Wedding - Walking down the Aisle music (Football)

[Roundthecorneranduptheroad]

Football mad DD and fiancé plan to have the Champion’s League anthem as they walk down the aisle. Please be aware that this is an adaptation of classical piece Zadoc the Priest. It is not a here today, gone tomorrow pop song. If you are unfamiliar, please listen ‘Alexa, play the Champion’s League theme’ before you prejudge. It really is a lovely and appropriate piece of music in my view.

My parents (DD’s grandparents) are aghast. They had volunteered £5k towards wedding and are (vaguely) threatening to withdraw it. Nothing explicit (yet) but lots of comments about the music. AIBU to think DD and her fiancé should hold firm with their choice of wedding music?

I don't follow any sport, so I had no idea this was a sports thing.

However, I do know the song Zadok the Priest, and it doesn't seem out of place for a wedding ceremony.

If anyone holding the purse strings is being judgy, I second @SherbertDabs's advice.

I walked down the aisle to a lovely piano version of Blue Moon (Manchester City supporters!) and we loved it.

Tell your DD to do whatever she likes, her GO’s are being utterly ridiculous.

Alright, I phrased it poorly - I had no idea the melody had been used for something football related. Better??

If it is a civil ceremony you have to declare what music etc you’re going to use and they don’t allow anything religious. I’m not sure if this would class as religious but we got caught out with this at our wedding.
just tell the grandparents they’ve changed their mind and then on the day if the music plays it will be too late anyway!

I'd say the original Handel version, perfectly fine, it was written for a royal coronation.

The 1990s Champions League version with the vocals

(I've just googled them as I've never been sure what they're singing:

Ce sont les meilleures équipes (These are the best teams)
Es sind die allerbesten Mannschaften (They are the best teams)
The main event

Die Meister (The master)
Die Besten (The best)
Les grandes équipes (The greatest teams)
The champions

Une grande réunion (A big meeting)
Eine grosse sportliche Veranstaltung (A big sporting event)
The main event

Die Meister (The master)
Die Besten (The best)
Les grandes équipes (The greatest teams)
The champions

Ils sont les meilleurs (They are the best)
Sie sind die Besten (They are the best)
These are the champions

Die Meister (The master)
Die Besten (The best)
Les grandes équipes (The greatest teams)
The champions

not so much)... although contributing money as a gift doesn't give you a buy in to dictate what happens on the day. That's a slippery slope to go down.

I bloody love it, but then, I don’t watch football so have no negative associations with it.

Their wedding, their choice of music.
Their gift their choice to withdraw it but they can't put conditions on them receiving it.

My daughter and son-in-law had the Match of the Day theme to walk out to, deliberate play on words of the double meaning of 'match' plus he's a big football fan. It made a few people smile

There is no way any woman should be marrying anyone who makes it so obvious that football is going to be more important than her.

Well as it’s been done at every coronation in this country, including Elizabeth II and I assume will be played at Charles I don’t see what the issue is

if grandparents want to throw their toys out of the pram then they can. I would just tell them what time to turn up and no more about the wedding

I think it's the DD who is into football from the OP?

You see, this is what you get when you get big cash gifts from parents or grandparents etc.... £5000 is quite a big contribution, and gives people the idea that they have a right to dictate how they think the wedding should be.

I know the bride and groom have every right to have the wedding how they want, but if somebody is given such a massive chunk of money, the people giving the money are going want opinions on it, and to try and control things. I would personally rather not have a single PENNY from anyone, and have a small, inexpensive wedding done how I want it - and my husband too obvs!

Having said all this - they have threatened to withdraw the money because they don't think it's a very good piece of music to have at the beginning of the wedding. That is manipulative, controlling, narcissistic, and pretty nasty.

Personally @Roundthecorneranduptheroad , I would tell them to keep the £5000 as you would rather not have it if they are going to start kicking off because you are doing something in the wedding that they don't 'approve' of. As pps have said, they sound dreadful.

My personal opinion on the piece of music... It is a really nice piece of music but doesn't really seem suitable for the beginning of a wedding. But just my opinion, that's all.

You what? My DD is even more football mad than her fiancé! She’s been a season ticket holder at Chelsea for 15 years. What a truly sexist assumption.

So pleased to introduce you to it. It is just lovely. My DD absolutely wedded to it. Further to comments on this thread, we have decided to face up to my parents. I know some of you suggested that we should take the £5k and then announce change of plan but I don’t feel comfortable and actually want to stand up to my parents on DD’s behalf for the first time ever. I also had a lovely PM from a box holder at Chelsea FC pledging to help if DD can’t make up the £5k. But we will - and I hope my parents will come good. Thank you all on this thread for your input

It’s a church wedding. Organist will be playing Champion’s League (Zadoc the Priest) and DD has sourced a choir (some of whom are friends) to sing the lyrics.

I think it’s rather lovely. The words are a bit odd for a wedding but tbh you can’t actually hear what they’re singing. I had to Google them. Shame she told the grandparents really as if they’d heard it in church for the first time they’d have probably thought it was a nice piece of music. Not nice of them to hold your DD to ransom over the £5K. If GPs do withdraw their gift they will look very mean spirited.

@AppleDumplingWithCustard yes if you over analyse it words not quite right. But no one listens to the words according to DD - it’s the sentiment. And yes, it is truly lovely - thank you x

Have the grandparents actually heard it? I suspect not because otherwise they presumably wouldn’t be as horrified at the idea? I would just tell them DD and fiancé have chosen something classical and leave it at that! It’s only quite loosely based on Zadok anyway, with the rising phrases in the strings being the only thing that’s reasonably directly borrowed - so rather than them thinking it’s some kind of new-fangled Zadok mash-up version perhaps just tell them it’s a piece of classical music. If you tell them the music is going to be a version of Zadok, anyone who is reasonably familiar with Zadok well will wonder what they’re hearing because although it might be based on Zadok it’s not mistakeable for it.

But may I suggest this as one of the hymns?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=lben8hkqwR8&cbrd=1

@Secondsop lol at the hymn. But far too religious lyrics for us! My parents have heard as I posted up thread - they are classical music purists

Ah if they are classical music purists I would say they’re unlikely to regard this as a version of Zadok and thereby acceptable on that account. But never mind that! Stand your ground on behalf of your DD.

I'm glad you are going to speak to them - although prior to that my advice was the your dd speaks to them.
I would just suggest she says: "Grandma, Grandpa, can you just clarify for us, as we are getting mixed messages. You told us you were giving us £5000 towards our wedding, and now you are saying you might not. Now obviously you don't have to give us anything and we are really appreciative that you offered, but we need to know either way, as it affects what we are able to book / how many people we can invite".
Then if they say something along the lines of 'not if you are having that music' she can just reply that a gift doesn't come with strings, and yes, her and her df will be choosing details of the wedding, and thanks for clarifying so they now know where they stand, budget wise.

Unless she is getting married in a Cathedral though, that will be too long for walking down the aisle.

This. Why do the grandparents even know such details??

I’m just listening to it, it’s beautiful and entirely appropriate. I’m not a football fan and so would never have made that association.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s “appropriate” or not. It doesn’t matter what music it is. It’s this couple’s decision.

This thread popped into my head last weekend, OP did you get it sorted?