Typical Wedding Order and Necessary Musical Selections

One of the great things about a wedding ceremony is that the couple can tailor it exactly to their liking; after all, they're the ones getting married. Nothing is set in stone, unless the bride and groom choose it to be such.

That being said, it's nice to have a starting point. A typical wedding order would look something like the following, with places for musical selections notated:

• Prelude
  15-30 min. before ceremony, guests are being seated, various musical selections (sometimes this is left to performer to decide, other times it is selected by bride/groom)
  
• Seating of the Mothers/Grandmothers
  1 musical selection.
• Entrance of the bridal party
  Includes bridesmaids, ring bearer, flower girl, etc. Often a runner is pulled down the aisle at the end for the bride's entrance which follows. 1 musical selection.
  
• Bridal Processional
  1 musical selection.
• Welcome/Address from Officiant
  
• Scripture/Poetry Reading/Prayer
• Special Musical Performance (soloist, etc.)
  1 musical selection
• Devotion or Sermon by Officiant
• Vows & Rings
  
• Unity Candle or Communion
  Sometimes includes 1 musical selection, depending on time, sometimes a second soloist performance, sometimes simply background music
• Pronouncement
• Recessional
  1 musical selection
• Postlude
  5-15 minutes, various musical selections, similar to prelude