Andrew and Carolyn's Wedding

Music from our day

Many people have asked us about our choice of music. We thought it would be good to have a little explanation as to why we chose them. You can watch all the videos separately on Youtube.

Pre-ceremony	"Reasons for waiting" by Jethro Tull. We chose this piece as, naturally, the groom is kept waiting whilst the bride is 'fashionably late' (although Carolyn was pretty much on time), and Andrew of course happens to be a Jethro Tull fan. Watch video (opens in a new window)

Bridal entrance	"Canon in D" by Acker Bilk, although a specially shortened version of this was used for our ceremony. As you probably know, Andrew originally comes from the West Country, and Acker Bilk is also from the West Country. "Acker" is a old Somerset word for "friend", and of course the idea of "marrying your best friend" is a comment often made by couples. There are many versions on the internet, from a rap version to an electric guitar, but as we were not having a church wedding we felt the 'standard' pipe organ version was not really suitable - hence, after a long search through various unusual versions to be found on the web, we settled on something a bit different. Watch video (opens in a new window)

Signing of the register	The registrars generally recommend 10-12 minutes of music for the signing of the register and photos. Our first piece was "Dawn of a new Century" by Secret Garden. The lyrics mention eternity, and new beginnings, which of course are very relevant in a marriage. Neither of us had heard this before, but Andrew was listening to a random internet radio station one evening and it came on, and it bought a lump to his throat and a shiver down his spine. He shared it with Carolyn, and it had a similar effect, and we both decided that it needed to be featured in our celebrations somewhere. Watch video (opens in a new window) Our second piece was "It's getting better" by Mama Cass Elliott. It's a song about love, described our relationship well, and seemed appropriate. Watch video (opens in a new window) Our third piece was "Sing" by The Carpenters. Carolyn is a Carpenters fan, it's a jolly and uplifting song, and again it seemed to suit the needs for our day. Watch video (opens in a new window)

Interlude	As we had the wedding ceremony followed by a blessing straight after, due to the legal restrictions imposed upon us concerning non-church wedding ceremonies and religious content, it was either we have a long awkward silence or fill it with some music. We chose the latter option. Our first piece was "Baby I'm a want you" by Bread, a seventies classic. Watch video (opens in a new window) Our second piece was "Have I told you lately that I love you" by Van Morrison, of which Carolyn is a fan. Watch video (opens in a new window)

Blessing ceremony	One of Andrew's work colleagues, Sarah Drizen, is a Christian singer songwriter. We approached her to see if she might like to sing something for us during the ceremony, and she offered to write a song specially for us, which she entitled "Two" , to get its 'world premier' at our wedding.

Exit music	It had to be. Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you up" was an obvious choice. Not just because we are both big fans of eighties music, but many people are familiar with the concept of 'Rickrolling', where you send someone a link in an email only to be directed to the "Never gonna give you up" video. As well as liking the song, the fact we met on the internet (where Rickrolling was born) it seemed an obvious choice, and of course the lyrics are appropriate. Andrew also managed to do some detective work and made contact with Rick Astley's manager, and Rick was more than happy to sign us a congratulations card which Andrew presented to Carolyn during the speeches. Watch video (opens in a new window)

Speeches	One of Carolyn's friends, Ibiyemi Osinaike, also offered to sing something for us during the day. He asked us if we had a favourite hymn, and we chose "Lord of all hopefulness" which he sung during the speeches.