The ceremony had a good balance of traditional and contemporary selections. In My Life is one of those songs that is more modern but has that classical sounding style to it. As a song it is very versatile and works well for the seating of the mothers. We have also performed it for the bridal party and the bride. “Viva La Vida” works best for the recessional since it has a faster tempo – almost a march like style.

Seating of the Mothers
In My Life – The Beatles

Bridal Party
Ode to Joy – Beethoven

Bride
Canon in D – Pachelbel

Recessional
Viva La Vida – Coldplay

Wedding Ceremony Setup

The sophisticated William Aiken House is always a happening venue to play at. It offers the bustling downtown vibe right at your footstep yet it feels private with the dramatic magnolia trees and foliage providing ample shade to the courtyard. The wedding colors were a fun and modern combination of soft pinks, whites, and grays in the flowers and bridesmaids dresses. The music program we performed took on the same contemporary style for the ceremony.
 
 
 
 
 
Seating of Mothers/Grandmothers
High Tide, Low Tide – Bob Marley

Entrance of Bridal Party and Bride
True Love Waits – Radiohead

Recessional
All You Need is Love – The Beatles

Wedding Ceremony

The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful for the late-morning ceremony that took place at the Daniel Island Club. The cloudless sky and gentle breeze helped the guests enjoy the surroundings during the prelude time. The wedding colors of sage green and pink created a romantic and fun atmosphere also in timing with the upcoming spring season. We performed part of the prelude with a guest flutist which created a nice change of instrumentation with the flute taking the solo parts.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Seating of Mothers/Grandmothers
Gift of Love (Flute Solo)

Entrance of Bridal Party
Canon in D – Pachelbel

Entrance of Bride
Trumpet Voluntary – Clarke

Recessional
Hornpipe – Handel

Ceremony Flowers

The Chapel at Palmetto Bluff

We had a wonderful time performing for the wedding ceremony held in the waterside Chapel next to the Inn at Palmetto Bluff. It was a beautiful drive in with the beautiful Spanish moss framing the streets. The small downtown area was very charming and quaint with wonderful views of the marsh going as far as the eye can see.

The chapel seem to fit in with a classic downtown reminiscent of the 1950’s with your coffee shop/restaurant, small inn and local chapel. The chapel featured wonderfully large Gothic-styled windows allowing the natural light to shine in and also providing views of the marsh.

We performed a variety of classical favorites from Mozart, Vivaldi, and Bach for the guests to walk in to. For the ceremony, the Processional walked down to the timeless “Flower Duet” from the opera Lakme. The bride walked down to the stately “Bridal Chorus” and exited together to the “Wedding March”.

We enjoyed performing for the wonderful wedding celebration held at Cassique on Kiawah Island. The ceremony was held in the rear of the club house facing the expansive views of the course. Even though the wedding had around 200 guests, the ceremony carried the character of a small and exclusive affair away from the hustle-bustle of downtown Charleston.

This was a fun wedding to do since we got to perform the Gamecocks Fight Song for the recessional! The bride and groom were both Gamecock fans and had attended USC so they requested for us to perform the song. It was a unique and fun song to perform as a recessional for the strings!

Grandmothers/Mothers
Simple Gifts

Wedding Party
Trumpet Tune

Bride
Trumpet Voluntary

Recessional
The Gamecocks Fight Song

The tucked in Croquet Lawn at Wild Dunes made for a beautiful and colorful wedding ceremony. With the brightly colored townhouses and palms surrounding the ceremony, you almost felt like you were in Bermuda or the Caribbean.

The couple chose mainly traditional classical set of songs then walked out to the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” which is an excellent choice for the recessional. The song can work well with a traditional or contemporary set of songs since it has a classical-like style to it.

Seating of the Mothers and Grandmothers

Air from the Water Music – Handel

Bridal Party

Canon in D – Pachelbel

Bride

Bridal Chorus – Wagner

Recessional

All You Need Is Love – Beatles

Susan Messersmith - Trumpet

With a Masters in Performance, and 14 years with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Susan is the ideal trumpeter in Charleston to perform for wedding ceremonies, especially an indoor ceremony. For example the St. Luke’s Chapel, downtown Charleston would be a great venue to hear the strings and the trumpet for Trumpet Voluntary or Trumpet Tune. In the past, having the trumpet performing for the bridal walkdown and recessional helps accent those moments of the wedding ceremony.

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For you future brides out there, here is a nice program of music for a more traditional ceremony setting:

Prelude:
Selections such as Air on the G String by Bach, The Water Music Suite by Handel, Schubert Andante from one of his string quartets

Mothers:
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Bach

Bridal Party:
Canon in D – Pachelbel

Bride:
Trumpet Voluntary – Clarke

Recessional:
Trumpet Tune – Purcell

The cocktail hour took place at the hip yet modern Westin right on the river front. There we played a series of contemporary music ranging from Journey, U2, Etta James, Coldplay, as well as some Broadway favorites.

Overall, the wedding had a wonderful mix of classical and contemporary styles in music as well as venues and decor.

Since you had such naturally beautiful surroundings, minimal decoration for the ceremony was needed. The ceremony was done just right showing off the light blue wedding colors which had a stunning contrast to the green of the golf course. To finish the decor of the ceremony, there were petite white rose arrangements displayed on different sized pedestals. The cocktail hour and reception was held in the newly-built clubhouse which takes on a style from the old golf clubhouses in Scotland.