Before the Ceremony
Before the ceremony, the musicians typically play music for 15 to 30 minutes during the seating of the guests. You do not have to pick the music for this: the ceremony musicians will play pretty, appropriate music. When you hire your ceremony musicians, be sure to specify the time a half an hour or so before the ceremony time on your invitations. Often times, the bride gets so focused on what time she will walk down the aisle (can you blame her?!) that she will hire them to start at that time which could mess up your entire schedule and have you frantic!
Sometimes there is a formal seating of the families right before the ceremony starts, but this is purely optional and sometimes more trouble than it’s worth; for example, how long do you want your 80-year old grandmother to have to stand in the back before you seat her? Sometimes this is combined with the entrance of the wedding party if the families and the wedding party are small. In any case, tradition calls for the parents of the bride and groom to be seated last.
Filed under: Ceremony music
