The part of the wedding ceremony that requires
the most careful planning, from a musical
standpoint, is the processional. It is during this
time when the mothers are seated, the attendants
process up the isle, followed by the bride making
her grand entrance. While the primary responsibility
falls on the musicians that all of this goes smoothly,
there are a few simple steps you can take to avoid
wedding mishaps and ensure that the ceremony
music comes off smoothly.
In my experience, the primary way to insure that
the processional is seamless is to establish a “Cue Person”. If you are the bride or groom, feel free to print out this
web page and give it to your Cue Person. Whomever you have play for your wedding, here are some planning guidelines we hope
are useful to you.
Establishing a Cue Person
This is probably the single most important thing you can do to avoid mishaps and ensure that the timings during the processional go smoothly. Essentially, the Cue Person acts as a liaison between those who will be processing and the musicians. If you have a wedding planner, most likely she or he will be giving the cues. If you do not have a wedding planner, make sure the Cue Person attends the wedding rehearsal.
Check in with the Musicians
The first duty of the Cue Person is to check in with the musicians before the prelude music begins. The prelude often starts 20 to 30 minutes before the ceremony so the Cue Person will need to arrive early. The Cue Person and musicians can go over what cues are needed and how they will communicate. Normally, there is a head musician whom the Cue Person will communicate with. The Cue Person usually will be stationed where the bridal party will be entering for the processional. The only cue signals needed are,
1) a head nod for “Yes”
and
2) a head shake for “No”.
Simple as that!
Seating of the Mothers
If you have special
music for the seating of the mothers, the first cue is to inform the musicians that the mothers are ready to be seated. The
Cue Person should make eye contact with the lead musician and nod “Yes”. Make sure that the mothers do not process until the
prelude music stops and the new music begins. This may be a minute or so as the musicians need to find a suitable place to stop
and not abruptly cut off the music.
Processional of the Attendants
The processional for the attendants can begin immediately after the
mothers are seated or there can be a break between the two events. In either case, be sure of these three simple things;
1) If you want the processional to begin right after the mothers are seated, have the Cue Person check that everyone is ready before the mothers are seated. This is especially important for large wedding parties or processionals that include flower girls and ring bearers.
2) After the mothers are seated, the cue person will give a “Yes” nod to the musicians that everyone is ready to process. I strongly suggest doing this even if the attendants are supposed to process immediately after the mothers are seated, just in case there is an unexpected delay. If there is an unexpected delay, such as your maid of honor’s shoe strap breaks (!), have the cue person shake his or her head “No.” That way, the musicians know if they need to provide some filler music. So an important responsibility of the Cue person is to deal with delay issues as they come up.
3) The Cue Person should remind the attendants that the music will stop and new music will begin before they process.
Processional of the Bride
Once
the processional of the attendants is finished – seamlessly, of course, because you followed our advice and established a Cue Person!
- it is time for the bride’s grand entrance. While I often see delays with the attendants, I rarely see delays for the bride’s
entrance. Sometimes the person officiating gives a signal for the guests to stand and this provides a cue for the musicians. Other times the music starts first and then the guests stand. I would say that unless there is an indication from the Cue Person,
the musicians should assume that the bride is ready for her grand entrance. So if you are the bride, just take a deep
breath and when the music changes begin your processional. There’s no need to rush. Take your time and enjoy the moment. You will never be so close to being treated as royalty!
As you can see, the often overlooked but important Cue Person can be
the solution to wedding planning mishaps and mistakes. It can ensure that your ceremony proceeds smoothly as
planned through the processional music. And that is one less problem to worry about on your special day!
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