Choosing the Music for a Wedding Video

Music is a hugely important part of a wedding video. Just like in a feature film, it affects the mood, pace and atmosphere of the video.

The best part is that you can choose all the music yourself, so if you have a song that is special to you or significant in your relationship, it can help to make your wedding video really personal.

When choosing your music it helps to look at when the music is going to be used in the video. Obviously all wedding videos are different, but many videographers will use montages for a few sections as they are the best way to show all that went on without turning your video into a four hour epic! The service and speeches are usually shown in full (or only slightly edited), while the following parts of your day are ripe for a montage:

• The opening - the bride getting ready, or shots of the venue/cake/invitations etc.
• Transition between the ceremony and reception - photos, guests chatting, champagne, the receiving line.
• The ending - often a 'highlights reel' showing the best bits edited down to a few minutes.

There may be others - often an evening of dancing will be shown in the course of a single song, and this may be recorded live. If you have musicians playing earlier in the day, say a harpist or a string quartet, then their music may be perfect for the middle section.

For the rest, obviously you should choose music you both like, and ideally a song that means something to you, but listen to the lyrics too - some songs might not be as happy or romantic as they sound at first! Bear in mind that you'll be watching your video in years to come, so you might want to go for something timeless (What A Difference a Day Makes, Unforgettable or most of Sinatra's songs are popular) so that the video doesn't seem dated, or you might go for something really contemporary that will catapult you right back into 2010 whenever you watch it in the future.

The opening music will set the mood, so think about whether you want something slow and graceful which will probably be edited to lingering shots, maybe some soft focus or slow motion, or something peppy and upbeat, for a fast, energetic feel straight off. She by Elvis Costello and She's So Lovely by Scouting for Girls would make two totally different opening montages. You don't even have to choose a song with 'she' in the title if you don't want to!

The highlights montage is usually where you'll use 'your song' - that is unless you had it for your first dance. If you did, why not see if there are other versions you like - maybe a cover or an acoustic or live version by the same artist.

Speak to your videographer about your choices - they'll let you know how many songs they need, and they should have a few suggestions if you're struggling to come up with the perfect music. Do make sure they have the licence to use copyrighted music - these are available to wedding videographers thanks to an agreement with the MCPS and the PPL, who control music copyright in the UK, and if they don't use one, they are breaking the law.

Article by Hertfordshire Wedding Videographer Jim Cliff

Images Courtesy of Aardvark Wedding Films

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