I cannot even begin to tell you how completely awesome group songs are at a wedding.
I’m not talking drunken karaoke at the end of the night or the ubiquitous mass joining in when Bohemian Rhapsody comes on (complete with moshing during the guitar solo, natch…). Although those are both completely awesome too of course.
No, what is even better, and pretty much guaranteed to get your wedding started with a bang, is a group song in the actual wedding ceremony.
Obviously, this isn’t going to be a match for every couple. I often suggest a group song at a first meeting (as much as anything else to introduce the idea that anything is possible), and the decision is mostly pretty obvious straightaway. The pair I’m talking to will look at each other, and have one of two reactions:
- Slight horror combined with amusement at the idea of their guests, who they know and love dearly and are therefore sure they’d rather poke their own eyes out than sing at a wedding, being asked to… sing at a wedding. Unless they’re sadistic(!), that’s a quick and solid no.
- An exchanged flash of excited inspiration as they both visualise everyone getting into it, including tone-deaf cousin Dave and flamboyant best mate Jez, and they both know exactly the song they’d choose… It’s a yes from them!
If you’re falling between the camps, or you’re firmly in the ‘yes’ camp and want to get even more excited about what’s possible, here are 10 reasons why having a group song at your wedding ceremony is a stupendous idea:
- It gets everyone relaxed and enjoying themselves (even if they don’t think it’s going to). Honestly – it works every single time. They might start off like they’re singing a hymn at church but, with the right song, they’ll be singing their hearts out by the end.
- You can alter the words of a song to be relevant to your story – maybe get a singer friend to sing the personalised verses and everyone joins in the well-known chorus.
- You get to see the look on your gran’s face when you’ve asked some confident singer guests to start it off, flashmob style, and kept it absolutely secret until the day.
- There’s the option to get competitive! Boys vs girls, or pitch one partner’s family and friends against the other!
- You will have some amazing photos.
- There is a strong possibility there will be spontaneous dancing.
- It will bring all your guests together – singing together bonds people really quickly.
- You can get your musician mates to accompany you or lead the song, therefore giving them a brilliant job on the day.
- Everyone will be talking about it – this will be a wedding ceremony that is not forgotten!
- You’ll all be warmed up for the karaoke later!
Tips:
In order to make this go super well, you will have to make sure you’ve chosen a tune that all your guests will know, and that they all have the words available (either on a screen or a piece of paper).
You’ll also need to have some sort of accompaniment. This can be the original track that you sing along to (often quite hilarious), or you can ask a musician friend to accompany you on the guitar/piano etc. Also consider priming strong singers and asking them to ‘lead’ the singing if possible.
The most important thing is to not take it too seriously! This is a moment of real fun and you can get super creative with it, bringing in your favourite music, your talented guests, your wedding theme, your love story… Go wild!
And if you’re looking for ideas of songs that work well, you can’t go wrong with these:
- ‘You’re Just Too Good to be True’, Andy Williams (especially for the ‘duh-du, duh-du, duh-du-DA-DA’ bit…)
- ‘All You Need Is Love’, The Beatles
- ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’, The Beatles
- (actually, almost anything by the Beatles)
- ‘Summer Loving’ from Grease (this is great to alter the words for or to get the men to do the John Travolta with the women singing Olivia N-J’s part!)
- ‘That’s Amore’, Dean Martin
Ooooh I’m all excited now! What song would YOU pick? Tell me ALL your ideas and experiences of singing at weddings!
And of course, if you want a fabulous wedding ceremony with a fabulous group song as part of it, you know a celebrant to call…