Music Information

By Kyung Lee

So you would like to have some special music during your wedding ceremony, but you are on a budget and don't want to break the bank? Fortunately you have many options for live wedding ceremony music and there are a number of steps you can take to reduce cost while still creating a special and unique atmosphere for your wedding ceremony. Here are 4 tips that can save you some money.

Find your own musicians

While it may offer you peace of mind to book your musicians through an entertainment agency, you will almost always pay less if you remove the middle man and book the musicians directly. When booking your own musicians, research is critical. Wedding Wire and similar sites are a great resource to find and compare wedding musicians. Be aware that some websites, like Gigmaster, take a cut from the musicians and this may increase your total cost. Take these factors into consideration when booking your musicians.

Organ Plus One

Organ is probably the most common used for wedding ceremony music. Organ is often included in the cost of booking the church and you might even be charged a fee for declining the church organist. An inexpensive way to spice up this fairly common setting is to add another performer along with the organ. Trumpet for example can add a brilliant quality to the ceremony music and can be used to highlight special moments such as the bride's entrance and newlyweds recessional. Soprano or tenor voice might be another combination to consider. Solo voice set against the orchestral accompaniment of the organ can be very moving.

Go Minimal

Sometimes, all you need is one or two musicians to take care of all your ceremony music. Some instruments perfectly suited for this task are solo harp or solo guitar. Solo violin or solo cello are also very good options that are sometimes overlooked. While they don't have the lushness of a string quartet, a solo string instrument can offer a simple elegance and intimacy that will draw the listener in. When considering duos, the possibilities expand greatly. Some common duos include, flute and harp, violin and harp, harp and voice, violin and guitar, and cello and violin.

Add the Cocktail Hour

This tip may seem counter intuitive, but you can often get more value for your money(and a discounted rate) if you use the same musicians for your wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. Because most musicians charge per hour this situation works best when your reception site is very close to the wedding site, that way you are not paying for the down time while they travel between venues. Some instruments that are particularly suited for both tasks might be, strings(solo or group), harp(with or without additional instrument), solo guitar, and of course piano.

Wedding ceremony music can really add that special something to make your ceremony much more memorable. By applying one or a few of these tips you may be surprised how affordable it can be!