This is a listing of pieces in a variety of styles to consider for your ceremony. It’s not an exhaustive list, but hopefully you get some idea as to what’s possible. Even though these recordings were primarily made on the organ, many of these pieces also sound fine on piano or electronic keyboard.
External Page for Choosing Wedding Music
An organist colleague in Dallas, Benjamin Kolodziej, has built a wonderful page listing many preludes and for choosing wedding music. Until I build out my own recordings more fully, please listen to some of these recordings to determine your preferences.
Hymns
Familiar hymns can be used as processionals and recessionals as well as for congregational singing during the ceremony. Here’s a short list of hymns you could consider:
- The Gift of Love
- Ode to Joy
- Amazing Grace
Baroque Era Fanfares
- Rigaudon, Andre Campra
- Hornpipe from Water Music, George Friedrich Handel
- Rondeau, Joseph Mouret
– Listen on Vimeo - Trumpet Voluntary/Prince of Denmark’s March, Jeremiah Clarke
- Trumpet Tune, Henry Purcell
Baroque Era Quieter Selections
- Air from Orchestral Suite #3, Johann Sebastian Bach
- Arioso, Johann Sebastian Bach
- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Johann Sebastian Bach
- Air from Water Music, George Friedrich Handel
- Thou Shalt Bring Them, George Friedrich Handel
– Listen on Vimeo - Canon in D, Johann Pachelbel
Romantic Era Fanfares
- Toccata, Theodore Dubois
- Now Thank We All Our God, Sigfrid Karg-Elert
- Wedding March from A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, Felix Mendelssohn
- Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, Richard Wagner
- Marche Pontifical, Charles-Marie Widor
Romantic Era Quieter Selections
- Andante from Sonata #6, Felix Mendelssohn
- Elsa’s Dream from Lohengrin, Richard Wagner
– Listen on Vimeo
Modern and Contemporary
- Fanfare, William Mathias
– Listen on YouTube - Perfect, Ed Sheeran arr. by Joscha Schraff
– Listen on Vimeo
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