Alice Freeman's Suggestions for Choosing Wedding Musicians and Music

When
	Start planning the music for your wedding at least 6 months in advance. Many musicians may be already booked for the busy season (especially July and August in Laramie). Allow yourself enough time to find the musicians you want.
Where
	The location may determine the type of music you might have available for your wedding. If you are getting married on the top of a mountain, you may need musicians with very portable instruments. Outdoor weddings with more than 50-75 guests usually require an electric source for amplification equipment or a musician with a battery-powered amplifier, or the instruments may not be heard. Some locations may have specific musicians they recommend.

What Music
	While there is a lot of tradition associated with weddings, every one does not have to include the Wagner 'Bridal Chorus' (Here Comes the Bride) or the Mendelssohn 'Wedding March' (There Goes the Bride) ! There are many other familiar classical pieces to choose from which are frequently included in wedding ceremonies. Some brides have gone with a more modern tradition like Maria's bridal march from Rogers and Hammerstein's "Sound of Music" or a Celtic theme. Alice can offer many good Scottish and Irish processionals and meditations. Suggestions for traditional, modern, and Celtic music are listed on this Web page.
Choosing Music
	Wedding musicians usually provide music for the following parts of a service. Each of the bulleted topics contains a link to a suggested list of music appropriate for that part of the wedding. Prelude music: 20 to 30 minutes of classical or ethnic music (if your wedding has a particular theme) to entertain guests until the ceremony starts. Seating of Mothers, Grandmothers, and other special people: processionals or favorite songs. Processionals for bridal party and bride: traditional or non-traditional music is appropriate here as you wish. Lighting of the Unity Candle: I suggest music of a reflective nature while people are lighting candles (recommended only for indoor ceremonies). For outdoors, many couples have blended vials of blue and yellow water to produce a lovely emerald green in a Merging of the Waters ceremony instead of lighting candles. Special Music: music for meditations, specific songs meaningful to the bridal couple, lots of options for musical creativity in this section. Recessional Music: played until the bridal couple and attendants have left the area. Postlude Music: played until all the guests have left their seats.

Planning, Rehearsals and Contracts

Alice Freeman offers a one-hour free consultation at her studio to go over musical selections and order of service.

Rehearsals are required if I am asked to accompany singers or other musicians chosen by the bride. However, I charge an additional fee to attend rehearsals and this can easily double the prices I charge for a wedding.

You can save yourself money by advanced planning by phone, e-mail or in person, choosing music by meeting with me to hear selections, carefully planning the specifics of your ceremony with your officiant, minister or priest, and not expecting me to play at the actual wedding rehearsal. Be sure your wedding coordinator or a particular person has been identified who will give me cues the day of the wedding and convey any last minute changes of plans.

To prevent misunderstandings and miscommunication, I prefer to work under contract. The contract requires a 50% down-payment when the contract is signed and the remainder due 30 days before the event. I have never cancelled an engagement, but my contract describes how this situation would be handled if necessary.

Alice in Scottish costume with Dinwiddie tartan and pedal harp To view a copy of my contract, I have provided a version in MS Word 2003 and a PDF version if you do not have Microsoft Word on your computer. To view the PDF version you might need to download a free copy of the Adobe Reader if it is not already installed on your computer. Adobe Reader is available from the Adobe Web site.

This page contains a checklist you might find useful to review before hiring musicians for a wedding.

Here is a link to answers for questions people frequently ask about hiring a harpist.

This page contains 10 Top Tips for planning a wedding.

Read comments from some of my clients.

Who
	Some people use recorded music for their weddings. Others prefer live performers who can range from friends or family members to professional bands or classical ensembles. Your choice will depend on your taste and budget.