Wedding order of service: where the music goes
This sheet follows a church wedding from the guests arriving to your walk back down the aisle, with a line at each point where music usually comes. Print it, write in your choices, and take it to your meeting with the minister. Your organist and your choir will want a copy too.
How to use this sheet
Print the page from your browser (Ctrl+P, or Cmd+P on a Mac). The menus, links, and contact details drop out of the printed copy, leaving the order of service and the blank lines. Write in pencil: hymns often change once the minister has seen the list.
The order below follows the Church of England marriage service. A Catholic wedding usually has a psalm after the first reading, often sung, and a Gospel acclamation before the Gospel. A Nuptial Mass adds music at the Offertory and Communion, and parts of the Mass itself may be sung. Other churches move things around. Your minister will tell you where your service differs.
The order of service
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Before the service
20 to 30 minutes, as guests arrive
The organist plays quietly while your guests find their seats. Unhurried pieces suit this stretch, such as Bach’s Jesu, joy of man’s desiring or a Handel air. The choir comes in with the entrance.
Your choice
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The entrance
Two to four minutes, from the door to the front
Everyone stands. The music has to last the length of the aisle, so the organist will stretch or cut it on the day. Organ favourites are Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary, Wagner’s Bridal Chorus, and Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Or a choir can sing Parry’s I was glad as you come in.
Your choice
-
First hymn
After the minister’s welcome
Pick a tune your guests know. Praise, my soul, the King of heaven and Love divine, all loves excelling are two that most congregations can sing without looking at the music. A choir at the front gives everyone a line to follow.
Your choice
-
The readings
Between or after the readings (optional)
Many services go straight from one reading to the next. If you want music here, keep it short: a psalm, or Ubi caritas sung by the choir.
Your choice
-
The vows and the rings
Spoken, with no music
The marriage itself is spoken. A few couples have a short sung blessing straight after the minister declares them married.
Your choice (optional)
-
Second hymn
After the marriage, before the prayers
Your guests stand and sing a second hymn after the vows. Be thou my vision and Make me a channel of your peace are both gentle choices, and Lord of all hopefulness is another.
Your choice
-
Signing the register
Five to ten minutes; in some churches after the blessing, just before the walk out
This is the longest music in the service: your guests sit and listen while you sign with your witnesses. Many churches hold the signing here, after the vows; others leave it to the end of the service, after the blessing, and the walk out follows straight on. Your minister will tell you which. The choir sings one or two anthems: Rutter’s The Lord bless you and keep you, Gjeilo’s Ubi caritas, or Mozart’s Ave verum corpus. Plan two pieces in case the signing runs long.
First piece
Second piece
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Final hymn
Before the blessing and the dismissal (optional)
Some couples end with a third hymn. Guide me, O thou great Redeemer and Jerusalem are the rousing choices; ask the minister about Jerusalem, since a few churches prefer not to have it.
Your choice
-
The walk out
Two to three minutes, then as guests leave
The organ plays at full volume here: Widor’s Toccata or Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. The choir can sing you out instead, or join the organ for the first verse of a hymn tune.
Your choice
-
After the service
Drinks reception and photographs
If the choir stays on, they sing a set during the drinks: lighter pieces and arrangements of songs you like. Check the timings against your photographer’s plan, since the choir and the group photos often need the same half hour.
Your choice
Who has a copy
Minister
Organist
Choir
Order-of-service printer
Notes
Printed from londonchoralservice.com/music-guides/wedding-order-of-service-music.html
At a civil ceremony
At a register office or a licensed venue, the ceremony can’t include hymns, prayers, or religious readings, so leave out the sacred anthems too; the registrar decides on anything borderline. Send the registrar your list a few weeks ahead. You can still have music at the arrival, the entrance, the signing, and the walk out, with secular pieces in place of sacred ones. Our guide to choral music for a humanist wedding lists pieces that work.
Choosing the pieces
Each line on the sheet has a guide of its own:
- Wedding hymns: the ones couples choose most, and how many to have
- Popular wedding organ music: entrances, signing pieces, and walk-out music
- The best choral pieces for a wedding: anthems for the signing of the register
- A complete guide to wedding ceremony music: each moment in more detail
Frequently asked questions
How many pieces of music does a church wedding need?
Usually six to eight: organ music as guests arrive, the entrance, two or three hymns, one or two pieces during the signing of the register, and the walk out. An organist and a choir between them cover all of it.
When should we decide the music?
Settle the hymns and the entrance and exit music six to eight weeks before the wedding, so the minister can agree them and the order of service can go to the printer. You can confirm the choir’s pieces closer to the day.
What does a choir for the ceremony cost?
A Small Choir of four singers costs £1,150 in Greater London, and an organist added to a choir costs £250, so £1,400 for both. There is no VAT to add. Larger choirs are on our pricing page, which also explains how travel is worked out for weddings outside London; we price it before you book.
Who needs a copy of the music list?
The minister, the organist, the choir, and whoever prints the order of service. If they all work from the same list, the organist knows when to stop and the choir knows when to stand.
Booking a choir for your wedding
We sing at church weddings in London and across the UK, from a Small Choir of four to a Chorus of twelve, with an organist if your church needs one. Send us your filled-in sheet, or the date and the church, and we will reply with a price.
Get in touch about wedding music, or text us on WhatsApp for the fastest reply.