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How do you do music at an outdoor ceremony?

Englishsarah27Englishsarah27 member
First Comment
in Outdoor Weddings
Hello
I may be being dense, but as we never weddings here in the UK, I'm unfamiliar how to plan the processional music for our ceremony.
We have 40 people seated just outside a walled garden next to an apple orchard. It's flat, has some trees around and isn't particularly a wind tunnel.

We can't afford a band or violinist or anything like that for the ceremony, so it's either find a way to play music (outside? do we need to rely on electricity?) or as a family member to lightly plunky plonk on a guitar.

Any ideas welcome!
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Re: How do you do music at an outdoor ceremony?

  • Englishsarah27Englishsarah27 member
    First Comment
    Englishsarah27 said:

    have outdoor weddings here*

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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    You can rent a speaker and connect it to an iPod. You could pay someone (our DJ handled ours) to queue the right songs at the right times. You'll want the speaker connected to a mic as well so that guests can hear the ceremony. There's nothing more frustrating than barely being able to hear a ceremony.

    Is electricity available? If not, talk to your DJ about equipment options.
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  • hutchslhutchsl member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    We did the iphone with a speaker but wish we had something a little louder. We ad 70 at our wedding. I could not hear the music for my entrance.
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  • augsum15augsum15 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment First Answer
    One thing you should check is the noise bylaws. We looked into having our wedding at this old winery, but because of bylaws in that particular area we wouldn't be allowed to play music outside (aka no dance).

    But yes you'll need to make sure it is audible; mic's, speakers at the front and back, etc. So whether you have an ipod hooked up or a relative plucking away on the guitar (which is acceptable) it needs to be mic'd. And so should you, your FI and your officiant so that people can hear you. And yes you will need electricity for this. 
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  • cjpr615cjpr615 member
    5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    I am no expert on any of this, but I think there is a way this can all be done wirelessly. We are having a beach wedding (obviously no electricity) and our officiant is able to provide a mic and our guitarist can have an amp as well.
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  • lyndausvilyndausvi mod
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    We had 2 steel pan players do our music.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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  • fyrchkfyrchk member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    I'm having this same issue. So far I've come up with an iPod with someone running it. (I made it a lot easier by having a playlist just for each thing "pre-wedding, parents entrance, bride's entrance," etc. We also found a wireless mic for our officiant. But, if anything comes up with something better, I'll be watching this thread, also.

    OP, thanks for asking this question!
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  • beautyofdreamsbeautyofdreams member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment
    I will have a cello and piano duo playing music. My dj for the reception will provide sound/wireless mics for the ceremony. I have no idea how to do this own your own but i'm sure you could rent speakers and have wireless pics that are programmed to the speakers. 
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