Modern Vintage

Photo by David Willems Photoagraphy

The first dance is not the only time that you and your groom can share your song with guests. If you hire a string quartet or pianist to perform at your ceremony ask them to play your song during your first kiss as husband and wife.

The moment that touched me most during my wedding was our kiss after being pronounced; our String Quartet performed Five for Fighting's 100 Years and it felt like the universe had stopped for us. The first note we heard sent chills down our spines (in a good way, of course) and, after the kiss, we floated out of the ceremony room - it was a blissfully surreal experience.

Not only is it unique to play something other than Pachebel's Canon or Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring for your recessional but it's also beautiful to hear an instrumental performance of a pop song like 100 years or James Blunt's Your Beautiful  on strings or a piano. It's as though you get to hear the soul of a song when you strip it of it's lyrics and amplifiers.

For my ceremony, I found a group of extremely talented Julliard alumni (Hire Conservatory Alumni) who perform at all types of events and for clients that include the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the United Nations. Surprisingly, their fees are lower than most wedding-specific ensembles and they were extremely accommodating and found a beautiful arrangement of 100 years for us. If the musician/s you choose for your ceremony have never performed your specific song, you can find sheet music from Sam Ash or even ask if they could compose an arrangement of the song for the instruments being performed on (this, of course, might cost you extra).

If you're really feeling this idea...go the extra mile and ask to have something sweet like Over The Rainbow or a Disney tune like Aladdin's A Whole New World performed for your flower girls and ring bearer to walk down to.

Photo by David Willems Photography