Add-on
Live wedding ceremony music in Michigan
Acoustic guitar and vocals, or piano, for the walk down the aisle. Added to your Menzo Weddings DJ booking, played live and planned with you song by song.
Patricia & Bryan, The Masonic Temple. Photograph: Allie Siarto & Co.
For twenty minutes everyone is quiet and looking the same way, and the music is all they hear. It should be played by someone who's watching you, not by a phone on a chair.
Live ceremony music is an add-on to your Menzo Weddings Wedding DJ and MC booking. Most couples start with the DJ and MC for the reception, and the ceremony is one of the places they add live music. It's planned in the same conversations as the rest of your night, so your processional and your grand entrance belong to one plan.
Menzo Weddings plays live wedding ceremony music in Ann Arbor, Metro Detroit and across Michigan, on acoustic guitar and vocals, or piano. Founder Dave Menzo has been performing since 2001 and has played Michigan weddings for more than a decade. At one 2024 wedding he played piano and guitar for the ceremony, then carried on through cocktail hour.
What's included in live ceremony music?
- Live music, played in the room. Acoustic guitar with vocals, or piano, played live rather than from a playlist.
- Music for every moment. The prelude as guests arrive, family seating, the processional, your entrance, a quiet piece for a signing or unity ritual, and the recessional.
- Your songs, arranged to fit your aisle. Each song shaped so it starts in the right place and ends cleanly, however long or short the walk turns out to be.
- Planned with your DJ booking. The order of service, the cues and the songs, gone through together alongside your reception plan.
A few details depend on your venue, so we'll confirm them with you rather than promise them on a web page: the sound setup for an outdoor site, microphones for your officiant and readers, and what's needed for power. Tell us where you're getting married when you check your date and we'll walk you through it.
Why hire a live ceremony guitarist instead of a playlist?
Because ceremonies don't run to the second. The flower girl stops halfway to wave at her grandma. The doors take a beat longer to open than anyone planned. Someone's cousin walks slower than at the rehearsal.
A recording can't wait for any of that. It fades out in the wrong place, or it runs out before you've reached the front. A live musician watches the aisle and plays to it. When the last bridesmaid takes her place, her song finishes at the end of a phrase, there's a breath of quiet, and yours begins. That small pause is when everyone stands and turns around.
Live music also belongs to the place it's played in. A guitar a few feet from your guests sounds like it's in the room, because it is. And if you want a song sung, with the words that mean something to the two of you, it can be.
Which moments does ceremony music cover?
Your officiant's order of service sets the real list, but most ceremonies have these moments:
- Prelude. Unhurried instrumental guitar or piano while guests find their seats, gentle enough that people can still say hello, and quiet enough that they notice when it changes.
- Family seating. A change of song tells everyone the ceremony is about to begin. Some couples choose a song that belongs to their parents or grandparents.
- Processional. One song for the wedding party, played for as long as the line takes, ending when the last person reaches the front.
- Your entrance. The part of your song you want to walk to, arranged so it lands as the doors open.
- Signing or unity ritual. A single quiet song under a register signing, a unity candle or a sand ceremony. A good place for something sung.
- Recessional. Something bright as you walk back up the aisle married, carrying on while the wedding party and families follow you out. If you've added cocktail hour, the music moves with your guests.
How do we choose our ceremony songs?
Start with the songs that already belong to you: the one from your first road trip, the one your mom sang in the kitchen, the one that was playing when you got engaged. Then think about which moment each one suits. A song with a slow build suits an entrance. Something light and joyful works for the recessional. The prelude can be almost anything, played gently.
Not every song works on solo guitar or piano. We'll tell you plainly how each one will sound, and if something won't translate, we'll suggest the closest version that will. If you're starting from nothing, our acoustic ceremony song guide has ideas for each part of the ceremony.
How does planning ceremony music work?
- Check your date. Tell us your date and your venue, choose the Wedding DJ and MC, and add ceremony music. Dave reads every inquiry and replies himself.
- We talk. About the two of you, the songs you love, and how the ceremony is laid out: where guests sit, where you'll walk from, who's officiating.
- We set the order. One song for each moment, the part of each song you want to walk to, and the cues: who gives the signal, and when.
- The day. We're ready before the prelude and watching the aisle the whole way through.
Outdoor wedding ceremonies in Michigan
A lot of Michigan couples marry outside. A ceremony on the lawn at a farm venue, on a bluff above Lake Michigan, or under the trees beside a pond sounds and feels different from one in a chapel.
Outdoor sites bring their own questions. Where does the sound go when there's no ceiling? Will the afternoon sun be in your guests' eyes? How far is it from the ceremony spot to power? Up north in June and July the sun doesn't set until after 9 pm, so an evening ceremony there can still be in full daylight. We'll go through your site together, along with your venue's backup plan if the weather turns. Our outdoor ceremony sound guide covers the questions worth asking your venue.
Venues like Revel Run in Chelsea, a 150-acre property with rolling lawns and a pond, show how much space an outdoor ceremony can have. Tom and Ellen married on the lawn at The Oakley in Holly, and further north there's Hotel Perry in Petoskey and Bay Harbor Yacht Club.
Ceremonies Dave Menzo has played
In 2016 Dave played a ceremony overlooking Lake Michigan, and Menzo Weddings still plays Northern Michigan weddings. In 2024 he played piano and guitar for a couple's ceremony and then their cocktail hour. The bride's review is below.
Live music often runs through more than one part of the day. At Brian and Yu-ju's wedding at Zingerman's Cornman Farms in 2018, Dave sang through cocktail hour and then DJ'd the reception. If you want live music on the dance floor too, see DJ plus live music. You can see more in the portfolio, including Katie and Dennis at Revel Run.
“Our guests absolutely loved every minute of the ceremony accompaniments as well as the reception hits!”
Pairs well with
Plan it with the rest of your day
Start here
Wedding DJ and MC
Your reception, planned with you song by song, and an MC who keeps the night on time.
Learn more
Add-on
Cocktail hour
A live acoustic set while your guests mingle and you take your portraits.
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Hybrid
DJ plus live music
Live drums, guitar, sax or violin, in any combination, played on top of the DJ set.
Learn moreCommon questions
Is ceremony music guitar or piano?
Both. We play wedding ceremonies on acoustic guitar with vocals, or on piano, and at one 2024 wedding Dave Menzo played piano and guitar for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Guitar goes almost anywhere, from a lawn to a dock. Piano depends on the room, so if you'd love piano, tell us your venue and we'll work out how it fits.
Can you sing during the processional?
Yes. Guitar and vocals is one of the ways we play ceremonies. Some couples want words for the entrance, because the lyric means something to them. Others keep the walk instrumental and save the singing for the signing or the recessional. We'll decide together, song by song.
Can you play a song that isn't on a wedding list?
Tell us the song. A lot of the best ceremony music started life as something else entirely: a band you saw on your first date, a song from a road trip. We'll tell you honestly how it will sound on solo guitar or piano, and if it won't translate, we'll suggest the closest thing that will.
How many songs do we need for a ceremony?
Usually five moments: a prelude while guests arrive (a few songs), family seating, the wedding party's processional, your entrance, and the recessional. Many couples add one more for a signing, a unity candle or a sand ceremony. Your officiant's order of service decides the final list. See our ceremony song guide for ideas.
How do you know when to start the bride's entrance?
We agree on a cue before the day, usually from your planner, coordinator or officiant, and we watch the doors or the end of the aisle rather than a clock. When the last of the wedding party reaches the front, their song finishes cleanly and yours begins.
What do you need to know about an outdoor ceremony?
Where it is on the property, where guests will sit, how far it is from power, and what the backup plan is. Outdoor sites in Michigan range from open lawns to docks and lakeside bluffs, and each one sounds different. We'll go through yours with you when we plan.
What if it rains?
Your venue's rain plan becomes the music plan. Most places that host outdoor ceremonies have a covered or indoor backup. When we plan, we'll ask what yours is, so the music moves with you and the order of the songs doesn't have to change.
Can you play our ceremony and then DJ the reception?
Yes, that's how most couples book it: the Wedding DJ and MC for the reception, with ceremony music added and planned together. You can also add a cocktail hour set in between, or DJ plus live music, with live drums, guitar, sax or violin on top of the DJ set.
Do you play ceremonies outside Ann Arbor and Detroit?
Yes, across Michigan. Dave has played a ceremony overlooking Lake Michigan, and we play in the Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan areas.
Check your date
Is your date still open?
Tell us when and where. Dave replies personally.