Tag: wedding musicians Phoenix

Phoenix Wedding and Event Music, wedding music

Best Bride’s Processional Songs from the Sixties

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If you’re looking for wedding ceremony music that will take you and bride's processional songsyour guests back to a simpler, sweeter time and place, there’s no better decade to choose music from than the sixties. Guests of all ages will appreciate the nostalgia of this “peace and love” generation. There are so many beautiful, romantic classic love songs from the sixties that are perfect for wedding processionals.

While we generally think of pop love songs when we think of music from the sixties, but there were also many songs that made social and political statements. In the second half of the decade, music reflected the growing hippie culture. In addition to psychedelic music, there was also radio-friendly pop music and harder rock that helped make album sales rise in importance.

During this period, television networks tried to attract a younger audience by featuring rock musicians performing their hits. American Bandstand, the Ed Sullivan Show and other TV variety shows featured rock bands popular in the day.

Obviously, The Beatles dominated the record charts with 6 of the top 10 albums during that decade and 21 of the top 100 singles. Elvis Presley, in comparison, had 9 of the top 100 singles and 4 of the top 100 albums.

The best sixties music is generally thought of as produced by musical artists from England coming to the United States, called “The British Invasion”.

Sixties Songs for Brides Processional

When it comes to choosing music to suit a bride’s processional, there are so many choices of great music from the sixties. Since the bride’s processional is the quintessential moment of every lady’s wedding day, this is frequently the song that gets the most thought from brides because she needs the perfect song to walk down the aisle to. While many brides opt for traditional music, a large number of today’s brides are choosing more contemporary love songs or one of the beautiful songs from the sixties.

Some our couples’ favorites for the bride’s processional that we love to play too include:

  • Crazy (1961)
  • And I Love Her (1964)
  • Can’t Take My Eyes of You (1967)

Sixties Songs for the Bridesmaids and Wedding Party

With each lady handpicked by the bride, the bridesmaids’ entrance music should be extra-special. We believe bridesmaids’ entrance should be honored with a unique song that will show just how special these ladies are to the couple. Some of our favorite songs for bridesmaids and wedding parties are:

  • Here, There and Everywhere (1966)
  • What A Wonderful World (1967)
  • All You Need is Love (1967)
  • Can’t Help Falling in Love (1961)
  • Unchained Melody (1965)

While some of our brides carefully select every song they want for their prelude, recessional, unity ceremony and recessional, choosing your wedding music can be as simple or involved as each couple wants. The main things we suggest to them when selecting wedding processional music, is that it’s important that the music reflects the mood of your wedding, your personalities and your feelings about your relationship.

If you know of a song from the sixties that is special to you and your fiancé and it fits the mood of your wedding, we would love to play it for you. Please contact us today to discuss your ideas!

Phoenix Wedding and Event Music, wedding music

Tips on How to Save Money on Your Phoenix Wedding Music

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The cost of weddings can easily get out of control, but we wanted to give you a few tips on how to have the wedding music you’ve dreamed of without spending more money than you need to.

save money on wedding music
tips on how to save money on wedding music
  1. Book musicians early. The top musicians in Phoenix get booked early, so for best availability, you’ll always want to begin conversations with potential wedding musicians at least 6 months in advance. You may find fine, professional musicians with shorter notice, but without much lead time, rates can be higher than if you plan ahead.
  2. You may be considering different musicians for your wedding ceremony, cocktail hour and reception in order to have a variety of music. But, the fact is, if you hire one ensemble to play several parts of your wedding, you will save considerable amounts of money because most musicians’ fees are reduced after the first hour. Just look for well-trained, experience, versatile musicians who are able to perform a variety of styles, and you should be happy with  your entertainment.
  3. As you plan your wedding, keep in mind that musicians often charge fees for sound equipment, so be sure to ask about these fees before booking. Depending upon the ensemble and the equipment, fees may vary greatly. Also, be aware that some ensembles charge extra fees to move their equipment from say, the wedding ceremony site to the cocktail hour site. This fee will certainly be less than hiring multiple groups, but it is still a fee which should be considered and perhaps avoided with some planning.
  4. Experienced musicians will have fairly extensive song lists including music that is particularly suited for processionals of the wedding party, the entrance of the bride, the unity ceremony, the recessional, the cocktail hour and the reception. Be sure to discuss the styles and variety of music that you can choose from before booking a musician. In addition to choosing songs of their standard play lists, many musicians offer to arrange songs that you request. Many couples do have songs that are particularly meaningful to them that they would like included in their ceremonies, but just be aware that most musicians charge a fee to arrange the music for their instrumentation and to rehearse the music in order to prepare it to perform for you. If you’re looking to save money on wedding music, we suggest you choose only one or two special songs to be arranged to keep the cost down.

While there are certainly some specific ways of saving money on your wedding music, we would caution you NEVER to hire wedding musicians just based on price alone. Some couples think they can save money by hiring friends or students, but in the end, they often end up disappointed that the quality of the performance is not what they had hoped for on their special day.  So, we recommend that you get the very best musicians you can and then use the tips above to save some money where you can.

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Tips for Selecting Music for the Main Sections of a Phoenix Wedding Ceremony

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Years later, most couples remember and still have a very warm place in their hearts

outdoor wedding musicians at the WigWam Resort in Litchfield Park, AZ
Setting up for an outdoor wedding at the WigWam Resort in Litchfield Park, AZ

for the songs played at their wedding. Maybe you like the idea of having live musicians for your wedding ceremony but don’t even know where to begin with planning the music. If so, here is a quick summary of the six main sections of standard wedding ceremonies that call for music and a few options to get you started thinking.

  1. Prelude– As guests arrive and are being seated (generally a selection by the musicians which  lasts 10 – 20 minutes)
    1. Traditional options: The Swan – Saint-Saens, Clair de Lune – Debussy, Meditation from Thais- Massenet
    2. Contemporary options: A Time for Us (Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet), Beauty and the Beast, Unforgettable
  2. Processional– As the bridal party enters 
    1. Traditional options: Trumpet Voluntary – Clark, Trumpet Tune – Purcell, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” – Bach
    2. Contemporary options: Your Song – Elton John, All You Need Is Love – The Beatles, Stand By Me – Ben E. King
  3. Bride’s Entrance– As the bride enters
    1. Traditional options: The Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride) from Lohengrin –Wagner, Trumpet Tune – Purcell, Canon in D – Pachelbel
    2. Contemporary options: In My Life – The Beatles, Can’t Help Falling in Love, All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera
  4. Interlude/Unity Candle/Sand Ceremony– During the Ceremony
    1. Traditional options: Greensleeves, Ave Maria – Schubert, Gymnopedie No. 1 – Satie
    2. Contemporary options: Everything I Do – Bryan Adams, One Hand, One Heart – West Side Story, Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
  5. Recessional– As the couple exits
    1. Traditional options: Wedding March (Midsummer Night’s Dream) – Mendelssohn, Alla Hornpipe (from Water Music Suite) – Handel, Ode To Joy – Beethoven
    2. Contemporary options: Happy Together – The Turtles, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) – Stevie Wonder, Marry You – Bruno Mars
  6. Postlude– As the guests stand and leave  (generally a selection by the musicians which lasts 5 – 15 minutes)
    1. Traditional options: La Rejouissance – Handel, Rondeau – Mouret, Autumn – Antonio Vivaldi
    2. Contemporary options: All You Need Is Love – The Beatles, How Sweet It Is – James Taylor, At Last – Etta James

Spending time with your fiancé picking out your music is fun, relaxing and will help make your music meaningful. But, if you don’t have a strong preference for any certain songs or music, experienced wedding musicians will be able to recommend appropriate songs that suit your tastes, whether they be more traditional, contemporary or unique.

Nothing like music has the power to express the emotion of a wedding ceremony, so if you’re looking for the secret to a more meaningful day, live musicians will bring the perfect touch to your ceremony.

Be sure to check out our play list to see some more of the music we like to perform for Phoenix-area couples!