CIVIL WEDDING MUSIC

As we have mentioned in many other articles on the site, the main thing you need to be aware of when determining the tracks, is that the music is non-religious, and that it is suitable for the occasion. Depending upon your Superintendent Registrar, some may be stricter than others. For example, those of you who have a preference for the Bridal march by Wagner may find a Registrar reluctant to accept it be played. It is from the opera Lohengrin, and in the opera it is played to celebrate a Wedding that is never consummated and ends just moments after the Ceremony when the Bride betrays her new husband, reneging on her word and her vows. With this in mind, some Registrar's may object to the use of this piece of music.

However, in most cases, Registrar’s will be by and large happy to go along with your suggestions, which can leave you with a very big headache – what music do you choose? Some of you will favour modern love songs (often instrumental versions) and the tracks listed in the Songs article, along with the music highlighted in the article entitled The First Dance (in The Reception section) may give you some good pointers. That said, the majority of couples will take this opportunity to play some of the more traditional and classical pieces. The following list contains some of our favourites.

Links to MIDI files of the music have been made available, although please note you will need a suitable music player to hear the music (we suggest Windows Media Player which can be downloaded for free from here).