Marriage Ceremony and the Wedding March

  • Thread starter Thread starter Julianna
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
:rotfl: that’s my soon to be ex-wife’s ring tone.
Ouch!
That song was composed by an overworked neurological doctor, who chose to have a go at singing for a while. 😃
Why wouldn’t you have a say? It’s just of a big for the guy as it is for the bride.
Tell that to the bride! From what I’ve heard the groom might as well enjoy his brandy while his bride goes through the excitement! 😃 Sooner or later, he will be emotionally closer to the former than to the latter, anyway!
 
I thought processionals and recessionals didn’t actually count as a part of the liturgy? I thought less scrutiny applied in this area to the music that was used…I would think that would be even more true in the case of a wedding.
 
I thought processionals and recessionals didn’t actually count as a part of the liturgy? I thought less scrutiny applied in this area to the music that was used…I would think that would be even more true in the case of a wedding.
It all depends on the diocese and the Pastor. If there’s no diocesan ban and the priest has no idea of the background of the Mendelssohn and the Wagner pieces or even knows who those composers are, you are less likely to see a ban on them.

Some priests really couldn’t care less what you have as music for a wedding. My former pastor, now parish administrator, is one of those. At weddings we regularly see CD players and anything goes. Shania Twain is a favorite and she’s not exactly known for hymns.:rolleyes:
 
It all depends on the diocese and the Pastor. If there’s no diocesan ban and the priest has no idea of the background of the Mendelssohn and the Wagner pieces or even knows who those composers are, you are less likely to see a ban on them.

Some priests really couldn’t care less what you have as music for a wedding. My former pastor, now parish administrator, is one of those. At weddings we regularly see CD players and anything goes. Shania Twain is a favorite and she’s not exactly known for hymns.:rolleyes:
But you don’t have the entire congregation singing, “there’s no time for us, there’s no place for us,” on a routine basis?
 
But you don’t have the entire congregation singing, “there’s no time for us, there’s no place for us,” on a routine basis?
No, left to him: “Today we’ll sing #542 in CBW III. We’ll sing verse 1 & 2 for the entrance and 5 & 6 at the end.”

That’s Marty Haugen’s “Canticle of the Sun”, in case you were wondering.
 
But you don’t have the entire congregation singing, “there’s no time for us, there’s no place for us,” on a routine basis?
Congregation singing at weddings?? As if…

But on Saturdays and Sundays, left up to him:

“Today we’ll sing #542 in CBW III. We’ll sing verse 1 & 2 for the entrance and 5 & 6 at the end.”

That’s Marty Haugen’s “Canticle of the Sun”, in case you were wondering.
 
Congregation singing at weddings?? As if…
hahahahahaha!!! I’ve cantored at well over 100 different Catholic parishes in 8 different states and I can count on one hand the times when the congregation/guests actually sang at those weddings. They don’t even say the spoken responses sometimes. There was one wedding where the priest kept tsk-tsking the guests for not participating loud enough on the recited and sung responses. He’d make them repeat everything like they were school children if he didn’t think they said it loud enough or with enough gusto. The thing was half of the guests weren’t even Catholic.
 
It all depends on the diocese and the Pastor. If there’s no diocesan ban and the priest has no idea of the background of the Mendelssohn and the Wagner pieces or even knows who those composers are, you are less likely to see a ban on them.
Very true. Even in parishes where they do not allow the Wagner and Mendelssohn, sometimes the pianist or organist will pull out some piece from an obscure opera or ballet and because the priest doesn’t know where it is from they get away with it. And truthfully, unless you knew these works, most people wouldn’t know.
Some priests really couldn’t care less what you have as music for a wedding. My former pastor, now parish administrator, is one of those. ** At weddings we regularly see CD players and anything goes. Shania Twain is a favorite and she’s not exactly known for hymns.:rolleyes:**
Yikes! :eek: I’ve seen John Lennon’s “Grow Old With Me” or have more than once in one particular diocese had to sing “One Hand, One Heart” from West Side Story. Since the pastor approved it, I had no say and had to sing it. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love WSS, but it technically isn’t appropriate for during a mass since it is from a musical.
 
Because it’s from the very secular “Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
Exactly. If I recall, it is played as a married woman falls in love with a jerk (who’s head is ironically turned into that of a donkey). I onetime saw an article about it with the following title:

Bad Wedding Marches - or “Is the Groom Really a Jackass?”

It’s quite out of place, when you look at it closer.

In fact, I found the link of the article. Good read if you want to know more:
canticanova.com/articles/feedback/arteg1.htm
 
Exactly. If I recall, it is played as a married woman falls in love with a jerk (who’s head is ironically turned into that of a donkey). I onetime saw an article about it with the following title:

Bad Wedding Marches - or “Is the Groom Really a Jackass?”

It’s quite out of place, when you look at it closer.

In fact, I found the link of the article. Good read if you want to know more:
canticanova.com/articles/feedback/arteg1.htm
Same thing with the Wagner “Bridal Chorus”. Elsa and Lohengrin never consummate the marriage due to Elsa breaking her promise about never asking Lohengrin his origins. Long story short… he abandons her and she dies of a broken heart.

In A Midsommer Night’s Dream, Titania is a fairy and a spell is cast on her (It has been a while since I’ve read/seen the play or have seen the ballet, but I believe this is correct. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). The first person she sees is the guy who’s head was turned into a jackass and she falls in love with him. The story is funny, but when you think about it for a wedding, not really appropriate.
 
In A Midsommer Night’s Dream, Titania is a fairy and a spell is cast on her (It has been a while since I’ve read/seen the play or have seen the ballet, but I believe this is correct. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). The first person she sees is the guy who’s head was turned into a jackass and she falls in love with him. The story is funny, but when you think about it for a wedding, not really appropriate.
That’s right (I studied it last year). Great story! Great love story? Not so much.
 
Mine was the processional music from “The Sound of Music”, don’t know if there is an official composer to the piece or not. Our recessional was bagpipes.
I have LOVED this processional, ever since I was a little girl. :o
 
That said, in all the parishes I’ve cantored for nuptial masses or ceremonies, the majority of wedding processionals have been Pachelbel;s “Canon in D”, Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and Clarke’s “Trumpet Voluntary”. The next pieces I then often hear would be Handel’s “Water Music” or “Rejouissance”, Charpentier’s “Te Deum” and the Beethoven “Joyful, Joyful.” There have been some who did want the “traditional” wedding marches, but they aren’t many. The interesting thing I have found with many of the brides or couples I work with, they don’t want the Wagner and Mendelssohn even if they are allowed, because they simply don’t like them. The reality shows, tv shows, movies etc. have made them sound cliched and cheesy to them.
I love traditional music, especially Te Deum by Charpentier. Bach’s Air on a G string is lovely too. I also like the idea of a hymn as a wedding processional (like Queen Elizabeth or the Duchess of Cambridge used).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top