The Music

Music for your wedding ceremony

The Music and Arts Ministry of Park Cities Presbyterian Church extends congratulations and best wishes to you both on your upcoming wedding. Your wedding ceremony, like your future marriage, will reflect the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. When considering the music for your wedding, please keep in mind the sacred nature of the occasion. In general, if a musical piece is appropriate for Sunday morning worship, it is most likely appropriate for a wedding also.

Please take some time to review the guidelines that follow. Links to the order of service template and recorded excerpts of musical selections appropriate to various parts of the service are provided below.

We are available to assist you to the best of our ability. We look forward to helping you make your wedding music beautiful, joyful, and glorifying to God.

The Music and Arts Ministry
Park Cities Presbyterian Church

Selecting Instrumental Music

There are several places in the order of service where music is required: the prelude, the seating of the families of the bride and groom, the bridesmaids’ procession, the bride’s entrance and procession, and finally the recession of the entire wedding party at the end of the service. A postlude may be necessary if the piece for the recession is brief.

A list of specific musical selections ideal for various parts of the service may be found here. View this list as a starting point: it is certainly not exhaustive. We will be glad to discuss these and other possibilities with you when we meet in person.

If you desire, you are welcome to hire outside musicians (e.g. a string quartet, a trumpet player, or a vocalist) but please refrain from doing so until after you meet with the organist. We must approve any outside musicians before they are hired.

Please note: we are not able to accommodate requests for recorded music during the ceremony.

Selecting Vocal Music

A marriage ceremony is a service of worship. Therefore, the texts of solos and hymns should be sacred, and appropriate to the nature of the occasion.

Congregational Singing

Congregational singing is encouraged. When selecting hymns, keep in mind what the congregation is likely to know and be able to sing well. The Trinity Hymnal is available for use in the sanctuary and the chapel.

Please note that the texts of some contemporary hymns or songs (In Christ Alone, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, for example) are not found in the Trinity Hymnal. If a hymn is not in the hymnal, you must provide the words for the congregation. The most common means of providing any hymn texts needed is to include them in the program, whether printed or as an insert.

Solo Vocalists

As many as two or three solos are appropriate, if desired, but are not necessary.

We encourage everyone to find qualified soloists for their wedding. Please be very careful when asking people to sing, especially where close friendships are concerned. We have many excellent soloists available, and will gladly give you suggestions and guidance.