As a DJ/Master of Ceremonies, Pianist and Band Leader I am often asked,
“What kind of music do you like?”
Well, that’s a big subject. I like just about all styles of music; of course I have my favorites but my tastes in music are wide and varied usually depending on the occasion.
Wedding Music
In planning a wedding there is wide latitude for self expression. For example: A bride in a Victorian dress wants to walk down the aisle to a romantic version of Canon In D, Thousand Years or perhaps a theme from Japanese Anime; beautiful music.
Then the same bride might like music by Michael Bublé performed live a Jazz Trio for the cocktail hour or during dinner and then later the same bride may request dance music by the artist affectionately known as “Pitbull”.
These are completely different styles of music and each contributes to the atmosphere of a particular part of the wedding.
With a wide variety of music available and several parts to a wedding, each part potentially having its own design and atmosphere created by music, one can see the unique opportunity to express oneself by including the music they like as part of their celebration.
See: Wedding Ceremony – Cocktail Hour – Wedding Reception – All of It!
I love talking about music options for weddings.
Your ideas are important.
Call me: 626-797-1795
Sincerely, Eric
Talk About Music
It is a lot of fun planning music for a wedding or party; one great song leads to another.
But before talking about specific music requests it is best to first look at the overall schedule of your event.
Each celebration is unique however there is a logical sequence to an event and there are certain parts necessary to a successful event.
The following is an overview of the parts of a wedding where music may be needed.
This starts as a simple sketch and expands out in more detail.
A Summary of an Evening Wedding with approximate Times:
Just so you know, the standard amount of time for a wedding is 6 hours. Usually, a wedding ceremony and cocktail hour take place within a 2-hour block of time and a wedding reception with dinner and dancing is usually a 4-hour block of time.
- 4:00 – 5:00 Wedding Ceremony Music
- 5:00 – 6:00 Cocktail Hour Music
- 6:00 – 10:00 Wedding Reception Music
Summary of an evening wedding in more detail.
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Ceremony
Horseshoe Garden Langham Huntington Hotel
- 4:00 – 4:30 Prelude Music as guests arrive
- 4:30 – 5:00 Wedding ceremony processionals and recessional
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Cocktail Hour
- 5:00 – 6:00 Cocktail Hour Music (while bridal party pictures are being taken)
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First Dance DJ and Master of Ceremonies Eric Zimmermann – Viennese Ballroom Langham Hotel Pasadena Wedding Reception
- 6:00 – 10:00 Wedding Reception
Grand Entrance
Dinner
Dancing
Parts of a wedding in even more detail:
We can get more and more specific and in these details the couple’s individuality is expressed. Examples can be given to assist planning but this is best done in face to face meetings, not via a website or e-mail.
Contact Elegant Music
for a free consultation: 626-797-1795
Flow of a well planned and coordinated wedding
There is logic to a well planned itinerary. Activities flow from one event to the next; when something stops then the next thing starts; there shouldn’t be any dead space or embarrassing lags. Note: Your Wedding Coordinator works ahead of the Master of Ceremonies setting up the next thing for the Master of Ceremonies to do and everything goes smoothly.
See: The Working Relationship of the Wedding Coordinator and Master of Ceremonies.
Elegant Music Standard Evening Wedding Itinerary Templates (PDF)
For an even more detailed representation see: Elegant Music Standard Evening Wedding Itinerary Template; three pages shown here. Note: You can drag these (PDF) images to your desk top and print them out for future reference. Note: These templates are to be used only as guidelines for your own wedding. We have found that after having sketched out your itinerary that it is now time to talk about music!
Also see: DJ/Master of Ceremonies and Live Music for a Wedding
To help you with your budget please also see: Wedding Packages
Wedding Design and Presentation
In designing your wedding consider that music is the “sound track” and contributes greatly to the presentation and atmosphere of each moment of your celebration.
I look forward to hearing your ideas.
Sincerely, Eric Zimmermann
Elegant Music 626-797-1795