# Did you hear "Here Comes The Bride" at your last wedding? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183 "2013-04-20T02:31:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/21 "2013-04-21T00:36:29Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I came up the aisle to “Ride of the Valkyries” Cool! ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/22 "2013-04-21T00:51:03Z")
When I was playing organ in the musician’s union, _Here Comes the Bride_ was played as the processional about 25% of the time. _Caonon in D_ and _Ave Maria_ were both more popular. The RC diocese that I was in though, didn’t allow secular music. _Ode to Joy_ was a popular recessional. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/23 "2013-04-21T01:20:57Z")
My sister-in-law did Pachelbel’s Canon in D, rather than Here Comes the Bride, at her wedding last May. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/24 "2013-04-21T03:38:52Z")
Oh man! I just realized…I think it’s been almost 10 yrs since I’ve been to a wedding. I don’t remember what they played when the bride walked in. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/25 "2013-04-21T13:59:34Z")
> [@Reyemile](#): > > My sister-in-law did Pachelbel’s Canon in D, rather than Here Comes the Bride, at her wedding last May. Yeah, Pachelbel’s Canon is the one I most often hear these days for the processional at Catholic masses. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is also a common one. At our wedding, we did Bach’s Prelude in C Major to process and Ode to Joy to recess. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/26 "2013-04-21T14:05:24Z")
At my nephew’s wedding, nope. Don’t think they had anything I recognized. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/27 "2013-04-21T14:17:34Z")
One time, about two years ago. It isn’t really done much in my corner of the South. My friend’s wife, who was sitting next to me, had to stifle a rather loud chuckle when she heard the first few notes. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/28 "2013-04-21T14:44:58Z")
I got married in 2006 at my Lutheran church, and I was pretty much allowed to have whatever music I wanted. I used the church organist, rather than hiring someone outside, and he was the only one from the church that I ever conferred with about the music. I wanted “Here Comes the Bride,” even though it’s trite, because I just liked the idea of having the traditional wedding music. I also used the Wedding March by Mendelssohn for the recessional, for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/29 "2013-04-21T15:39:24Z")
It wasn’t played at the last three weddings I’ve been to. Two chose some other classical piece, and one was an instrumental version of a Beatles song (Let It Be, I think) that had a special meaning to the couple. It wasn’t played at mine three years ago, either. I walked up the aisle to an instrumental version of “Fields of Gold” played and recorded by my wonderful husband. Our recessional was the [Throne Room March](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwQOFamx5oE) from Star Wars. I couldn’t talk my brother into doing a Wookiee yell, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/30 "2013-04-21T16:42:36Z")
I hear it often, but not at every wedding. I think we played it at our wedding, but that was 12 years ago and I can’t remember. Have to ask Mrs. Tango, but she might not remember either. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/31 "2013-04-21T23:15:16Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > 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. (7) Some religions refuse to use it because of an association between Wagner and Nazi Germany. In the movie _Monsters vs. Aliens_, Wagner isn’t even credited as the composer - the song is credited as, “Here Comes the Bride - Traditional.” ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/32 "2013-04-21T23:22:25Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > The most popular processional, by a large margin, is Pachelbel’s Canon in D. _youtubes_ Oh god I no idea that’s the name of that song. Yes, it screams wedding at me and ewwww. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/33 "2013-04-21T23:29:22Z")
My (first) wedding was in an Episcopal church and the priest said we could use any music we wanted except Here Comes The Bride. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/34 "2013-04-21T23:34:34Z")
I haven’t been to as many weddings as some of you (perhaps 15 or so?) and the first time I have heard the Wagner used was just yesterday. They also had the Mendelssohn for their recessional, which again seems to be rarely used nowadays - Handel’s “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” is much more popular (and always strikes me as amusing for the recessional, when everyone is leaving rather than arriving). Widor’s Toccata is very overdone as well (and sadly, often by organists for whom it is beyond their capabilities (the Handel likewise) - as such it is a pleasure to hear it done well). The trouble with Pachelbel’s Canon (apart from it’s obvious hackneyed commonness) is that it doesn’t really get going until 2 or 3 minutes in, so unless you are getting married at Westminster Abbey (or walk extremely slowly), the organist has to stop before they get to the best bits. Or you can modify it to skip some of the intervening phrases, but then the piece rather loses its sense of a slow build-up to a grand finale. For my wedding I wished to avoid all the traditional pieces so my bride walked down the aisle to a wedding march composed for some ancient BBC radio programme that my parents had somehow got hold of and used for their wedding. For our recessional I chose a Schumann organ impromptu which the organist described as “like a march in 3”, and he’s right. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/35 "2013-04-22T00:56:41Z")
I am 100% sure that when we were married 14 years ago, the music director of the Catholic Church that we planned to be married at specifically said that not only was “Here Comes the Bride” verboten, there was a list of pieces you could choose from. All from a hymnal. We had to use their organist, and I guess those were the pieces she could play. We could have a soloist of our choice (my sister-in-law is a semi-pro singer) but given the choices, it was rather pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/36 "2013-04-22T09:45:00Z")
Not to hijack, but when I first read the subject I misread it slightly and thought the OP was asking if anyone had heard the theme song from that late 1960s TV show, _Here Come the Brides_. It had a catchy jingle that I still remember. [Wikipedia page on HCTB](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Come_the_Brides). [0:55 YouTube video of the opening HCTB theme, including pictures of young co-stars Bobby Sherman and David Soul (before his Husky & Starch days)](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mRNpa_vTjRM). And… here are the lyrics: \*The bluest sky you’ve ever seen, in Seattle. And the hills the greenest green, in Seattle. Like a beautiful child Growing up, free and wild. Full of hopes and full of fears, Full of laughter, full of tears, Full of dreams to last a year In Seattle. When you find your own true love you will know it By his smile, by the look in his eyes. Some set pine trees in the air Or some stand around and stare Look out everyone, Here Come the Brides.\* ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/37 "2013-04-22T10:51:56Z")
“Here comes the bride, fair fat and wide”, as we used to chant in my youth. I absolutely loathe that music, and if I were getting married to someone that insisted on it, they wouldn’t be seeing me at the alter. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/38 "2013-04-22T18:25:49Z")
I’ve mostly been to Jewish weddings lately. They never play Wagner at Jewish weddings, I’m sure you can figure out why. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/39 "2013-04-22T18:35:28Z")
I’ve been married three times. That song never played at one of mine. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183/40 "2013-04-22T18:56:58Z")
For my last wedding, we did the “Prince of Denmark” trumpet voluntary for the bride’s procession, and the “Promenade” from Mussorgsky’s _ **Pictures at an Exhibition** _ for the procession of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. My first wedding was at a Church of Christ, where no musical instruments were allowed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-hear-here-comes-the-bride-at-your-last-wedding/656183.md?page=3)