You will need two groups of musicians, one to engineer harmony at the right moments of the actual wedding ceremony and another to get the party going at your reception.
Ceremonial Music
You will find many Baroque pieces to walk down the aisle. The compositions of J.S Bach are especially popular and are almost ubiquitous in chapels all over the world. You can select an organ player or small orchestra to provide you with:-
(i) The Prelude (30 mins) – what will be playing while the guests enter and take their seats.
(ii) The Processional (time varies) – accompanies the entrance of the bridal party. You usually have different pieces for the entry of the attendants, and of the bride.
(iii) The Recessional (time varies) – accompanies the exit of the newly wed couple and their attendants
Listen to a lot of baroque music, or even a few pieces from the classical era. You can do this online. Also consult your selected musicians and ask them to play you some sample pieces.
If the cliché of sauntering along to “Here comes the bride” makes you wrinkle your nose in disgust, consider having your orchestra convert more modern pieces. Do not have any music with lyrics during your ceremony because it is, in every definition of the word, tasteless.
Reception music
So what will you use to set the mood at your reception and keep a party going later, a live band or a DJ? They both come with pros and cons and no matter which one you choose, make sure you’ve had some sneak-peeks at their performance first. Any auditions a band or DJ give you might only be good because they want to be hired so ask friends and family for some recommendations.
A live band can change the tempo of the music and help create atmosphere especially if you choose one that fits the theme of your wedding. Yet they might be the ones destroying a favourite romantic song request by doing a pale imitation of it. The DJ has the edge here since he’ll have the originals and a large library of songs to please your guests with. But on the other hand, a DJ on autopilot is no fun at all. Both live bands and DJs can pump up a wedding party by playing ‘mood music’ when someone makes a toast or they might just make their own awful jokes in between songs.
You can create your own customised playlist, turn dictator and absolutely order your musicians to do this and that, but this is never foolproof. You really are best off if you see them in action and then decide.