CD player for music at ceremony?

arunkumar

Has anyone skipped live music for the ceremony and used a CD player? If so, where there any hiccups or horror stories?

 

My fiancé and I decided to spend our entire music budget on a live band for the reception. So it appears that our only option is to use a CD player instead of live musicians for the ceremony.  My ceremony and reception are at two different locations, so the band will be setting up for the reception during the ceremony and won’t be available earlier.  The event coordinator at my ceremony venue just told me that she’ll be busy cueing the wedding party to walk (she does not have an assistant), so she thinks it would be better if a family member or friend handles the music for us. I am not paying for the event coordinator, so her response wasn’t a surprise to me.

 

I feel bad asking a guest to handle the music when they should be sitting with everyone else and watching us walk down the aisle.  The wedding party has to walk down a staircase in order to get to the aisle (outdoor wedding), so whoever mans the CD player will have to walk down the staircase after the ceremony begins and will have to discreetly exit the ceremony early to get to the CD player in time for the recessional. This means they will have to sit in the back, where the view may not be as good. I feel bad making someone responsible for this, and to be honest, I’m worried it could go horribly wrong.

 

Am I worrying too much about this? If I pick someone willing and responsible, who would attend the rehearsal, I should be fine right?

ElleB87

We're using an MP3 player and speakers.  I think that's a pretty common thing now.  I think it's a great way to save money too.

AlmostMrsEngstrom

I went to a wedding that had a CD player for the ceremony, and it was kind of a nightmare. First off, I don't think there was anyone as the designated CD person. Right before the ceremony, one of the guests who knew the bride and groom was asked to play the music. So the guy sits in the back of the church with the CD player and the BM tells him which songs for which times (song 1 for WP, song 2 for bride, etc.) Well something goes wrong and at first, the CD player won't play. So the poor bride is outside (in November in Seattle) with the BM's all lined up, and there's no music so nobody can go. Then the music starts and it's the wrong song! Somehow, the CD player got put on like random mode. So they got the right song and the BM walked. The bride got to the church doors and the guy pushes the button.... and it's the wrong song again! So she's standing at the end of the aisle for close to a minute while the CD player gets figured out. She was laughing about it and was super sweet, but it was a bit of chaos. Sorry that's a long story. 

My advice would be to PRACTICE! and make sure you have someone reliable to be in charge of music. I don't think it will go horribly wrong, if you make sure he knows the music cues and all that. It's a sticky situation, but I'm sure someone who knows you guys and loves you will be happy to help with the music, even if he doesn't have the best seat in the house. 

I think you'll be fine as long as you practice a lot, or rather have that person practice a lot, and make everything clear about what he needs to do. The wedding I went to didn't do a lot of prep work and things were a bit jumbled.