Great Lakes Chamber Players
Michigan Classical Wedding Music

Music Ideas for a Winter Wedding

Requests for music at winter weddings have become more popular in recent years. Winter weddings have a strong appeal to many couples and have many advantages over spring and summer weddings. For couples that love the magic of the holiday season, a winter wedding is a perfect idea. Or what better day to have your anniversary than Valentine's Day or New Years Eve? The winter season also brings with it themes that beautifully compliment weddings. And for the couple that simply would like a unique wedding, a winter wedding provides this opportunity. In this article we will cover different winter wedding themes and what music would best compliment those themes.

Christmas Wedding Music

Christmas weddings have many advantages and provide a rich repertoire of music. One great advantage of a Christmas wedding is that churches, venues, and Inns are already beautifully decorated, which provide a great atmosphere for a wedding. The atmosphere is indeed a big plus when considering a Christmas wedding. Here are some musical ideas to compliment and bring out the full atmosphere of the season.

A string quartet could play Christmas carols elegantly and simply as part of the prelude music. Winter from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi would work beautifully in any portion of the wedding.


Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach, a popular choice for any wedding, works perfectly during the Christmas season.


O Holy Night performed by strings or strings with a singer would fit well for the prelude, seating of the mothers, between readings, after the vows, or during communion.


Selections from Arcangelo Corelli's (1653-1713) Christmas Concerto would be perfect for the prelude or postlude.


Wachet Auf by J.S. Bach, written for the advent season (the weeks preceding Christmas), works wonderfully for prelude and postlude music. The listening sample from YouTube is in the original (orchestra and chorus). The Great Lakes Chamber Players has arrangements for string quartet and certain portions for string trio.


Handel's Messiah would fit the Christmas season and provide wonderful music that many of your guests would recognize. If you would like to get fancy, you could hire a singer to perform selections of The Messiah before and during the wedding ceremony. Arrangements for string quartet of the vocal portions of Handel's Messiah are also available.


Valentine's Day Wedding

An obvious theme for a Valentine's Day wedding is romance. There are many selections a couple can choose from both classical and popular music that would compliment Cupid's holiday!

Many classical pieces can provide a romantic atmosphere. For starters, it doesn't get any more romantic than the main theme from Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Var. 18. This would work great for the processional of the bridal party or the processional of the bride. It is a gorgeous, memorable melody that will bring many compliments from your guests. We have arrangements of this melody that work for a variety of instrument combinations.

Another piece by Rachmaninoff that would fit a Valentine's Day wedding is Vocalise for string quartet or trio. Here is a version for full orchestra.



Claire de Lune (Fr. Moonlight) by French composer Claude Debussy would work perfectly for a Valentine's Day wedding. Debussy is known as an "impressionist" composer, whose music evokes an atmosphere of musical colors and timbre.



Another excellent choice by Debussy is The Girl With the Flaxen Hair. Here is a historic performance by violinist Jascha Heifetz.



Meditation of Thais by Massenet (yes, another French composer!) for violin solo is also another fantastic option.


New Year's Eve Wedding

Having a wedding on New Year's Eve not only represents the new year but a new beginning for the wedding couple. This gives you two reasons to celebrate. What could better than a wedding reception combined with a New Year's Eve party? Some couples even wait to say the wedding vows right at midnight.

From a musical standpoint, the emphasis would be festive or celebratory. Ensembles that include strings with brass, such as string trio with trumpet, would be a great compliment to a New Year's Eve wedding. Appropriate pieces would be the Trumpet Voluntary by Jeremiah Clarke or Trumpet Tune by Henry Purcell. Entrance of the Queen of Sheba by Handel works wonderfully for strings alone or string plus trumpet. A rousing version of Ode to Joy by Beethoven fits for the recessional as does the Finale from Water Music by Handel.

There are countless pieces that compliment a festive mood appropriate for a New Year's Eve wedding. Simply check with your wedding music specialist, such as the Great Lakes Chamber Players, for additional ideas.

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