X

Wedding Liturgy & Music

This page is intended to assist you in a smooth planning, preparation, and execution of your wedding liturgy. Please direct your questions to the Pastor or the Director of Music. We’re here to help you along the way, and we pray that God will bless you abundantly as you prepare for this great sacrament.

 

Readings in the Catholic Wedding

The Church provides a variety of readings for the wedding. For a complete presentation of these readings, as well as the options for wedding vows, please download the Wedding Liturgy Planning Guide.

 

Music in the Catholic Wedding

The Rite of Marriage is first and foremost a sacramental liturgy of the Catholic Church. As such, musical selections should reflect the sacred nature of this occasion. The ultimate focus of the text must be on God and his tremendous and saving love. Popular love songs and other secular music do not have a place within the wedding ceremony; these are better suited for use at rehearsal dinners and wedding receptions. 

What follows is a list of music suitable for the wedding ceremony. Please note that these are merely suggestions. It is possible that a visiting organist would not be able to honor each selection listed below. Furthermore, this is by no means an exhaustive list. If other options are desired, they can be explored, provided they are appropriate to the occasion. Please consult the Director of Music with any questions you may have regarding repertoire. 

 

Organ Music

Click here for current list

Communion Procession (weddings within Mass)

Alleluia, Sing To Jesus (Worship Hymnal 953)
At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing (Worship Hymnal 512)
Ave Verum (Worship Hymnal 929)
Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether (Worship Hymnal 937)
Hidden Here Before Me (Worship Hymnal 556)
Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All
Lord, Who at Your First Eucharist (Worship Hymnal 954)
The King of Love My Shepherd Is (Worship Hymnal 712)
Ubi Caritas (Where True Charity and Love) (Worship Hymnal 694)

 

A solo selection with a Eucharistic text may also be a fitting option for the communion procession.

Solo Repertoire

The feasibility of this repertoire is largely contingent upon the cantor/soloist. Again, this is not by any means an exhaustive list of possibilities. Other pieces can be used, provided they are appropriate for the occasion. The director of music will assist you in finding a soloist who is able to meet your needs.

Ave Maria – Johann Sebastian Bach/Charles Gounod
Ave Maria – Giulio Caccini 
Ave Maria – Gregorian Chant
Ave Maria – Franz Schubert
Ave Maria – Louis Vierne
Ave Maria – Josef Rheinberger

Ave Maria – César Franck
Panis Angelicus – César Franck
Bist du Bei Mir (Hear Thou, O God)- Johann Sebastian Bach
The Call - Ralph Vaughan Williams
Love Bade Me Welcome – Ralph Vaughan Williams

Liturgical Music

Below are the options of English or Latin settings of the Ordinary.

  English 
 
Latin (Mass VIII)
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Sacrament of Marriage at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Golden Valley, MN