Almost 5 years ago, I planned my own Catholic wedding. In the years since, I have helped countless brides and families plan their own Catholic mass ceremonies. I hope this will give you some great ideas and guidance in your planning!

First steps ::

During your marriage preparation in the church, you will usually meet with the music director of the church. Most often, that music director is also the organist. Some churches will allow outside musicians in addition to the organist and some will not, so you will need to check with the music director before hiring any outside musicians.

Music selection ::

During the service itself, you will only be permitted to use sacred and classical music. The prelude, processional and recessional are great opportunities for you to select any non sacred music that you might like.

There are three main parts of the ceremony where you will need to select music. The first is the prelude, processional and recessional. The second is the ceremony and the third is the mass. Not all Catholic wedding ceremonies include the mass. For example, my own ceremony did not include the mass because most of my side of the family is protestant and would not be allowed to receive communion. We still had plenty of opportunities to include music in our ceremony even without the mass!

Here are a few ideas for Catholic ceremonies including mass and excluding mass ::

Prelude :: All of Me, Marry You, A Thousand Years, Home, Moon River, Lucky, In My Life

Processional ::

Mothers/Grandmothers {Here Comes the Sun}

Bridesmaids {Can’t Help Falling in Love}

Bride {Canon}

Gathering Song [Optional] ::

Gloria :: Mass of the Resurrection

Responsorial Psalm :: Taste and See

Gospel Acclamation :: Celtic Alleluia

Presentation and Preparation of the Gifts :: I Have Loved You

Mass :: Holy, Acclamation, Amen, Lamb of God {Mass of the Resurrection}

Communion :: One Bread, One Body

Meditation [Optional] :: Ave Maria

Recessional :: Viva La Vida

Prelude :: All of Me, Marry You, A Thousand Years, Home, Moon River, Lucky, In My Life

Processional ::

Mothers/Grandmothers {Here Comes the Sun}

Bridesmaids {Can’t Help Falling in Love}

Bride {Canon}

Gathering Song [Optional] ::

Gloria :: Mass of the Resurrection

Responsorial Psalm :: Taste and See

Gospel Acclamation :: Celtic Alleluia

Presentation and Preparation of the Gifts :: I Have Loved You

Recessional :: Viva La Vida

[A note about Catholic ceremonies without the inclusion of a mass]

Being a musician, I wanted even more opportunities to select music for the ceremony. The music director gave me ideas for other opportunities for music that are not listed here. If you would like to do the same, speak with your music director to see where they might suggest additional places for music.

Happy planning!

XOXO Sylvia

Planning music for a Catholic Wedding