Ceremony Music - Live or recorded? Please vote!

I am a huge fan of live, but that option fell through for me last minute and I ended up with recorded. I didn't notice a difference except that the violinist would have been a nice touch.

We used my phone in which I downloaded the music to a couple hours before the ceremony, in which was hooked up to a Bluetooth wireless speaker.

I really wish I could have afforded a harpist. That's one thing that we couldn't justify in the budget (900 bucks for 30 minutes) so we're going with recorded.

I prefer live ceremony music. That being said if you're having a short ceremony it may not be worth it. Check with the venue though to see if a CD would sound alright. Some places have acoustics made for live music.

For the ceremony, the fee we paid for booking included a cantor and an organist. But I really think it's up to you. If you want to save a little money and use recordings - go for it! It guarantees you'll get the sound you want too. Just make sure you have someone willing to manage the recordings. Maggie also makes a good point about acoustics.

If you're doing quick and simple, and you have a DJ, I'd go that route. If you have a friend or relative that plays something, though, it might be nice to give them something special to do by asking them if they'd be willing to play.

My brothers wedding had both he had a recorded song while my SIL walked down the isle but while everyone was seated he had a friend play the piano.

We're doing a string trio for our ceremony and cocktail hour. I was originally just going to have the DJ play some music and come early for the ceremony but my mom convinced me otherwise.

We are going live harpist

I see both, probably about equally. Usually, the ceremony musicians stay for the cocktail hour too.

Originally I was just going to have recorded ceremony music, but decided it would be more personal with a live pianist.

I want live but my DJ is offering to do ceremony at no extra cost. So I'm thinking to go that route

Maybe if you have a college near you (or a high school, even) contact the music department and see if they have any students who would be interested in playing. You could have any variety of instruments/combinations and they would probably play for very little money (college music students are always looking for gigs!). You could have flute, guitar, strings, a singer; anything would work. Good luck!

Our vow renewal ceremony was short and sweet too at our venue. Our DJ took care of hooking up speakers in the ceremony space and played the music from his laptop and it was perfectly timed. Loved it

My ceremony and reception were in the same room so I had my musician play for both.

I'm sure that live is amazing but i actually prefer recorded music lol. if i'm used to a song being done a certain way i want that song to be done exactly how it is and i'm a huge fan of lyrics so i don't want the songs to be altered at all but that's just my personal taste!

We hired a string duo (violin and cello). They were worth every penny and we received so many compliments.

We browsed live quartets, duos, and harpists, but we're going for a more contemporary feel than what they can provide. While their music is beautiful, it is also limited. Our DJ is doing it for an extra $150 and I think that's reasonable.

I want to leave the ceremony to an amazing Tom Petty jam... only a DJ can provide that.

My daughter is having a string duo also, violin and cello. They will play for 15 minutes before the ceremony while guests are arriving, the ceremony and the cocktail hour. We heard them while at the venue for the tasting and she knew she wanted them.

I like both. However, musicians are included with the ceremony venues we're choosing.

Our venue has an awesome in house system that is also outdoors. We used my iPad for ceremony music and they just played light music over the system while we had cocktail music. Saved me lots of $$$ to not have to pay for any of it!