FAQ: Planning Your Wedding Ceremony Music

If you’ve booked your wedding ceremony with Backthird Entertainment, expect more than music. We want to help you throughout the process from first song selection to first kiss – and the walk back down the aisle.

Here are some common questions brides and grooms ask us during the ceremony planning process.

How do I request my ceremony music?

1. For now, tell us the songs you want by writing them in your online ceremony planner. You can find your online planner at backthirdplanning.com – just login with your email and wedding date. Click “my online planner,” and then look for the ceremony planner under “other planning forms.” (Not sure about music? You can totally skip this step – we’ll make suggestions when we call you to talk details.)

2. About a month before your wedding, your lead musician or DJ will call you to discuss your ceremony requests. If you filled in the planner, we’ll already have an agenda based on your requests so far – but we’ll want to review and finalize it with you. (If you DIDN’T fill in the planner, no problem – we’ll make suggestions and work out song ideas with you.)

At this time we’ll also go over details like who’s walking down what aisle, so we can be on the ball when we discuss things with your ceremony officiant.

3. After talking through the plan with you, your lead musician or DJ will email you an agenda to approve. This is the actual document we’ll work from at your wedding ceremony, so you can confirm that we’ve got everything right – and share your music plans with others if you need to.

Where do I get song ideas?

You’ve got from now until about a month before your wedding to add music ideas and requests to your online ceremony planner. When you login and look at your planner, you’ll find a link on top to our song lists – that’s the best place to start.

If you booked a traditional ceremony, check out our traditional ceremony song list. You can pick anything from the list – or simply wait and talk it out with your lead musician first.

If you booked a pop strings ceremony, check out our pop strings song list. You can pick anything from that list – or simply wait and talk it out with your lead musician first.

If you’d like us to arrange a song just for you, that’s possible – for a small extra cost. Just reach out to your account manager, or wait to talk out your ideas with your lead musician first.

If you booked a DJ ceremony, check out any of the lists above – or feel free to go off-book. If your DJ can legally obtain a recording of it, your DJ can play it at your wedding.

Can my musicians play a song that’s not on their list?

Probably so! We can arrange and learn any piece of contemporary music, just for you, at a small extra cost.

There’s only one condition: Your songs have to be suitable to the instruments we’re using at your wedding. For example, a Beatles song probably works great for our violin/cello/piano ensemble – but a Jay-Z song, not so much. We don’t want to do your request if it’s going to sound bad… and obviously, you don’t want that either!

Every wedding is different, so it’s really best to talk through any custom song ideas with your Account Manager or lead musician before we finalize those plans.

If you don’t want to pay us to arrange new music, you’ll need to stick to the list of songs we already know. Our ensembles are unique and we create all our own music – which means adding new songs is a very intense process. (The good news: our songlists are deep! And you can always call the office at 630-264-2366 if you want to change to the “custom arrangement” ceremony approach.)

If you booked a DJ ceremony, your music choices are unlimited – just like at your reception. If your DJ can legally obtain a recording of it, your DJ can play it.

Can my friend/relative sing with Backthird ceremony musicians?

We’re usually happy to accompany your friend or family member if you’d like them to sing a special song! Here’s what you’ll need to know:

We’ll check in with the singer by phone about a month in advance, to discuss the song and to make sure we’ll be playing in a key he or she is comfortable singing in.
It won’t be possible to rehearse with the singer on a different date, but we can arrive at the ceremony a little early and run through the song together at that time. For most experienced singers, this is more than enough.
If your ceremony ensemble includes a piano or a guitar, accompanying a singer is usually no problem. If you’ve booked only classical instruments, accompanying a singer will probably be very difficult.

Can my friend/relative play an instrument with Backthird ceremony musicians?

Sorry, no. It’s extremely difficult for us to perform with musicians we’ve not met and never worked with before. You might not be happy with the result. And happy is what we do!

What if my wedding schedule changes?

It’s not uncommon for your wedding timeline to shift a little between the time you book music and the day you actually walk down that aisle. We’ll just need to update your contract so that we always have the correct details on file.

We reach out to you about 6 weeks before your wedding to double-check your timeline and other services, so you needn’t worry about this at all for now! It’s our job to make absolutely certain we know what you need from us – and when.

Will I need sound amplification?

For an outdoor wedding or a hotel wedding, probably yes.

For a church wedding, probably yes – but it’s already built in at the church.

The only ceremonies that don’t need sound at all are very intimate – think 50 guests or fewer.

Here’s the deal: Your music will usually carry okay without amplification in most settings (though we’ll still need electricity if you’ve booked an electric instrument like a keyboard). But your voices – and your officiant’s voice – will probably NOT carry so well. If guests are seated more than 10 or 20 feet away, it can be hard for them to hear what’s being said without microphones and a sound engineer.

The good news is, if you need sound amplification at your venue we probably already included it on your contract. We do our very best to find out everything you need on the first day we meet you, so there aren’t any surprises. Check your contract – or contact your Account Manager – to see if you’ve already booked ceremony sound. See what’s in our sound systems right here.

If you think your needs have changed, we can add a ceremony sound system to your contract with as little as 6 weeks’ notice. Email your Account Manager or call 630-264-2366 and we’ll take care of it.