What is Prelude Music?

POV: You're meeting with your wedding musician or wedding DJ, and the question comes up: "What kind of prelude music are you thinking?"

Your mind goes blank. You've never heard a song before in your life. What is music? More importantly, wtf is "prelude music"???

Okay okay, take a deep breath with me.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Good! Now sit back and read on and I'll explain everything. We've got this!

Prelude Music (noun) 

When it comes to weddings, the Prelude is a performance of music immediately before your ceremony or main event begins. In church services, this can be one or a few songs at the beginning of a service. For weddings, this is usually 30-45 minutes of music as your guests arrive and get seated.
Synonyms include: gettin' ready jams, "can somebody please calm down aunt Sheila?", and settin' the *mooooood*

So we've covered the what, now let's get to the why? You might check in on our synonyms to get an idea...

Prelude music is good for...

  • Entertain ingyour guests before the ceremony begins (and give them something else to focus on in case you need a little extra time)
  • Calming everyone's nerves and remind them this day is about love
  • Setting the mood and help your guests transition from their everyday lives into the ~wedding zone~

Are you on board? Great.

Here's how to get the most out of your prelude music:

  1. Clearly picture the theme/idea/main energy of your wedding. Do you want to live out an enchanted forest fantasy? Do you want to feel like you're getting married at a Bridgerton wedding gala? The ~vibe~ of your ceremony will inform the best Prelude Music for your wedding day
  2. I'm not gonna lie - there's one downside to Prelude music. And that's that you as the couple will likely not get to hear most of it. SO - I recommend thinking through any songs you know your ~guests~ will love in this section of your wedding set list
  3. Don't fear repeats! Because of #2, I make sure all the couples I work with know that they can 100% repeat songs and it will all be OK. Want to make sure you hear a song, but really want to have it set the mood for your ceremony? You can have both! 

What questions do you have about Prelude music? Send me a message and let's talk it through 😊