Ask a Planner... "Quartet Query"

Hi DreamGroup!

I’m getting married at the end of September in a lovely garden in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario.  I just got off the phone with the leader of the Quartet we have hired for our wedding to play during the ceremony and cocktail hour and I am totally frustrated! In my mind I had it all worked out that each of my 3 bridesmaids would be walking in to a unique song that encapsulates each of them perfectly and I was planning on walking in to my own song too, however, the guy says that I need to choose one song for everyone including me or at the very most two songs, one for them and one for me!  I was kind of shocked cause it’s my coin and I’m the bride so shouldn’t he do what I ask?! Do you agree or disagree with his suggestion and if he’s right can you explain why?

Many thanks,

Gillian Borsch

Ontario Bride-to-be

Dearest Gillian,

I love new questions and I have yet to address this one on Ask a Planner -- although I have had similar situations come up with my own clients over the years so this is definitely a good one!   I can see why you’d want to have a different song for each bridesmaid as it’s a very sweet, cute idea; however, I have to agree with the quartet leader in this case.  Here are a few things to take into consideration in better understanding the reasoning behind his suggestion.

First, how long will the walk be for each bridesmaid?  If it’s a typical 30-60 second stretch (often with overlaps) having a separate song for each of them will surely disrupt the flow of your processional and make for a very choppy and even uncomfortable experience for everyone involved – bridesmaids and guests included.  You want the ceremony to be fluid and organic, not contrived or chaotic, and with different songs starting and stopping in a short period of time it surely would be!

The other thing to keep in mind is that the ceremony is about YOU and your fiancé, not your bridesmaids, and so the focus should be on your entrance, not theirs.  I do think having a special song just for the bride is a terrific one so go for it!  If you had a 5+ line up of bridesmaids, a long way to walk, and/or ring bearers and flower girls to factor in then MAYBE you might justify an additional song, but even then you may not want to!  Classical musicians can make any song/music piece seemingly the perfect length by playing a chorus once more for good measure if an extended version is needed or by cutting a piece short.  That’s the wonderful thing about working with live PROFESSIONAL musicians!

As I said above, the idea of honouring your bridesmaids with a special song is a lovely one and so perhaps you might consider playing “their song” as they are introduced at the Reception (if you have a DJ monitoring the music) or play it during the dancing with a shout out to each bridesmaid!  

Thanks for sharing your concern and here's to a beautiful day for you, your family, and friends!

Wedding Planner signing off!  Until next week… keep those questions coming in!  Submit your questions by emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca

Cheerio,

Genève 

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Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions

Genève first began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant.  In 2004 Genève and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies, DreamGroup Productions Inc.

These days, in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity, Genève focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company and is most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring with DreamGroup.  Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de vivre!  Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents McNally”.  Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind DreamGroup's weekly Blog feature Ask a Planner.

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