2013: SUMMER WEDDING MUSIC TRENDS
Maybe you’ve recently become engaged and are on the exciting but unpredictable road of planning an amazing summer wedding. Finding the dress, choosing the venue, and booking the right limousine(s) are all essential parts of the wedding planning process that take time, consideration, and research. But something that few brides fuss over until the last minute is considering what their wedding playlist should look, er, sound like. Not only is your wedding music one of the most important parts of your perfect day, but it can become the defining sound of some of your most beautiful first moments with your new spouse.
The first step to finding your perfect summer wedding music is to figure out the kind of wedding you want to have. If you dream of an outdoor wedding on the beach or in a scenic gazebo in a gorgeous, rolling field, you might opt to have your reception out of doors as well, with a small stage or a tent for a band or DJ. Determining the locale of your wedding will help you to choose better wedding music for your big day.
To help you select the best wedding music for your wedding this summer, we’ve covered a few of the summer wedding music trends for 2013.
GO OLD-SCHOOL
One of the most modern trends in wedding music to date is to compile a list of love songs from the days of old. Older music, especially jazz and classic love songs, house some truly perfect sounds for having your first dance or enjoying a bride/father-of-the-bride waltz. Brides everywhere are opting for timeless jazz standards as the soundtrack to their reception festivities. Some of the favorites include old jazz standards by legends such as Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald. Perfect wedding songs include songs like “Unforgettable,” by Nat King Cole, “April in Paris” by Count Basie, and “Cheek to Cheek,” a duet with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
“Tenderly,” a timeless song by Ella Fitzgerald, is dynamite for a first dance, with its sweeping and haunting subtleties. Don’t forget to keep your reception playlist fun as well, with standards such as “A Fine Romance” by Louis Armstrong, or a slew of Frank Sinatra’s best songs, such as “Strangers in the Night” or “It Had to be You.”
GO CLASSICAL
If you’re looking to keep your wedding classic, consider compiling a list of timeless classical standards to set the mood, whether your wedding is out of doors or in a large beautiful venue. Whether you’re looking for the summer airiness of a tune like “Flower Duet” by Lakme or something more immediately identifiable like “Canon in D” by Pachelbel, classical music is one way to inject a sure atmosphere into your ceremony and reception.
Some of our favorite classical pieces for wedding reception glory are Adagietto Mahler’s 5th, a beautiful, lightly drifting composition perfect for the first dance, and “Panis Angelicus” by Cesar Franck as sung by a female vocalist of your choosing. Other timeless wedding compositions include “Ave Maria,” and Bach’s “Wedding Cantata,” both of which invoke the hopeful beauty of your new life with your spouse.
Finding your best wedding music requires a combination of researching and deciding what sort of music will fit your wedding. Music helps create the atmosphere that will stay with you and your wedding guests for years to come and signifies some of the most important moments in the beginning of your union with your spouse. Luckily, composers and musicians have been figuring out how to signify love through song for centuries, so you have plenty to choose from.
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