[tommysbride]

During my ceremony I want live music. (ie-piano, violin, cello, ect) Because of this, my wedding would be a little more fancy but, for a few of my songs during the ceremony I want recorded songs. I really like a few country songs for the lighting of the unity candle and a few other points in the ceremony. Is it appropriate to mix these two types of music? I would not mind having the piano, cello, violin playing in the beginning and when I walk down the aisle, but then have the cd music during the ceremony. Is this tacky? Should I stick with just one type of music?

[The Video Pros]

Keep in mind that "songs" are usually 2 to 4 minutes in length, and contain words with music that is written specific to the placement of the words.

How long will it take to light the unity candle???Depending on the length of time for your ceremony, it may not be logical to try and incorporate "live" music then switch to a country song for that purpose.

You might consider coordinating with the musician supplying the live music and see if they can incorporate the "country" song that you want used. Similar to producing a music video with action, for things to go smoothly, you will need to know your "timing" of the events so that the music will be played at the appropriate time. Music sections of a song have a distinct beginning, middle and end and if broken off at the time can sound very discordant.

[tommysbride]

We had planned to have a couple "country" songs throughout the ceremony. Time isn't really an issue. For the unity candle, we planned to play the song while lighting it, and then remain up their "whispering" and looking at eachother until the end of the song. We are both big music people and some of the songs that we are picking have a lot of meaning to us. But, I think you are right. I think it might be tacky to have this nice piano, violin music for the processional and recessional and have CD country music during the ceremony. That might be a little weird. Maybe we will just go country and CD the whole way or maybe just live music the entire time. But, the wedding will be pretty fancy/formal. Would CD music look tacky in a more formal wedding?

[MusiConcepts]

It's perfectly fine to combine live and recorded music for the ceremony. We'd suggest, however, that more than 2 songs during the ceremony might be a bit much. Also, since the music might be coming from 2 different sources, that you try out in advance the system that would be playing the CDs, just to make sure the accoustics are right. So many times, it's not the music that you choose that can create a problem, but the way it's used and played.