Rehearsal - ceremony musician won't be there?

I never had a rehersal for my first wedding and it worked out well, but we got married the day after Thanksgiving! Try downloading the procession music on a CD if it would make you feel more comfortable to have a better feel of how it will sound and you can find out how it will "flow". That way you will have some peace about this. I have never heard of a ceremony musician not being at a rehearsal though, it is highly unusual.

Our DJ won't be at the rehearsal either... I have an outline of each song that will be played as certain people walk down the aisle: 1 song for when the men come through the side door, walk down the aisle, and take their place on teh steps of the gazebo, then a different song for when my girls walk down the aisle, and then the 3rd song for my entrance... The DJ is a close friend of mine and has DJd lots of weddings, so I'm comfortable that he will know when to fade the songs in and out...

Would it be totally crazy to use Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring as our mothers are seated, FH enters, and ring bearer and flower girl walk down the aisle and then transition to Canon in D (possibly abridged) for my entrance? That's a total of about 4:30 to 5 minutes worth of music.

I wouldn't worry about it. If she has played at that church before, she probably knows the ceremony flow well. If she were a newbie, the pastor would probably do a rehearsal with her at some other time. I've noticed also that ceremony musicians come to the church early and do some rehearsing before anyone else arrives if they have never worked together before or are performing new music.

Dan

Thanks Dan, she's actually not the usual musician at the church. We found out a week ago, despite booking the church months ago, that the music director was going out of town. The pastor emailed me to tell me that he has a back-up musician. However, provided that she herself suggested Trumpet Voluntary for the recessional, I would anticipate that she's pretty good. We just have a shorter than usual bridal party, so therein lies my nervousness!

If you have her number, just call her! Explain that you are nervous about it, and see what she says. Most people are happy to come to the rehearsal if requested!

You don't need to worry! We never attend rehearsals, and we just time the music the bride has chosen to line up with whatever happens during the ceremony itself. The timing of the processional is NEVER the same between the rehearsal and the big day. It is the job of your musician to shorten or lengthen the pieces as needed. Trust them!

If you expect your musicians to attend your rehearsal, also expect to compensate them for their time.

For a minute I was thinking you were referring to me, digiscrappy. among other things, I am also a ceremony musician, and i was asked toplay for a wedding cuz the regular organist will be away. However, the fee the couple was charged, for some reason, is only 50% of the goin rate. I said I could go 25% lower, but not 50%!...So---I won't be doing the rehearsal...I don't like not being there, cuz then I have a feel for the wedding party, and what they might do at the ceremony...but I also know I am fully capable of adjusting. As a ceremony coordinator, I talk to the musician(s) before ceremony to get a sense of tempo and timing. I listen to the music being played and get a rhythm going for the attendants ..hopefully you will have a ceremony coordinator who will do this...otherwise, let's hope the musician is good! (sorry for any typos)

Our rehearsal was very casual and we didn't have the musician come and perform. I figured he has enough experience I could trust him AND the music he played was fabulous! We received tons of compliments on the music during our ceremony.

So, if your musician is experienced I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you give them a timeline (with notes for music) everything should run smoothly.

I've never heard of musician(s) at the rehearsal but who knows these days.

More often than not the musicians are not there, since you would have to pay them additional $. If they are friends/ church memebers, though they tend to be present. Don't worry - it should be fine.

My musician isn't a separately hired musician, they're through the church and (presumably) not professional musicians -- that's why I thought they would be present.