Playing a CD at the ceremony?!?!

Gasp! H2B suggested playing a CD instead of having musicians at the wedding ceremony. I told him I didn't think anyone with a decent standard gets married that way (another bridezilla moment). After a few cleansing breaths, it got me to thinking...maybe I'm wrong? Maybe this can be done in a professional manner like when you play the song of your first dance? What do ye think?

course it can, if you're restricted option wise for music it might be the best way, just make sure you have the timings right for the church and a dedicated person to turn on and off the system.

of course it could be done, get a sibling to press play and stop at the right time you'd be saving a few euro too

If the reason is only to save money why not just have one musician, an organist maybe?

****

Actually, it's not just about the money. I was a bit frustrated as well since quite a few of the more highly recommended musicians are already booked, H2B and I can't seem to meet on the same page to pick another one, and a few potentials want to charge an extra €200 to come to Kinnitty! I'm sure if I'm patience enough, we'll find a singer/harpist/violinist that will work. Just thought I'd ponder the CD option as well. Wouldn't you have to rent audio equipment anyway even if you used a CD? I can't imagine someone's desktop radio/CD player cuttin' it.

Thanks Mazzystar! (Must have posted the last one just as you did.) Good to hear someone who's actually done it. Did you have to supplement with large speakers or did the volume from the normal player work ok? Good idea on the looping tracks!

My sister had a Cd at her ceremony, it worked really well. They had a proper PA system but left a friend in charge of playing the songs. I agree that you should try to have a trial run though to suss out the acoustics.

Hi, I'm a teacher and at our school masses we usually have a CD player for some songs that are too difficult for the children to play and also to keep them on track. It is a fairly large church (holds 300 pupils plus parents, grandparents, little siblings, anyone who wants a gawk!!!) and the sound is perfect just from the Cd player which is at the side of the altar. Having my wedding there and half thinking of using a Cd player although there is an organist so might ask her-haven't decided yet.

Hi Let me get the not-so-nice opinion out of the way first... In my opinion, and also the opinion of the vast majority when this topic was mentioned before, live music or a singer is a million times better than a CD in the Church. I would compare it with having a supermarket dinner heated up instead of a proper meal at the reception.....sorry! I would urge you if at all possible to have live music. Even if you cant get the top quality group/singer you might have wanted, i think even 1 or 2 musicians/singers is way better. Having said that, of course it can be done. And I hope my strong opinion hasnt offended any of you who did it that way (it was a bit tongue in cheek, Im a musician ). Music, or live music, mightnt be the most important thing to every bride, and thats fair enough. So suppose you have decided to do it by CD. Heres a few guidelines: Good idea to have a few different cds as someone suggested. Also perhaps a backup copy of all tracks! Definitely have 1 person to operate it; it is not that simple a job. You have to select the correct song(!), volume, and the right time in the ceremony. Also if you need to stop it early at, say, the candle lighting for example. As regards volume, well, someone hit the nail on the head in the post about the person who was volume shy. Really, you nearly want a musician or someone good on sound to operate. It may be possible to put a microphone to the CD and come through the church system, if there is one. If not, you dont need to hire a huge PA (in that case you might as well hire musicians). A decent keyboard or guitar amp, again with either a lead to the CD or a microphone, should suffice. And indeed some stereo systems in a small church might just have enough volume. Hope these pointers helped; in my humble opinion while you save some money it is an extra fairly important job for someone to do on the day, and you may be better off hiring a group/singer who can take all that stress from you! Good luck h