No "Here Comes the bride?"

Salsera29

My fiancee and I are having an "interfaith" wedding, because he is Jewish and I am Christian (although neither of us are very religious). We found a wonderful cantor who specializes in interfaith weddings, and we have booked her. One problem...if you didn't know already, the traditional "Here Comes the Bride" is a piece called "Wedding March" by Wagner. Our officiant has requested (but not required) that we not use that melody because the Nazi's used to make the Jews play Wagner's music (he was a famous anti-semite) in the concentration camps. 

Do I give up the music I always imagined walking down the aisle to, to honor this request? What would you do? 

(For the record...my fiancee has grandparents who were IN the camps and he thinks it would be fine to use the music).

lyradimer

I would respect the feelings of your officiant. she obviously feels very strongly about it. Another popular processional song is "canon in D" by Pachelbel. It still has a very traditional, wedding-y feel to it. Or you could chose a song that means a lot to you in another way, something that has history with you and your fiancé. Good luck!

Avion22

His grandparents are okay with it, but your cantor obviously finds it offensive.  And presumably you will have other Jewish guests who might be upset by it.   This is not a hill I would die on.

There are a lot of other really beautiful pieces of music.  You might consider Trumpet Voluntary, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, or Cannon in D -- al of which are really popular pieces of music for the bride's processional.   Play these on iTunes and see what you think (chances are you've been to a wedding and heard these, and already associate them with the bride walking down the aisle).

AdeleDazeem

Oh, I'd give up the song.  Wagner was a raging anti-semite and I wouldn't risk offending not only your officiant, but some of your guests as well. 

I can't think of the last wedding that I've heard "Here Comes the Bride" played.  I walked into this song from Legends of the Fall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6KADXHyVF0

JoanE2012

As PP mentioned, I haven't heard Here Comes The Bride in a very long time!  I think it's a bit more old fashioned.  We are going with Canon in D.....I absolutely love it and think it's a great alternative!

jennylee813

Canon in D is lovely, as is Air on a G String. Royal Fireworks Music is also a perfect choice.

If you really have your heart set on Here Comes the Bride and no one in the groom's family would be offended, why not have it played as you are announced at your reception venue (provided the officient isn't in attendance)?

It wouldn't be my choice, especially given Wagner's history.

artbyallie

Skip the Wagner. Aside from being anti-Semitic, since that has been thoroughly covered, the wedding in the opera the piece is taken from was far from a happy one anyway. I much prefer Canon in D myself, though H vetoed it and I walked in to Trumpet Voluntary instead.

123861

I walked in by "Here comes the sun" by the Beatles in acoustic guitarr.

Salsera29

Wow! I appreciate all of your responses...I knew about Wagner from being a music major in college, but I didn't realize his reputation was so well known. Definitely don't want to offend anyone...rethinking processional music!

Salsera29

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_no-here-comes-the-bride?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:10Discussion:6da3c24c-e62c-4934-ae81-f76cc0a7a023Post:5d166194-1674-4d51-90f6-04fe854f0b5a">Re: No "Here Comes the bride?"</a>:
[QUOTE]His grandparents are okay with it, but your cantor obviously finds it offensive.  And presumably you will have other Jewish guests who might be upset by it.   This is not a hill I would die on. There are a lot of other really beautiful pieces of music.  You might consider Trumpet Voluntary, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, or Cannon in D -- al of which are really popular pieces of music for the bride's processional.   Play these on iTunes and see what you think (chances are you've been to a wedding and heard these, and already associate them with the bride walking down the aisle).
Posted by Avion22[/QUOTE]

<div>I do like Trumpet Voluntary. Although I was thinking the other day that it would be fantastic to walk down the aisle to "Hail To The Chief," the president's theme music...lol. And btw I LOVE the phrase you used, "not a hill I would die on." I'm totally stealing that! :-)</div>

Blodwyn727

My FI and I chose Cannon In D, but another option is Butterfly Waltz by Brian Crain I think. If you're familiar with the Twilight movies, you may recognize from the wedding scene. I found it on itunes.

JoanE2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_ceremony-ideas_no-here-comes-the-bride?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:10Discussion:6da3c24c-e62c-4934-ae81-f76cc0a7a023Post:7cb6dcf3-b9bf-434c-8f00-fa23672e21a7">Re: No "Here Comes the bride?"</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: No "Here Comes the bride?" : I do like Trumpet Voluntary. Although I was thinking the other day that it would be fantastic to walk down the aisle to "Hail To The Chief," the president's theme music...lol. <strong>And btw I LOVE the phrase you used, "not a hill I would die on."</strong> I'm totally stealing that! :-)
Posted by Salsera29[/QUOTE]

Stick around and you'll see that's it's a phrase used alot on these boards!

[Deleted User]

I'm using the Prince of Denmark march. It has a trumpet Voluntary. Very regal and with the pipe organ in our church it will be amazing.

pomundson0

Blodwyn- thank you for mentioning the Butterfly Waltz!! I looked it up now and LOVE it, I'm almost crying right now, so pretty!!  I'm a big Twilight fan but didn't even connect the two when I heard it!

Squish24

I would say go with the officiant's request. however, i am no big fan of the traditional wedding march so i probably have a biased view;)

Miss_2010

If the officiant says no, then its a no-go.

I always said I was never walking in to Wedding March, it reminds me of the death march.  But then again, it has been your dream.

How about some classical?  Canon in D, Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring, Trumpet Voluntary, Joyful Joyful, Bridal Chorus (I think its called, but I think that one is more fitting for the recessional), and I am sure any string quartet could give you a better listing.  But those are the most common and traditional songs.

KellyBrian2013

When I hear "Here Comes the Bride", the only lyrics that pop into my head are "Here comes the bride, big fat and wide..."

I refused to use it in our ceremony for that reason. We went entirely secular for our ceremony, though; Vitamin String Quartet for the parents and wedding party, and then I walked down the aisle to a piano cover of Train's "Marry Me".

mrskristinyc

I definitely wouldn't pick something that could be offensive, especially when there are so many other options!

I'm using an instrumental version of "He'll make me happy" from the Muppets Take Manhattan (the song Miss Piggy walked down the aisle to when she and Kermit got married). 
... I know that might sound odd, but in the context of our wedding, it's not. We're having a light muppet theme (a few subtle elements thrown in), and in the context of our relationship and how he proposed, it's perfect.

Here's the scene from the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0P5FzSe3qw

Here's the intrumental version we're using: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWqgFB6y2dQ

Jen4948

If you really want the Wagner, then you need to change officiants.

I know that's a very tall order and probably unrealistic, so I'd use something the officiants consider acceptable instead.  There are many beautiful songs and instrumental pieces of music.  Find one that you and your fiance like and go with that.

Personally, as a Jewish person and as someone who considers "Here Comes The Bride" overplayed (even if not in a long time), I'd change the music.

Salsera29

Thank you all for your posts, I really appreciate the responses. I've decided on "Jesu..." for the processional, then "Trumpet Voluntary" for my entrace. For the recessional we're going to have the DJ play "New York New York," because that's what they play at the end of Yankee games when they win. So it will be like, "Yay! Jerry and Patty won!" lol...I think it's the perfect nod to the Yankees that he loves so much.Had to come up with something to avoid making our "grand entrance" to "Enter Sandmom"...ugh