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The process of choosing the music for
your wedding day is an enjoyable and rewarding one. It is an
opportunity for you to tailor the experience to reflect your own
personal tastes and preferences. Time-honored traditions can be
varied or combined with original ideas to help provide cherished
memories that are uniquely your own. |
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| The amount of
flexibility you have in making decisions is largely dependent on
the location of your wedding. If you are to be married in a
church, synagogue or other religious setting, there may be certain
restrictions on the type of music that can be played. Some
churches also have policies regarding the use of resident
musicians, especially the church organist. Keep in mind that while
you may be encouraged to use church musicians, the final decision
is usually up to you. If you are being married in a location such
as a hotel function room or garden setting, you will be less
likely to face restrictions on your selections, but there may be
stipulations regarding amplification of the music or the size of
the group. Be sure that you have spoken with the officiant and to
a representative of the establishment where the wedding is to take
place to determine what limitations there are, if any. |
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| We will be happy to
work with you to help you make final decisions as to the details
of the wedding music. There are a wide variety of options. To
start with, we will provide tasteful background music - “prelude
music”- to accompany the seating of guests. (We normally put
together an appropriate selection of melodies from our classical
repertoire but would be happy to include any favorites that you
may request or tailor the atmosphere to suit your preference.)
This prelude music typically begins 15 to 20 minutes before the
actual start of the ceremony. |
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| Next, we will provide
the processional music, which heralds the beginning of the
ceremony (sometimes the church organist may take over at this
point if you prefer). This often begins with separate special
selection for the arrival and seating of the mothers of the bride
and groom or other family members. Next, there is usually a
selection for the wedding party as they walk down the aisle, and
then a separate selection to announce the bride’s entrance and
accompany her as she walks down the aisle. Please note that in
order to provide the smoothest possible execution, we require a
clear signal as to when to begin this stage of the music
performance. |
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| While the above
scenario is traditional, many people prefer a simpler format,
especially for smaller weddings, where the “aisle” itself is short
or non-existent, or the wedding party is very small. You might
opt, for example, to have one special selection to announce the
arrival of the bride (including wedding party and/or escort) and
smoothly accompany her procession to the point at which the
officiant takes over. Again, the musicians will require a cue to
begin the processional music. It is ideal if a third party is
available to discreetly approach the musicians and cue them
without disturbing the flow of the performance. |
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| You may also wish to
include music as part of your ceremony. This could coincide
with standard points in the church service at which there is
typically music. Or, it may accompany a candle-lighting ceremony
or period of reflection. Some couples simply wish to highlight a
song that holds special meaning for them. Then again, having no
music during the ceremony is also very common. |
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The final phase of the
ceremony music is the recessional, which occurs at the
completion of the ceremony and accompanies the bride and the
wedding party as they return down the aisle. This music (and
further selections if needed) can continue as long as it takes
most of the guests leave the room. |
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| We provide a song list
and a demonstration CD to aid you in making the specific choices
as to the selections you would like at the different points in
your wedding. We are very happy to speak with you over the phone
to make suggestions based on our experience of what others have
done. It may also be helpful to obtain a recording of wedding
music from the library or a music store to give you an even wider
range of possibilities. Even if these songs do not appear on our
list, the likelihood is that we are familiar with them and can
provide them with no trouble if we are given a reasonable amount
of notice. We are also happy to work with other musicians if
needed. For example, we frequently accompany vocalists who are
chosen to sing at some point during the ceremony. |
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| We hope the above
explanation will prove helpful. We wish you the best of luck in
all your plans and arrangements for your joyous occasion! |
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Click to listen
to a sampling of our music. |
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(978)
287-0244
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| Copyright
© Alla Breve 2000-2008 |
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