How to choose the best Music Accompaniment
Select the best music accompaniment for destination weddings to Italy
Choosing the right music for destination weddings to Italy is really difficult, especially if you love all kind of music, like me! However, let’s start getting clear about WHEN music is needed.
The first moment when you need music is of course the most important one, the ceremony. Yes, it’s the most important one because remember..without a ceremony, there’s no wedding.
Music for destination weddings to Italy: ceremony
For your ceremony, you may evaluate first if you’re having a religious, civil or symbolic wedding.
The religious wedding has to be taken really seriously under the point of music. In fact, many priests will ask for a certain music, played at the right time of course.
And don’t think you can easily substitute it with a more modern song with the same meaning because also among antique classical music (the ones you may think are religious), there may be some that are NOT accepted by a religious celebrant (see the Ave Maria by Schubert).
Hence, songs for a religious wedding MUST be approved by priests first before being confirmed to the musicians. It may be easy to take inspiration from other weddings this priest has already done and start from there with your own suggestions.
Then, this is not valid for the civil and symbolic ceremonies. Just note that during the civil wedding, being it shorter and focused exclusively on the law, you may play just up to 3 songs in no more than 20 minutes (like entrance, signing and exit).
This means you may evaluate if you have enough budget to afford a strings quartet for 3 songs in a few minutes. The third option, the symbolic wedding lasts more and is more personal hence, you are able to play the music you like during the moments you want. I suggest you point out these moments with your celebrant first – and normally he/she can give you also advice about – and then decide which kind of music and musicians you like.
Of course even an audio speaker is great (and cheaper) if you find the original songs more catchy for you. In case of live musicians instead, please make sure you let them know your preferences with a great advance, like at least 2 months.
Music for destination weddings to Italy: aperitif
The second moment when you need music is the aperitif. I suggest to have really casual music, pop or jazz. People will mingle around drinking and tasting food, chatting with others, looking at the view, exploring your venue for about 1 hour and a half. So music with a bit of rhythm will be perfect! A live band will give everything a really elegant touch but if you want to save a bit, an audio system will be fine. All guests will enjoy this moment the same.
Music for destination weddings to Italy: dinner
Then comes dinner! Let your guests concentrate on their talks at the tables, make new friends and talk about memories of the past. An audio system will be enough to play some background music. Don’t forget the microphone however. Speeches are a really pleasant tradition so please make sure everybody can hear them! Then, if you really want an elegant reception with soft music, a jazz band will be ideal..and really glamorous!
Music for destination weddings to Italy: after dinner
I shouldn’t say anything about the after dinner..just go for a dj or live band that is able to engage people!
See their videos, study their repertoire, read their reviews and talk to them to understand if there’s good affinity! Make sure they are also able to crete a bit of atmosphere with some fancy lighting and HIRE them! They get booked really fast!
So to find the perfect music accompaniment to your wedding in Italy:
– consider all your needs (microphones, lighting for the band, end of service at night etc)
– estimate a budget for the entire day
– start defining your preferences for ceremony, aperitif, dinner and after dinner
– ask suggestions to a specialized company to meet all your expectations and stay in the budget
Choosing the right music for destination weddings to Italy is is not easy! And if you, like me, love all kinds of music, choosing the right musicians can be really difficult!
So, let’s start getting clear about WHEN music is needed.
The first moment when you need music is of course the most important one, the ceremony. Yes, it’s the most important one because remember..without a ceremony, there’s no wedding.
