Why is the wedding March not allowed in the Catholic Church

Q: Is the wedding march religious?

Wedding March was composed for A Midsummer Nights Dream, a play that focusses on a Pagan god and goddess with its fair share of fairies and magic. Some religious leaders, particularly in the Roman Catholic churches, found the piece to be inappropriate for Christian ceremonies because of this.

CNP Feedback - Bad Wedding Marches -

or "Is the Groom Really a Jackass?"

The "Feedback Box" on the CanticaNOVA Publications website has proven quite effective in promoting communications on a variety of subjects, and expressing concerns of liturgists and musicians. From time to time, we'll compile a few of these questions or comments and put them in public view, with the hope that others with similar concerns may benefit from their content.

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CNP Feedback - Bad Wedding Marches -
or "Is the Groom Really a Jackass?"
Wedding Topics
The Catholic wedding procession
Can the wedding march be played at a Catholic wedding?
Why can't you play Here Comes the Bride in the Catholic Church?
What is the story behind the wedding march?
Is the wedding march religious?

Q. Dear CNP:

I wonder why it is not permitted to use The Bridal Chorus and The Wedding March in the Roman Catholic Church. I would like some reasons that I can present to the brides when they ask me about these selections. Does it have something to do with the composers?

Wedding Organist

A. Dear Wedding Organist:

Thankfully, the two pieces you mention, The Bridal Chorus ("Here Comes the Bride") and The Wedding March, are quickly fading from the scene in Catholic weddings. I personally haven't played either one for over thirty years. There are still brides (or brides' mothers) who insist on having these at the "long-dreamed-of" wedding. What can we tell them to defend our rightful refusal to play them?

The first, the former processional, "Here Comes the Bride," is so stereotypically corny that it brings a silly smirk to anyone hearing it -- recollections of Aunt Edith playing it poorly on a harmonium in a Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, or the bratty school-boy version of the lyrics that disparages the bride's size. Aside from these socially-imprinted connotations, there are other reasons this should not be used in a religious ceremony. The music comes from Act III of Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin, and by purely musical standards may be rich and profound. But the plot follows the contorted twists and turns of almost any opera. There is magic, deceit, trickery, superstition, love (of course), and ultimately the death of the unhappy lover. There is nothing sacred about the plot or the music -- why it was ever used at Catholic ceremonies has never adequately been answered.

Many Jewish congregations specifically ban its use due to Wagner's blatant anti-Semitism. The Catholic Church in The Rite for Celebrating Marriage During Mass envisions a totally different opening to the ceremony than what typically takes place. In paragraphs 19 and 20, the Rite says

At the appointed time, the priest, vested for Mass, goes with the ministers to the door of the church, or if more suitable, to the altar. There he meets the bride and bridegroom in a friendly manner, showing that the Church shares their joy. Where it is desirable the the rite of welcome be omitted, the celebration of marriage begins at once with the Mass.

If there is a procession to the altar, the ministers [cross bearer, altar servers, lector(s)] go first, followed by the priest, and then the bride and bridegroom. According to local custom, they may be escorted by at least their parents and the two witnesses. Meanwhile, the entrance song is sung.

The Rite does not assume the bride to be hiding somewhere to suddenly appear. In 1971 the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments did forbid the use of The Bridal Chorus in the Marriage Rite, but for reasons stated in the Rite itself (i.e. that the bride and groom should walk down the aisle with the priest and ministers, and that an Entrance Song is sung to accompany them).

Knowing, unfortunately, how this liturgically proper rubric will dash every girl's dream of a "spotlighted" solo walk down the aisle, I doubt that the common practice will change any day soon. Your defense for refusing to play The Bridal Chorus must be on other grounds than official documents, although if you can talk them into a true Opening Procession, more power to you!

The old recessional, Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" from A Midsummer Night's Dream, is even more incongruously used in sacred ceremonies. If you're familiar with Shakespeare's comedy, you know it's filled with fairy tale creatures and a twisted plot that makes for good drama and humor. The music in question, The Wedding March, accompanies a farcical union in the enchanted forest between the Fairy Queen Titania and Bottom (a man turned into a Jackass). This alone should rule out its use in church, let alone the sterotypical absurdities of the music's use in commercials, movies, and TV's "The Newlywed Game."

Any level-headed couple, as well as their families, should immediately see the foolishness of considering this music for their marriage ceremony. Trouble is, sometimes level heads are hard to find when a wedding date's been set -- and what are those long ears on the groom?

Wedding Topics

The Catholic wedding procession

The Order for Celebrating Matrimony notes the procession of the bridal party, the presider and ministers should take place "in the customary manner" (#46). Check with your pastor or whomever is helping you plan your wedding at the church about local guidelines as possible cultural adaptations for the Entrance Rite.

Keep in mind that every action in liturgy communicates symbolicly. This includes the order of people you choose for your procession. Consider this as your first statement to those assembled what you believe about this celebration. For instance, the bride and groom processing in together symbolizes the Church's understanding of the complementary role of the husband and wife in marriage.

Sound unfamiliar? That's because in the United States and elsewhere it is common for the bride to be escorted down the aisle by her father, who then "gives" her to the groom waiting at the altar—a tradition rooted in the days when weddings were viewed as a sort of property transaction (with the woman being the property). While this may be a touching moment of sentiment, is that how you view the marriage you are making with one another?

Another option is to skip the procession altogether; the presider simply greets the bride and groom at the altar (The Order for Celebrating Matrimony #48-50).

The assembly stands at the beginning of the liturgy, when the entrance song is announced and the procession begins—in other words, the assembly should not remain seated until the bride enters the church. In the Catholic liturgy, standing is a way of acknowledging the presence of God.

The wedding procession is usually accompanied by music. This might take the form of an instrumental or solo piece, or a hymn sung by the whole assembly. Some couples opt to use an instrumental piece during the procession, followed by a gathering hymn sung by the whole assembly once the wedding party and the ministers of the liturgy are in place.

Note that most parishes forbid the use of the traditional wedding march to accompany the procession. The Diocese of Albany explains why:

The so-called “traditional wedding marches” by Wagner and Mendelssohn are not recommended. Both are “theater” pieces which have nothing to do with the Sacred Liturgy. The “Bridal Chorus” from Wagner’s opera, Lohengrin, actually accompanies the couple to the bedroom, not the altar! Mendelssohn’s incidental music to Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream accompanies a farcical wedding (the play is a comedy).

Many other instrumental pieces are permitted. however. The Diocese of Albany suggests the following possibilities:

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (J. S. Bach)
Canon in D Major (J. Pachelbel)
Trumpet Tune (Purcell/Clarke)
Trumpet Voluntary (also known as The Prince of Denmark’s March) (J. Clarke)
Trumpet Voluntary (Stanley)
Overture from Royal Fireworks Suite (G.F. Handel)
Rondeau from Premier Suite (J.J. Mouret)

Can the wedding march be played at a Catholic wedding?

For a Roman Catholic ceremony only nonsecular music is allowed. The processional “Here Comes the Bride” is a song by Richard Wagner's “Bridal Chorus.” Some people refer to this song as “corny” and recollecting it as songs played in a Las Vegas Wedding Chapel.

Why can't you play Here Comes the Bride in the Catholic Church?

Some members of the Roman Catholic Church, and more conservative-leaning denominations frown on the use of “Here comes the Bride” for a few reasons including: the fact that it comes from a secular body of work, the original context of the song was not that of a wedding professional, and that Wagnerian operas tend to ...

What is the story behind the wedding march?

But neither song was actually composed to be performed at a wedding. Rather, German composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote the “Wedding March” for an 1842 production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and “Here Comes the Bride” was the Bridal Chorus from Richard Wagner's 1850 opera Lohengrin.

Is the wedding march religious?

'Wedding March' was composed for A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play that focusses on a Pagan god and goddess with its fair share of fairies and magic. Some religious leaders, particularly in the Roman Catholic churches, found the piece to be inappropriate for Christian ceremonies because of this.