Alternative Music for the Alternative Wedding

These days, tying the knot in a church as part of a traditional white wedding is just one of many exciting options for you and your partner. What matters above all else is that you celebrate your love for each other with the friends and family you hold most dearly, and, as long as there’s an officiant present, this can happen almost anywhere – up a mountain, in a field, on the beach – you name it! Furthermore, however outlandish your choice of location may seem, it’s now easier than ever to tailor your favourite aspects of a conventional wedding to it – namely, fantastic musical entertainment for all your guests! We’re going to take a look at some of the most popular places where people wed, and what kind of music would suit them best:

Beach Weddings

As you stand upon the golden sands, with the sweet sea breeze playing with your hair and the waves breaking gently around your feet, it’s not uncommon to feel a beautiful oneness with the world. You can go all out with the nautical theme, using shells and ropes to decorate your area, wearing flip-flops or going barefoot, and seating your guests in deckchairs.

The sea is a rich source of inspiration for many a poet, as well as makers of great pop music. You can opt for surf music, such as ‘Wipeout’ by the Surfaris, lilting jazzy numbers such as Bobby Darin’s ‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’, or any number of hits from the men themselves, the Beach Boys.

Garden Weddings

Weather permitting, the great outdoors can provide you with a wonderful wedding experience – fresh air, birdsong and sunshine will put a smile on every face. Garden wedding planners often incorporate floral decorations and designs, draping streamers from the branches of your trees, arranging bouquets in bicycle baskets and weaving a flowered archway to create a secret garden effect. If you have the space, lawn games are always a big hit, such as giant connect 4 and croquet – plus, picnic benches are a fun way to share a wedding meal out in the open.

As long as you’ve cleared it with your neighbours, volume is less of an issue for your guests when your wedding band is playing outside – there are a lot more places for the sound to go. You could hire an acoustic band to perform stripped down versions of your favourite pop, rock and jazz hits, or a string quartet if you fancy an air of Jane Austen.

Rustic Weddings

If your family or the family you’re marrying into own a large area of land, then definitely make the most of it! You can utilize all of the resources and equipment already present to create yourself a fun filled farm themed event, setting up your event in a barn or large shed and arriving on the back of a decorated truck, tractor or horse and cart. Hay bales are also a useful asset – they can double up as benches, tables and even platforms for best man’s speeches. Natural elements are the key feature here – creative recycling and repurposing of old tires, sheets of corrugated iron and big pieces of wood is what’s currently in.

To tie in with your farmyard vibe, you might like to consider Mumford and Sons-style folk bands, duos singing in lush harmony like Simon and Garfunkel, or raucous gypsy-style bands with accordions and fiddles aplenty. And, with no other houses for acres around, feel free to crank up the volume!

Vintage Weddings

It’s easy to look back through wistful rose-tinted glasses at how our parents and our parent’s parents used to do it, which is probably why vintage wedding s are on the up. Depending on how vintage you want to go, you could stylize your venue to resemble a 50s diner, and have the guys dress as teddy boys and the dolls dress as pin-ups. Alternatively, you could go even further back, and have what’s come to be known as a ‘Great Gatsby-esque’ extravaganza, with sharp suits, flapper outfits and everything else that earned that decade the moniker ‘the Roaring 20s’.

‘Vintage’ and ‘Retro’ wedding bands typically dress accordingly, so the illusion will remain intact. If a 1950s tribute band is on the cards, expect big quiffs and plenty of rock ‘n’ roll numbers in the style of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Bill Haley & the Comets. For 1920s music, the focus is going to be on Big Band music and swing, plus a few jazz standards from the Great American Songbook.

Alternative Weddings

This may be a terribly vague umbrella term, but Steampunk Weddings, Halloween Weddings, Fantasy Weddings and Sci-Fi Weddings do all share some key characteristics. The focus will definitely be on outlandish yet authentic costumes (just don’t try to outdo the bride and groom!), intricate centrepieces and endless pop culture references. A featured screening of a favourite film that ties into your wedding’s theme would be a nice touch. Some couples even recite their vows in Elvish or Klingon!

You might be lucky enough to find a wedding band that specialises in Steampunk or Sci-Fi, though these are admittedly very specialist. Rock and pop cover bands will likely at least know the era in which your alternative universe is set, and may even be persuaded to learn a few theme tunes, such as Queen’s ‘Flash’, the Cantina Band music from Star Wars, or the main theme from Harry Potter.

Traditional White Weddings

Finally, if you do both decide that you want a white wedding after all, then you’re going to want a sustained air of propriety, tradition, reverence and wholesome joy. Traditional weddings are very formal events, which will make the day seem all the more life changing for the happy couple, and will more often than not take place in a church. Many sacred rites will take place during your ceremony in that holiest of houses, and you’ll no doubt have practiced each of them several times beforehand – so everything should run smoothly!

String quartets, harpists, classical pianists and even choirs can be hired to give you the perfect white wedding soundtrack, and will be well aware of the gravity of the situation, so you needn’t fret about accidental notes or the clattering of dropped violins bows. Strings, harps and pianos are perfect for the prelude and the procession – and, for a slightly more modern take on a white wedding, you could probably get away with a jazz band at you reception.