to wish i'd never gone over to itsyrdayhun.com?

[nickelbabe]

i know i'm not!

i've come back because i'm fed up of trying to drum into these women some decent hymn suggestions.

i quote "we've chosen Give me joy in my heart and Lord of the Dance for our service because everyone will know them and at least they'll sing"

no they won't!!!
they'll just wonder why you've chosen "songs" that they knew in junior school and weren't any good then!

Lord of the dance? WTF? it's not an appropriate wedding hymn!!

there are about 80 million hmyns around: most of which are suitable for weddings and LOOOOAAADDDS that your guests will have heard of!! why choose rubbish???????

Went to a wedding last year and they had the hymn with the wors along the lines of "If i was a fuzzy wuzzy bear..." etc. DD was in her element - she knew them all and sang wit gusto!

We had Morning has Broken by Cat "if you want to sing out sing out" Stevens.

Jersuselum just because I like it and can't remember the third one so evidently was not memorable.

If I were getting married, I'd have How Great thou art and guide me o thou great redeemer

I am in love with those songs

if I was a butterfly I'd thank you lord coz I could fly
If I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear I'd thank you Lord for my fuzzy wuzzy hair but I just thank you father for making me me.

For you gave me a heart
and you gave me a smile
you gave me jesus
and you made me your child
but I just thank you father for making me me

WISH we'd had that! Love the tune. Hope actions were included.

I think we had Lord of the Dance. But I may be mistaken.

And Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

Can't remember the third.

oh we might have had morning has broken rather than Lord of the Dance. Hmmm I need t find an ancient order or service.

How Great thou art is lovely.

There is a hymn called "The bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night" (true fact), but funnily enough, not many people choose it.

Friends had 'One More Step along the World I Go' at their wedding, which I thought was a fantastic choice when starting out on a new journey together as husband and wife. Think they had 'Make Me a Channel of Your Peace' too.

I think the problem with most hymns, especially when sung by those who don't know them well, is the speed. Hyms should not be slow dirges, but mostly upbeat, happy and relatively speedy marches

FrozenFlowers so relieved!

now can we stop this nonsense about fuzzy wuzzy bears! yes, it's a great hymn, but it's only suitable for a kids' service (or Wednesday Club!)

the Dambusters March is God is Our Strength and Refuge, and is a brilliant hymn! the organist at my old church used to get a standing ovation whenever he played it as his voluntary!

i've even told OH that i'd like him to play it as my entrance (because he's fed up to the back teeth of Here come the bride, even though I still love it : in his words "i've played it more times than i've had hot dinners!")

good choices LewisFan

but not too fast sparkle as that's even worse if you don't know them! our sub-organist has a habit of playing hymns he dislikes at a really fast pace.

Nesta i'm going off to google that hymn!

right: its title is "Behold the Bridegroom Cometh" and the wrods are:

Behold the Bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night,
and blest is he whose loins are girt, whose lamp is burning bright;
but woe to that dull servant, whom the Master shall surprise
with lamp untrimmed, unburning, and with slumber in his eyes.

Do thou, my soul, beware, beware, lest thou in sleep sink down,
lest thou be given o'er to death, and lose the golden crown;
but see that thou be sober, with a watchful eye, and thus
cry--"Holy, holy, holy God, have mercy upon us."

That day, the day of fear, shall come; my soul, slack not thy toil,
but light thy lamp, and feed it well, and make it bright with oil;
who knowest not how soon may sound the cry at eventide,
"Behold the Bridegroom comes! Arise! Go forth to meet the bride."

Beware, my soul; beware, beware, lest thou in slumber lie,
and, like the Five, remain without, and knock, and vainly cry;
but watch, and bear thy lamp undimmed, and Christ shall gird thee on
his own bright wedding-robe of light--the glory of the Son.

its origins are:
"Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of Holy Tuesday, the Orthodox Church observes a special service known as the Service of the Bridegroom. Each evening service is the Matins or Orthros service of the following day (e.g. the service held on Sunday evening is the Orthros service for Holy Monday). The name of the service is from the figure of the Bridegroom in the parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13." (from lent.goarch.org/bridegroom_services/learn/
i can only find this youtube file forthe tune

i've also found this: from small church music dot com
The Bridegroom soon will call us
Words: J. Walther
Metre: 7.6.7.6.D
The Bridegroom soon will call us:
Come, all ye wedding-guests!
May not His voice appal us
While slumber binds our breasts!
May all our lamps be burning
And oil be found in store
That we, with Him returning,
May open find the door!

There shall we see delighted
Our dear Redeemer's face,
Who leads our souls benighted
To glory by His grace.
The patriarchs shall meet us,
The prophets' holy band,
Apostles, martyrs, greet us
In that celestial land.

They will not blush to own us
As brothers, sisters dear;
Love ever will be shown us
When we with them appear.
We all shall come before Him
Who for us man became,
As Lord and God adore Him,
And ever bless His name.

Our Father, rich in blessing,
Will give us crowns of gold
And, to His bosom pressing,
Impart a bliss untold,
Will welcome with embraces
Of never-ending love,
And deck us with His graces
In blissful realms above.

In yonder home shall never
Be silent music's voice;
With hearts and lips forever
We shall in God rejoice.
The angels shall adore Him,
All saints shall sing His praise
And bring with joy before Him
Their sweetest heavenly lays.

In mansions fair and spacious
Will God the feast prepare
And, ever kind and gracious,
Bid us its riches share.
There bliss that knows no measure
From springs of love shall flow,
And never-changing pleasure
His bounty will bestow.

Thus God shall from all evil
Forever make us free,
From sin and from the devil,
From all adversity,
From sickness, pain, and sadness,
From troubles, cares, and fears,
And grant us heavenly gladness
And wipe away our tears.

which is quite pretty.

Cwm Rhonda sang badly is awful.

And honestly - don't ever force your organist to play something just because you're paying them, if they say they can't play it you HAVE to believe them....

My parents refused to let me listen to the recording of their wedding, I did manage to find it in my teens and listen to it.............it was dreadful (although organist hadn't said she couldn't play x,y,z she just wasn't very good - and the result would be the same).

it's a shame to be stuck with an organist who's crap, but actually, i do believe that if i'm paying someone to play for me, that if they don't know the tune, that they learn it for me.

just asked OH (who is a church organist and plays for weddings) and he agrees: if he doesn't know a piece someone has requested that he will learn it. precisely because he is being paid for it. and he said that he's done that many times.

that is of course assuming that the crap organist you're stuck with actually has the ability to learn it.

I have refused to play Widor's Toccata before now (only been asked once) at a wedding. Unfortunately the simplified version for people with silly small hands just doesn't come anywhere near the proper version.

When I explained to them they were fine about it (and picked something much nicer and less boring).

aw Toccata, i keep forgetting you're one of them!
(rather unfortunate nickname, then? )
(and obviously i was referring to your parents' organist, not you)(furious back-pedalling....)

how many manuals have you got?
can you play it in a different register?

or was it really because it's too boring for you?

OH is currently learning that Vierne that "every organist should know" because he's never dared to learn it before.

but he's got bloody huge hands, too.

oh, he also said that he thought if the organist couldn't learn what you asked for, that said organist should be willing to get a stand-in for the occasion.

No I have small hands - I can't physically reach the big stretches in the proper version

I could have got a stand in............but they'd have been worse than me (not being smug the only "stand-in" I have is a self confessed "reluctant" organist).

I think it's much better to have easier music played well if you're limited on the talent of organist you have than something you really "want" murdered.

I'm one of those unfortunate short arse organists who has spent the last 20yrs getting the "oh can you actually reach the pedals" comments (only played on - very very old - organ where I couldn't actually reached the pedals lol)

we used to have one of those (short-arsed organist) only, he was also not good.
our organ stool sits on blocks and he always had to kick them out to play. the other organists used to get really annoyed because when it was their turn, they'd have to put the blocks back in.
he's one of those men who thinks he's really wonderful at everything though, so would complain about other people/musicians playing something badly. but you'd always know when he was playing because there'd be a huge wrong chord in the first line of the hymn!
but! we still can't slag him off, because his "proper" job is organ tuner/repairer!

the manuals comment was that OH sometimes will play a stretch with one hand on one manual and one on the next. that i can't even stretch a 7th, it's a good tip! (although i am in envy of anyone who can play the organ because it's bloody complicated)

just aware that if you live anywhere me, you might possibly know who i'm slagging off.......