Weddings

See also: Funerals, Functions

This page describes the service which Finchley Chamber Choir can provide to add a very special touch to your wedding arrangements. There are also details here which may help you plan your wedding service music.

If you don't want to read through the whole page, skip to a particular question using one of the following links:

What music is there at a wedding?

A wedding service normally contains music

• at the start,
• during the service,
• during the signing of the register and
• at the end.

Do we need to hire singers?

This depends on whether the church already has its own choir, and whether you want choral or solo singing to be a feature of your ceremony. Alternatives are having, for example, just an organ playing during the register signing.

Having a choir will help a congregation to join in with the hymns (which is helpful as many guests might be unused to singing), and will help create a moving and memorable atmosphere to the wedding.

How many singers do we need?

To help you determine whether you need just a soloist, organist or a group of singers, consider the size of the church, the size of congregation and its willingness to sing, and the type of sound you would like to have.

Much will depend on the particular pieces of music you choose. Some pieces simply require eight voices as a miminum. If the church is quite large, you may wish to have twelve voices.

How do we start to choose the music?

Weddings can include a wide variety of music, but your preferences need to be discussed with the vicar or priest early on - as the recent publicity on the controversy of singing Jerusalem at a wedding showed!

Choose hymns that are meaningful for you - check all the words, not just the first verse. If there are alternative tunes, discuss your preferred one.

We can advise on suitable hymns and anthems for during the register signing. A list of music suggestions appears at the bottom of this page.

Does the music need to be hymns only?

Click here for a small selection of 'secular' music that has been sung at weddings - anything is possible, but remember to plan early: there may be copyright and performing rights issues on more recent music (for example, if you plan to include the words in the order of service, or if you are recording the ceremony); some music, sung originally by a soloist, may need arranging for a choir. Again, discuss it first with the vicar or priest.

How many music items are there?

A typical wedding needs the following:

• music for the entry of the bride: typically an organ solo
• a Psalm
• one or two hymns in between prayers and readings
• signing of the register: one or two anthems lasting around 10 minutes, sung by the entire choir or a soloist
• one or two more hymns/singing during a Communion/Nuptial Mass (if you have one)
• end of the service: organ solo or choral piece as bride and groom leave

How do we organise it all?

Once you have selected your music, you need to put us in touch with the organist and the vicar or priest to make sure of a few important things (e.g. everyone must use the same tunes and words). An early copy of the Order of Service is very helpful here. If you are using the church prayer books, we will need a copy so that we can prepare the right words.

Why contact Finchley Chamber Choir

We are a choir of talented amateur singers, some with trained voices, who are available at weekends and sometimes weekdays also. We normally cover the North London area, but on occasion travel further afield.

We can also normally provide or help you find a top class organist, if your local church doesn't have one.

What do we do next?

Email secretary@fcchoir.co.uk or call Richard Cox on 020 8815 9422 for further information on fees, availability and repertoire. Please include the time of day and date of the wedding in your message.

We are very happy to help you with suggestions of music, and can liaise with your church and organist to ensure the wedding goes smoothly and the planning is made easy.

Music Suggestions

If your computer can play mp3 files, you can listen to a sample of the choir singing Beati Quorum Via by Charles Villiers Stanford by clicking on the link. The sample (size 888k) includes the opening, part of the middle and the end.

Secular

Nobody does it better (Carly Simon)
Day by day (Godspell)
There's a place for us (West Side Story)
Ave Maria
Maria (Westside Story)
A, you're adorable, B you're so beautiful, C, you're so cute and full of charm.