Marriage is celebrated in the context of worship; it might be said that marriage is an act of worship. Music makes a wedding celebration special; it serves to create an atmosphere of prayer, to express and support the profound mystery of two human beings uniting their lives, and to reflect and strengthen the faith of those assembled. Well-chosen music can help your guests feel included and connected to one another and can enable them to join in song to affirm the power of the love your wedding celebrates.

 

With this in mind, we take great care in the choice of appropriate music. We have a wide repertoire of religious and classical works from which to select music for your wedding - music that reflects the styles and usage of Roman Catholic worship, both traditional and modern. We will provide you with a list of our repertoire. Popular love songs, ballads, and tunes drawn from plays, operas and movies are, for a variety of reasons, considered unsuitable for use in the liturgy but might well be played at the reception. Taped or prerecorded music is not used in Catholic worship.

 

We encourage you to join us for Sunday worship before your wedding to experience the sound and style of music at Old Saint Mary's.

 

The services of our pianist and a soloist are provided as part of the donation for the use of the church. If additional rehearsals or consultations with our accompanist are required, a separate fee will be charged, payable to Old Saint Mary's. Additional musicians are to be arranged for or approved by Old Saint Mary's; their fees are separate, but must be paid through the church by Archdiocesan policy.

 

All music selections should be finalized no less than two weeks before the wedding to allow musicians and vocalists adequate time to prepare.

 

For more information about the music at your wedding, please contact Satoko Fujiwara, our Music director at music@oldsaintmarys.org or 415-288-3800.