The Wedding Liturgy

On the occasion of a wedding day, there is shared a solemn, life-long promise, a covenant with each other and with God, witnessed by God's people, friends and relatives. The wedding ceremony is to be planned as a memorable and joyful religious experience for all.

That solemn promise is witnessed in a special, holy place - the parish church. All plans and preparations give honor to the occasion, that unique moment in life. Since all else is carefully chosen and planned, one would want to be just as careful and particular in the choice of texts and music within the wedding liturgy. Welcome the assistance of your parish priests and musicians in this regard.

Everyday love songs might not be appropriate in a ceremony celebrating Christian love. But the ceremony should support and confirm the couples shared love.

The Church also loves, and, out of this love asks that there be a high regard for this precious moment and that consideration be given for choices of texts and music in the light of proposed guidelines. When these are followed, faith is expressed and the wedding liturgy is enhanced as an act of worship.

There is much beautiful and exciting music speaking of God and Christ in married life, of the holiness, joy and beauty of marriage, of the Christian significance of the special day. Before choosing music, learn all the possibilities. Plan the wedding liturgy far in advance, just as we prepare all other aspects of the wedding celebration. To do this means a more joyful, faith-filled expression of Christian love.

Music For Your Wedding
Weddings are a wonderful experience here at St. Hugo's. It gives us a chance to share in the celebration of your marriage to each other. In order to assist you, we have put together some guidelines to help with your planning. As always, we are available to answer any questions you may have...

So first, please call St. Hugo's music department [248.644.5460]  before planning your music.  Please call at least two months before the wedding.  As with all liturgies at St. Hugo of the Hills, the Church  Music Office wants and needs to play an important role in the planning of the liturgical music for your wedding.  The church organists, John Sittard or David Enos, who will be responsible for the organ music at your wedding, will be glad to assist you in meeting and filling out the liturgical music portion of the liturgy planning sheet. It is important to note that, due to the sacredness of the occasion and setting, music whose text does not reference God is not appropriate and therefore we cannot use it before, during or after your wedding.  (Standard classical instrumental music is usually exempt from this).

Since sung prayer is of great importance in Catholic liturgy and because of the specialized training and knowledge of procedures required, a cantor from St. Hugo's will lead all sung liturgical music selections, in particular the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, parts of the Mass (when the liturgy is a Mass), as well as solo pieces appropriate to the occasion.  If there is a friend or relative who would like to sing for the liturgy, they are most welcome to sing one or two selections during the liturgy.  Rehearsal time is available one hour prior to the liturgy.  In accordance with the Church's liturgical documents, pre-recorded music is not permitted.

Also, because of the large number of difficult experiences with outside musicians, we strongly recommend that all instrumentalists be liturgically trained at the church, and have experience making music at St. Hugo's. Using musicians who are used regularly here at St Hugo's will be of great benefit to you also as there will be less rehearsal time, saving you extra charges. The church organists have a very complete list of musicians who have had such training and experience here at St. Hugo's. The list offers a very wide range of outstanding local musicians including, but not limited to, string players, trumpet players, flautists, and vocal and instrumental ensembles. We only use very good musicians who have played in the Symphony, Opera or other top-venue sites. You should have no problem selecting music and musicians appropriate to the liturgy, under the guidance of the church organists.

Fee Schedule (fees must be paid at least 48 hours prior to the wedding)

Organist- $250.00, Cantor- $175.00, additional instrumentalists- $175.00 per musician (there will likely be an additional charge for harpists)

Musical Selections
To help you become familiar with some musical options before your initial meeting with the church musicians, here is a list of music to help you.  Just click on the link, and you will be able to get a sample of the music. Once you've decided what music you would like to use, just click in the circle or square and it will be all compiled at the end of the document. HELPFUL HINT: I have included the text to all of the sung music. Find a text that you find particularly meaningful, and then afterwards listen to the music.  This list is a guide and is not meant to be exhaustive.  If you are not sure about the music for a particular part of the liturgy, simply leave it blank.  You can discuss other options with John or David at your consultation.