Perfect Music for a Gay Wedding

by JoHarrington

Whether you're looking for a soundtrack to play at your gay wedding reception, or a tune for your commitment ceremony, find inspiration here with music for same-sex weddings.

Many couples have their special song, a track which you both agree is perfect to be playing during your nuptials.

But you can't have that on repeat all day long. It can't be the background music to both the ceremony AND the reception. With guests from all areas of your lives, you're going to need melodies playing which delight all, and last for a while.

Some producers have thought ahead and come up with albums to help you out. Look here for ideas for the soundtrack to your gay marriage.

Gay Wedding Music Perfect for Same Sex Marriage Ceremonies

It's the biggest moment in your life - an historical occasion in a wider context too - so you will want to get the soundtrack right!

Image: Golden disco ball.Never have you wanted anything to run as smoothly as this. Your perfect gay wedding ceremony is not only momentous for you and your partner, it's a huge occasion for your guests too.

In many cases, this could be the first same sex wedding that most of them have ever attended. That practically guarantees that it will be the one remembered for the rest of their lives, no matter how many more gay unions follow. This was the ceremony that was novel and new, carrying with it a sense of history happening right here and now.

It's a beautiful binding of two people in love, which might not have even been possible a month, year or decade before. As campaigns lead to legal changes - equal rights in marriage rites - unions between gay couples will become the norm.

But right now, your gay marriage commitment is amongst the vanguard. Pioneers in marriage lines, which set the standard for all that follow. No pressure then, to get it right!

Most of all, your wedding day has to be perfect for you. Guests, history and trend-setting aside, the moment of your commitment in love to each other will forge an indelible memory. One that will be hopefully cherished for the rest of your lives.

And the trigger for that (for all concerned) is likely to be the music.

These are the tracks that will lock in all that describes what it was to be there.  Like a mental time capsule, hermetically sealed - containing the visions, aroma, atmosphere, feelings, everything touched and heard, the little looks and the grand gestures - there to be experienced again whenever you hear a particular tune. So what music will it be, picked to hold such memories for those who were there? The ideal soundtrack to a gay marriage.

Get that right, and all else will fall into place.

Gwedding by the Pianissimo Brothers

The tag-line here is The Best Beautiful Music to Celebrate your Gay Wedding. That seems to fit the bill for Gwedding, at least as regards the 'beautiful music for weddings' part.

The Pianissimo Brothers have chosen tracks very much associated with weddings anywhere. They include Ave Maria and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, for those from a Christian background; move through the classics in the form of tunes like Air on a G String and Ode to Joy.

However, Gwedding isn't all high brow music. Also performed are romantic melodies from popular culture, for example The Way You Look Tonight, From This Moment On and a very fitting version of the Peter, Paul and Mary hit, The Wedding Song (There is Love).

Songs from the shows and movies aren't unrepresented either. There's Strangers in the Night and Unforgettable.

Each of these tunes are gently played as instrumentals. Arranged for piano, but bringing in woodwind accompaniment where appropriate. Inoffensive and fitting as background music; while uplifting and sublime if a track is turned up to underscore a focal point during the ceremony, or provide the music for the happy couple's first dance.

The Gay Wedding Collection by Vitamin String Quartet

If string instruments are more your thing, then you could do a lot worse than Vitamin String Quartet's The Gay Wedding Collection. This would be my choice, as I do love this sound.

The Quartet have been going since 1999. Forget Beethoven and Bach, this group turn their instruments solely onto pop, rock and indie tunes. They've featured on MTV Unplugged - providing orchestral backing to 30 Seconds to Mars - as well as contributing to the score to Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This might provide a hint to what's on their Gay Wedding Collection. The track-listing is filled with songs traditionally associated with nightclubs and discos, but given a classical music twist.

It includes tunes by gay icons, such as Madonna, Shirley Bassey and Emmylou Harris; as well as openly gay musicians, like Elton John and Queen (Freddie Mercury). Also featured are string renderings of disco hits. There's Sylvester's You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), to which the veterans amongst you especially probably have long, fond memories of dancing like loons. (Unless the point is that you can't recall past vague blurs, such were the good times being had.)

Choose The Gay Wedding Collection by Vitamin String Quartet for a classy rendering of popular tunes for your same sex wedding. It will be appropriately sedate, while also being fun.

Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to You're My Best Friend by Queen

This is one of the tracks on 'The Gay Wedding Collection', so you may glean the general atmosphere engendered by the same sex wedding music on offer.

Gay Marriage Album by Various Artists

Gay Marriage: Classics for your Perfect Gay Wedding brings together full orchestral arrangements of the most traditional wedding music. For same sex couples? Not really. These are classics for any wedding ceremony, regardless of the genders involved.

There's The Wedding March by Mendelsson - probably THE most famous music for marriage ceremonies - and The Bridal Chorus from Wagner's opera Lohengrin, which has become thoroughly engrained in Western culture, as the tune which signals the arrival of said bride.

On this album, these two songs are played by the Royal Wedding Orchestra. If they're good enough for Prince William and Kate Middleton, they might make the grade for your wedding too.

The marital biggies out of the way, various orchestras then perform a collection of well-known romantic pieces from the world of classical music. These include ballet suites from Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake; seriously old-time dance tunes, like The Beautiful Blue Danube and The Waltz of the Snowflakes from The Nutcracker; triumphal serenades, such as the Allegro from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; and quieter, more intimate tracks, touching upon Debussy's Clair de Lune or the achingly beautiful arrangement of Ave Maria.

Even if you think you don't know any classical music, I guarantee that you'll be familiar with most (if not all) of these. They appear regularly in the soundtracks of movies or as background music in commercials.

Vienna Mozart Orchestra Performing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major (K 525), played by this orchestra, features on 'Gay Marriage: Classics for your Perfect Gay Wedding'.

While undoubtedly traditional - and downright classy musical arrangements for your wedding ceremony - I am struggling to work out what makes it all particularly gay marriage music.

The performances are by world-class orchestras and choirs: Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra; Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg;  Sofia Boy's Choir; Strauss Orchestra Vienna etc. These are professionals in their field. Some of them represent the best in their country, or the world's primary players of an individual composer's music. No doubt there will be gay people amongst them, but not taking center-stage.

Amongst the featured composers, there are those who are known to have been homosexual - Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saens among them. There's a question mark over Debussy's sexuality too. But that doesn't account for the presence Mozart, Wagner and Bach to name just three. 

It seems that appropriate tracks were chosen for the music, not the sexual orientation of their composers.

In short, there's nothing gay about this album, except for its title and cover artwork. Cobra Entertainment LLC have merely packaged an admittedly great collection of classical music, in a way that appeals to the new market in same sex wedding planning.

Which doesn't mean that it's not a top choice for your gay wedding music, but only if you weren't looking for wedding music that is gay, in some way, shape or form.

Popular Wedding Ceremony Music CDs

If you're not bothered about tunes for same sex marriage rites, then the field opens up greatly. There is no reason why you can't go with anything in this selection.

Techno Music for a Gay Wedding

Who said you had to follow the crowd? Traditional can be just another word for over-done.

Just because Mendelsson has been providing the music for weddings since 1842, it doesn't mean that he has a place in your same sex nuptials. This is the modern age, hence it's time to update a few things.

Bondage Fairies have a techno tune called Gay Wedding (Instrumental). I bet no-one ever chose THAT to accompany their trip to the altar before!

Or, alternatively, make it a fun and wonderfully relevant inclusion on the reception party playlist.

Gay Wedding (Instrumental) by Bondage Fairies

My Big Gay Italian Wedding by David James Boyd

Gay Wedding Music for Italian Lovers

Don't get the wrong impression here. There's nothing actually Italian about these tracks. This isn't the homosexual wedding music equivalent of something sung by Pavarotti.

As Boyd isn't an Italian surname, I'm going to assume that David James Boyd married an Italian man. Love songs penned for his husband are collected on his EP My Big Gay Italian Wedding.

First track My Italian Boy is a simple pop homily to his lover - First Dance material, if one or both of you are Italian. The rest are dance tunes, featuring Ashanti J'aria and Betboyz. Good to get the reception party going!

I Do (A Wedding Song) by Ron and Maryann Sfarzo

A Wedding Song Dedicated to Same Sex Marriages

Am I the only one who thinks that Maryann Sfarzo sounds a bit like Karen Carpenter?

I Do was composed with same sex civil unions in mind. Ron and Maryann Sfarzo aren't gay themselves, but they were there in 2004, when a historic court ruling led to San Francisco couples lining up to enter into gay civil unions.

Profoundly moved by witnessing such scenes, the Sfarzo's were inspired to write I Do. Plenty of couples have since opted to use it as music for gay commitment ceremonies, leading to it being tagged as The New Ceremonial Wedding Song for Same Sex Marriages and Civil Unions.

I Do (The Wedding Song to Celebrate Same Sex Marriage)

He Loves Me (Gay Wedding Song) by Bobby Blue

Male Love Song for a Same Sex Wedding Ceremony

Singer-guitarist Bobby Blue freely admits that most people think he's a woman, when he sings. He's not. He's just a counter-tenor with a huge vocal range.

His 2013 album Sunshine features a romantic gay love song, a celebration in music for homosexual weddings. It was written as a kind of magical experiment.

Bobby read a book about an artist who found the lady of his dreams, after painting women facing him with love in their eyes. Bobby tried it out, writing He Loves Me (Gay Wedding Song) as if he was truly in a relationship with his ideal man, hoping that it would make it real. It worked.

That makes it same sex wedding music with proven magic included!

Gay Wedding by Charles Murray

Humorous Track for a Gay Wedding Reception

Denver based singer-songwriter Charles Murray is known for his biting satirical pieces.

No sacred cow is left unslaughtered; political correctness is parodied to perfection; societal  observations are made with cutting precision and deftness. He's hilarious too, particularly when exposing political hypocrisy to the cold spotlight of a stage.

His album American Crack Up includes a track called Gay Wedding.  Hands up, I haven't heard it (nor could I find a version online). But given his liberal outlook, I'm going to presume it's not homophobic.

It might make a good comedown tune, during the coat-grabbing, farewell exchanging reception closing stages.

More Wizzley Articles for People Planning Gay Weddings

The question has been popped. The date has been set. Now all that remains is to arrange the best day of your lives! Wedding planners for gay couples might help out here.
Don't compromise on your big day! Buy gay cake toppers for wedding cakes, which feature two brides.
Been searching in vain for wedding cake decorations for a male gay marriage? Look no further! We have them right here.
Are you looking for gay wedding rings? The Countdown Collection declares your commitment, while acknowledging that we're living through historic times too.
Updated: 04/23/2014, JoHarrington
 
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JoHarrington on 04/11/2014

Sounds like you're definitely in the 'Mendelsson is over-done' cohort. I'm listening to Widor's Toccata on YouTube now, as I wasn't familiar with it. Loving your style so far!

I adore Bach's Toccata and Fugue though. That always takes me back to a very beautiful place and time. Feelings of calm very much wrapped up in it. Saint Saens is lovely too.

You know that I live and breathe to ensure that you never have any time free to do anything other than write. :D

Guest on 04/11/2014

I walked into my (straight) wedding ceremony to Widor's Toccata. No way was I going to prance around to Mendelssohn when the very opening chords make me want to hurl. We had organ music throughout the ceremony and reception - everything from Bach's Toccata and Fugue and the sublime Saint Saens Organ Concerto to Symphonie Fantastique and more. That gives me a very good idea for a new article. Jo, do you know how little time I have this weekend....?!

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