbours
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/christmas-for-you-and-me/id575939843?i=575939954
A lovely, happy yet relaxed Christmassy piece for your guests to arrive to!
FaLaLa – Jim Brickman
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/falala/id475508758?i=475508966
“We’re celebrating love it’s Christmas” – you don’t get many more appropriate lyrics than that! Another lovely gentle song to get your guests in the mood!
Walking Down the Aisle
The ceremony is always a difficult one to get right. You want to have something that gives you the right balance of “the grand entrance” whilst heightening the emotion as you see each other for the first time. Adding in a Christmassy feel without making your entrance cheesy or inappropriate adds an extra dilemma… after all, having the Bride enter to “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” probably won’t go down too well… so here’s a few suggestions:
The Wedding Song (There is Love) – The O’Neill Brothers
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-wedding-song-there-is-love/id83295500?i=83295286
A beautiful Piano piece that could be used at any wedding but has just enough of that festive feel to make it a perfect match for a Christmas ceremony.
All I Want for Christmas is You (Piano Acoustic) – Christmas Piano Lounge
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/all-i-want-for-christmas/id571653847?i=571653889
Now the last thing you want is a big cheesy Maria Carey rendition to kill the mood, but this Piano acoustic version is really quite beautiful and as everyone will know the words even if they’re not actually being said it’s a very fitting piece. It could also be paired with a more upbeat version of the same song for the recessional creating a fluid musical theme!
Voices of Angels – Jim Brickman
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/voices-of-angels/id475508758?i=475508953
This one sounds like it’s come right out of a Christmas movie soundtrack and you can immediately picture someone walking down the aisle to it!
The Recessional
If walking down the aisle requires an emotional build up then walking back down as a married couple definitely requires something incredibly happy and joyous!
Cold December Night – Michael Bublé
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/cold-december-night/id739875945?i=739875971
A great big happy Bublé track but not so well known that everyone will be distracted by the song! Perfect
Snow Globe – Matt Wertz
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/snow-globe/id568139349?i=568139366
This one’s a very unknown track but a great one!
Day After Christmas – Matthew West
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/day-after-christmas/id721285550?i=721285923
A lovely song focussing on the joy continuing the day after Christmas and all through the year – a sentiment as appropriate to your wedding as it is to Christmas itself
Well those are our festive suggestions for this week but we’ll be back next week with some ideas for the first dance and reception! Until then though Have Yourselves a Merry Little Christmas!
image source: greenville.wedding101.net
