Wedding Music In Sussex, Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Chichester,
Worthing, Crawley, Bognor Regis, Horsham or any other area of the
UK.
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A jazz pianist can provide classical music for
the wedding ceremony or civil partnership and jazz for the reception.
I can be hired for wedding music in Sussex, Brighton,
Eastbourne, Hastings, Chichester, Worthing, Crawley, Bognor Regis,
Horsham or any other area of the UK
seldom seems to be a week when I don't have at least a couple of
weddings to play for. One thing that has become more and more popular,
is the civil wedding ceremony and I think that this is the reason
that I am booked for more and more each year. The advantage of having
a jazz pianist, jazz trio, duo or any other live musician, is that
they can provide the music for the ceremony, drinks reception and
the wedding breakfast.
If you are thinking of
hiring me or anyone else to provide wedding music, then the only
thing that you really need to concern yourself about is your choice
of wedding music for the ceremony. You can, of course, leave the
choice up to the musician or musicians; but try and give them a
guideline. If you don't want to pick each piece of wedding music
for the proceedings then just try giving a style of music or maybe
a composer.
If you are thinking of
having classical music for the ceremony, and jazz or something lighter
for the rest of the proceedings - then make sure that the musicians
you hire are comfortable with the styles that you have in mind.
I was classically trained (as most professional pianists are) so
traditional wedding music isn't usually a problem. Also, take note
that for a civil ceremony you can have any music you want as long
as the title or lyric does not have any reference to religion.
The Civil Wedding Ceremony
The civil ceremony has
four main part's as far as a musician is concerned and they are:
If
you are thinking of hiring a jazz trio, duo or quartet to
provide your wedding music - click Here
1) The gathering of the
congregation.
2) The Procession
3) The signing of the register
Amanda
Joy - Original Ink Drawing Of Your Marriage Church
4) The recession
The gathering of the congregation.
The gathering of the
congregation speaks for itself really - I just play music while
people gather and seat themselves. This section doesn't really
have a time span - so when a couple does select wedding music
for this part of the ceremony, they must accept that either: I
won't be able to play all of the chosen piece or pieces, or more
frequently I will have to play extra music of my choice.
The
Procession.
The next section is
the entrance of the bride and traditionally this is carried out
to Wagner's Bridal March. Although most people stick to the Wagner;
you can have any music you like. The one thing you must consider
when looking an alternative is that it doesn't take long for the
bride to walk down the aisle. I think that it is wiser to stick
to the Bridal March.
The signing of the register.
There never seem's to
be a problem with this part. A piece of up to five minutes is
usually fine and anything goes really. I suppose that if you did
choose something that was too long there would come a point when
I would have have to stop playing but the piece would have to
be excessively long.
The recession.
This is where everyone
leaves the place of the wedding ceremony and traditionally this
was always carried out to Mendelssohn's Wedding March. In this
day and age wedding couples seem to request everything but the
Wedding March. Anything seem's to be appropriate for the recession
and there isn't a problem with the length of the music. As soon
as the last person has gone; I finish.
The Civil
parnership ceremony is almost identical to the above
That's it! The ceremony
is over and you can start the celebration.
After the ceremony everyone
usually starts making a lot of noise. They have so much to say because
they've had to keep so quiet throughout all the serious bit. I usually
play through this part and I usually find that for once I don't
have to worry about being too obtrusive.
The Wedding Breakfast
This is the bit where
I provide the entertainment while everyone is eating and chatting.
Most of the time I just go with the crowd: I play mellow dinner
jazz if they are quiet and more lively stuff if they start making
more noise. One of the most important things for me as a jazz pianist
in this situation is to be aware of whether my music is interfering
with the conversation of the wedding guests. If it is; then I'm
doing something wrong. For most weddings I play the piano right
up to the speeches and that's where I usually finish. I do however,
occasionally carry on after if there is a gap between the end of
the speeches and the start of the evening's entertainment. All weddings
are different and at the end of the day it is up to you and what
you would like me to do.
The Evening Reception
More and more I am called upon to provide the evenings entertainment.
Some couples prefer to have something a little more relaxing than
the normal disco have me as either a solo pianist, a duo (piano
and bass or piano and vocals) or one of the bigger line ups. Others
have a disco in one room while I am playing in another. This latter
option gives your guests a choice and it's amazing how many people
choose to come into the room with solo piano music. What a lot of
people don't realise is that most of the guests at a wedding haven't
seen each other for a long time and desperately want to talk. Having
mellow jazz gives people that freedom.
I can provide line ups from just solo piano right up to a five
piece band with piano, bass, drums, vocals and sax. Please note,
however, that whichever vocalist or instrumental line up you choose
- it will not be a function band. Quite a lot of couples like the
idea of having mellow jazz but they would quite simply like just
an hour or two dance music at the end of the night - without having
a fully blown disco. I can now provide this. Please visit the disco
page for more information.
Discuss your requirements
I suppose about half of
the weddings I play the piano for have the ceremony in a church.
This means that I often just play for the reception drinks before
the meal and the wedding breakfast. Occasionally I'm involved in
the evening's entertainment - especially if they require a jazz
singer, jazz trio or quartet. Everyone's requirements are different
so please don't be afraid to discuss any special requirements with
me. First of all if you fill out the form here - I'll be able to give you a quote. Alternatively
if you don't like filling out forms, you can email me
and give me any relevant information that way.
If
you need help with the music for the ceremony then have a
look at the following pages:
I can be hired for wedding music in Sussex, Brighton, Eastbourne,
Hastings, Chichester, Worthing, Crawley, Bognor Regis, Horsham or
any other area of the UK
My availability
as a jazz trio, duo or quartet.
If you are looking for wedding music that
is a little bit different from the usual function band or
DJ; then a jazz trio, duo or quartet playing tasteful mellow
jazz might be the answer. Click here
for more information.
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