I was watching a show with a wedding and not suprisingly they played “Here Comes The Bride”. I started to realize I’ve never been to a wedding where that song is played. Almost all the weddings I go to are family weddings that are Catholic, and Catholic churches almost never play non-religious music. Did you hear this song at the last wedding you went to or your own wedding? If you didn’t what did you hear?
Catholic wedding last weekend. Yes they played it.
I’d say I hear it about 60% of the time. People like to pick their own unique songs.
I don’t hear it over-much. I think it’s seen as over-done or dated or something? Maybe one or two in ten weddings. The most popular processional, by a large margin, is Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Which if I never hear again, it will be too soon.
/wedding professional
I’ve never been to a wedding that played the Lohengrin wedding music.
I did have two pieces at my wedding that are quite popular. My processional was Henry Purcell’s “Trumpet Tune” My recessional was Jeremiah Clarke’s “Trumpet Voluntary-The Prince of Denmark’s March.” The latter was what Diana went up the aisle to, at her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981.
Its proper name is “Treulich geführt,” from the 1850 opera Lohengrin, by Wagner. A few reasons why you don’t hear it more: (1) It’s trite and corny; (2) In the opera, it’s played after the wedding; (3) In the opera, the wedding was a failure; (4) In the opera, it’s followed by the murder of several guests; (5) Many churches discourage the use of secular music in religious ceremonies; (6) Wagner was a prick.
At the last wedding I went to, the bride walked in to bagpipe music by a friend.
The one before that, to a small group of musicians (fiddles mostly).
I think a friend years ago used it in a Catholic church, but I can’t swear to it.
That’d be my wedding, and no they didn’t play it.
I’ve noticed that they usually seem to play it at Catholic weddings. I’d say maybe, I don’t know, a quarter to a third of the weddings I’ve been to played it. Most people I know would refuse to play it.
Now Canon in D… <sigh> (We had a song written for us. It was lovely.)
Yes, I’ve heard it at the last three weddings I’ve been to, maybe the last four.
Oh god yes. It was two forty-year-old virgins getting married for the first time. The bride came from one of the uber-Conservative Evangelical type families we have around here and had started expecting to get married at 16. She was so happy it had finally happened. There were two ministers, eleven bridesmaids, and a PowerPoint presentation about how long she had waited. You better believe her dress was wider than the aisle and that Here Comes The Bride was played very, very loudly.
No, the last wedding I went to was my best friend’s last year. She walked down the aisle to her niece singing Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years”. It was actually pretty nice, different anyways.
I had it played at my wedding but after the way that marriage ended I’ll pick something else if I ever do it again.
I think my sister used Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I was there, but I honestly don’t remember.
It was played ceremoniously on a boom box at my very own last wedding which happened at a wedding chapel. We paid for the upgrade to get more pictures as well as the souvenir Christmas ornament, and the music was part of that.
Other than that I have been to weddings where it was played but not in over five years. I will say that most of my friends are pretty non-traditional.
The last wedding I attended was a family one years ago. “Here Comes the Bride” wasn’t used, but I don’t remember what was–something classical, I believe.
I walked down the aisle to “Simple Gifts” and the recessional was “The Heavens are Telling.”
I’ve been to over 250 weddings. I rarely hear it. Maybe 10% of the time.
I can’t remember a wedding I’ve gone to where it wasn’t played.
Most of the ones I’ve been to have been Catholic.
I find that odd. The plurality of weddings I’ve been to have been Catholic. And I could swear many/most churches around here won’t let you play it.
Maybe it’s regional?
The last wedding I went to was mine. No Wagner, my favorite composer, (don’t tell the Rabbi) but a lot of Baruch Atah Adonai.
The church I grew up in was the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a quite conservative denomination. Our particular congregation had music guidelines for weddings and “Here Comes the Bride” was specifically mentioned as not being allowed.
I’m now Episcopalian, and our wedding music guidelines are the following, which would seem to take the Lohengrin off the table as a choice, but I don’t know for sure.
Since weddings in the Episcopal Church are services of public worship, the guidelines listed in the Book
of Common Prayer concerning music apply. These guidelines suggest that, “Hymns
and anthems are to be understood as those authorized by this Church. The words are to be from Holy
Scripture, or from the Prayer Book, or from texts congruent with them” (BCP 14).
Accordingly, secular songs, popular songs, love songs, etc., are generally considered inappropriate for
the wedding service.
The last wedding I went to was my own and while we did use Pachelbel, it was only for my attendants. I came up the aisle to “Ride of the Valkyries” and we walked back down to a rousing rendition of “Liberty Bell March.” (aka “The Monty Python Theme.”)
Bonus: Our last song of the night was “Yakkety Sax” as played by the Raleigh Ringers, a handbell chorus. Fun and silly!
I did Canon in D for the entire processional, IIRC.
For the recessional, however… I chose the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, because the damned thing was finally over. 