Certain music works particularly well for certain parts of the ceremony. Please note that these samples are mostly of other musicians with different arrangements. We put them here solely to let you know how the melody sounds.    Music for the Prelude During the 15-30 minute prelude, guests arrive and are seated while the wedding party readies for the ceremony to begin. Music played now sets the tone of the ceremony, whether elegant and refined, happy and exuberant, traditional, or serene and contempletive. Many couples will request here a favorite piece that they can't put anywhere else in the ceremony. Otherwise, couples usually opt to tell us the mood they want to create and let us select the pieces to fit that mood. Many pieces that work for particular parts of the ceremony are appropriate here as well. The prelude continues until the processional or the seating of the families. Brahms      Theme from 1st Symphony Franck      Panus Angelicus  Gluck      Minuet (Dance of the Blessed Spirits)   Handel      suite: Water Music        suite: Royal Fireworks Music Liszt      Liebestraum  Mozart      Alleluia from Exultate, Jubilate        March       Eine Kleine Nacht Musik ( Available on "Live Recordings " Page)   Music for the Seating of the Families Couples often choose to honor their families by having particular music played while they are being seated. Bach's Ave Maria and Schubert's Ave Maria are favorites, but music with personal significance or any music chosen to fit the mood of the wedding ceremony will suit this part of the program. Those seated during this time traditionally are the mothers of the couple but can include any other family members, such as grandparents. Often, informal ceremonies or short ceremonies maintain continuity of effect by omitting this part of the program. In such cases, the families are seated towards the end of the prelude. Bach, J. S.       Ave Maria   Ivanovici       Waves of the Danube (The Anniversary Waltz) ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page) Schubert       Ave Maria  ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page)   Music for the Processional For ceremonies with more than two attendants, couples usually choose to have two different musical processionals. The attendants' processional is typically lyrical and refined in feeling. A favorite is Pachelbel's Canon in D or Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, but many works, particularly those from the Baroque period, fit this mood very well.  Bach, J. S.       Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page) Clarke       Trumpet Voluntary (Princess Diana used this for her processional.) ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page) Corelli       Movement 6, Largo, from The Christmas Concerto   Jenkins       Allegro, from Palladio (theme from the Diamond commercial)  Pachelbel        Canon in D ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page) Vivaldi         Allegro from 1st movement of Spring: The Four Seasons   Debussy        The Girl with the Flaxen Hair   If two processionals are played, the grander in feeling is the bride's processional. Most traditional is Wagner's Bridal Chorus, but many other pieces do an excellent job of helping the bride to command attention with her entrance. Short or informal ceremonies often have one piece to announce both the entrance of the attendants and the entrance of the bride since breaking up a short period with two different pieces of music can feel fragmented. Borodin       String Quartet No. 2 Massenet       Meditation from Thais  Mouret       Rondeau (theme from Masterpiece Theatre)   Mozart        March from Marriage of Figaro Sartori       Con te Partiro (I Will Go with You, aka Time to Say Goodbye, popularized by Andrea Bocelli)   Vivaldi        Largo from Winter: The Four Seasons ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page)       Allegro non molto from 1st movement of Winter: The Four Seasons (particularly good for a single processional because it has two different parts.) Wagner         Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin     Music during the Ceremony Often, once the bride finishes her walk down the aisle, the only sounds come from the officiant, the bride, and the groom. During Catholic ceremonies, Ave Maria is often played as a musical offering to Mary, and other hymns, usually suggested by the church's music director, are played during the offering. Some couples choose to have music played during the lighting of a unity candle or softly under special readings. During the ceremony itself, especially when the couple have included religious or uniquely personal elements, this is an excellent opportunity to include music with significance to the couple. Bach, J. S.       Sheep May Safely Graze         Air ('Air on the G String') ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page)       Arioso    Music for the Recessional The recessional is the grand exit of the entire wedding party. The most traditional music for the recessional is Mendelssohn's Wedding March, but many pieces have the kind of triumphal joyfulness that characterizes the best recessionals. This is the last piece of music associated with the ceremony proper. Handel      Hornpipe from Water Music  ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page)      La Rejouissance from Royal Fireworks      Arrival of the Queen of Sheeba  Mendelssohn      Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream ( Available on "Live Recordings" Page) Mozart      Rondeau, from Eine Kleine Nacht Musik Purcell     Trumpet Tune   Sousa     The Liberty Bell March Schubert     The Bird Tchaikovsky     The Sleeping Beauty Waltz     Remember, the above are merely guidelines. Nothing is set in stone, and nothing is right or wrong. If you want a particular piece during a particular part of the ceremony, then by all means you should have it. Let the experienced players of the Heights Chamber Players select the music to fit your chosen mood, or pick your music minutely to reflect your taste: involve yourself to whatever degree you wish. THIS IS YOUR DAY--HAVE IT YOUR WAY!