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?"

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

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Okay okay, take a deep breath with me.

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Breathe in. Breathe out.

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

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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*

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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~

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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! 

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