4 Tips for Picking the Perfect Wedding Music

What makes or breaks a scene in your favourite movie? What sets the tone at the coffee shop you met at for your first date? What song can you not help but dance to when you go out with the girls? These are all ideas to consider when picking the music for your wedding. There definitely can be a wrong choice—but the only way you'll go astray is by not being honest with yourself and your partner. Here are a few do's and don'ts when it comes to choosing your wedding music!

First, there are three main areas you'll need to choose big, important songs for: your processional, your recessional, and your first dance (if you go the traditional route). If and only if you have the budget, we recommend doing both a band and a DJ. Is this frivolous? Yes. But you won't regret hiring a string quartet to play you down the aisle mid-La Vie en Rose. Similarly, having the same musicians play you out after the ceremony is just as beautiful.

That said, it's unlikely that you and your beau will feel motivated to get down for your first dance to something like a string quartet—if you do, do it! But also consider bringing in your DJ for this part of the evening—this way, you can dance to the song you truly love to dance to together, not a cover. 

Set the mood!

Music, as you know, can move almost anyone to tears. Pick the right song and do the same thing for your processional. Go classic or contemporary. This will be the song you remember for the rest of your life reflecting on your wedding day—what song will carry you excitedly down the aisle to your new spouse?

Keep it low key

Keep your music at a comfortable level and pace for your guests. Or, consider the alternative: walking down the aisle while T-Pain is blasting and you are the only one moving in the room, because everyone else is standing respectfully, maybe plugging their ears. You get it. 

Match your environment

If you're in a church, you're probably there for a reason. Choose music that embraces your faith, whatever that may be, if you want to (wherever you are). If you're having a backyard wedding, you'll have a little more wiggle room in terms of suitable music. This isn't an absolute must, of course, and you should choose whatever song you want, but it never hurts to consider what kind of music makes sense in your venue.

Skip amateur hour

As much as you might want to save money, and as much as it seems like everything will probably work, no problem, spend the money. Even if you're going to pay someone to stand behind a speaker tower and press "play". What we're getting at here, is—don't entrust the biggest moments of your wedding to whoever is sitting nearest to the iPod with your canned processional music. Too much can go wrong. Late starts, wrong song, pausing abruptly or too early—don't risk it.

There you have it! You really can't go wrong choosing your music as long as it feels right to you. Pick something that you want to begin the rest of your life with. It's an exciting task! Make you a playlist and listen to it nonstop until something comes to the top.

What was your wedding music like? Tell us in the comments!

xo D&C