Ceremony Music
As part of the customisation of your ceremony you may choose what music you like to have as part of your special day. Please bear in mind that it is not possible to have religious music at a civil ceremony, however if a song only has an incidental reference to something that is religious, for example ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams then this is acceptable for a civil ceremony.
Music is optional and can be played at any (or all) of the following parts of the ceremony:
- As you walk down the aisle after the registrar has welcomed the guests
- During the signing of the register at the end of the ceremony
Music may be also played whilst your guests are entering the room and are waiting for the ceremony to start.
Digital Music
If your ceremony is taking place at the Chelsea Old Town Hall or at an Approved Venue, and you wish to provide your own digital music for your ceremony then you will need to list it (please provide the titles and artist/composer of the tracks) in the Ceremony Choices form. If your ceremony is taking place in the Chelsea Old Town Hall then you will need to make sure it is downloaded onto a separate playlist on your digital device and bring that device with you on the day.
Our music systems will support any iPhone, iPad, android smartphone, tablet or digital device that has a lightning port, audio jack, or is Bluetooth capable. We ask that you unlock any passcodes on your device so that whomever is controlling the music has easy access. We highly recommend that, if you are using a mobile phone, you put it on airplane mode before the ceremony begins as any incoming calls or notifications would be broadcast over the sound system, interrupting your music whilst it is playing.
We regret that the Chelsea Old Town Hall does not have public WiFi available, therefore we recommend that you download the tracks onto your device and do not rely on a live streaming service as this would rely on your 4G connection. This is usually good in the ceremony rooms but is of course subject to variations in quality of service dependent on the network. In addition, if you have set your phone to airplane mode as we recommend, you would not be able to access any live streaming services.
If your ceremony is taking place at an Approved Venue then please liaise with the responsible person for that venue to make the arrangements.
If your ceremony is taking place at the Chelsea Old Town Hall or The Mayors Parlour then you also have the choice of using tracks from our in-house playlists that have been pre-approved and which we will play for you on the day. We have the following tracks to choose from on our in-house Music For A Civil Ceremony.
Chelsea Old Town Hall Playlist
Chelsea Old Town Hall Playlist 1
If your ceremony is taking place at the Chelsea Old Town Hall or The Mayors Parlour then you also have the choice of using tracks from our in-house playlists that have been pre-approved and which we will play for you on the day. We have the following tracks to choose from on our in-house Music For A Civil Ceremony.
T1 - La Rejouissance, from Music for the Royal Fireworks
T2 - Handel -Eternal source of Light Divine, from Birthday Ode for Queen Anne
T3 - Verdi - Grand March from ‘Aida’
T4 - Mozart - Wedding March, from The Marriage of Figaro
T5 - Purcell - Trumpet Tune in D
T6 - Handel - Air, from The Water Music
T7 - Clarke - The Prince of Denmark’s March (Trumpet Voluntary)
T8 - Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
T9 - Massanet - Meditation, from Thais
T10 - Mozart - Voi Che Sapete, from the Marriage of Figaro
T11 - Handel - Ombra Mai Fu, from Xerxes
T12 - Lehar - Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz, from The Land of Smiles
T13 - Elgar - Chanson de Matin
T14 - Mozart - Soave Sia Il Vento, from Cosi Fan Tutte
T15 - JS Bach - Air on the G String
T16 - Puccini - O Mio Babbino Caro, from Gianni Schicchi
T17 - Elgar - Salut D’amour
T18 - Delibes - Dome Epairs, from Lakme
T19 - Mozart - 1st Movement (Allegro)
T20 - Mozart - 2nd Movement (Allegro Di Molto)
T21 - Mozart - 4th Movement (Rondo Allegro)
T22 - Verdi - Libiamo ne’lieti calici, from La Traviata
Chelsea Old Town Hall Playlist 2
T1 - Mozart - Overture
T2 - Handel - Hornpipe
T3 - Pachelbel - Canon in D
T4 - Wagner - Wedding March
T5 - Grieg - Morning
T6 - Purcell - Rondo
T7 - Vivaldi - Largo
T8 - Boccherini - Minuet
T9 - Mouret - Rondeau
T10 - Faure - Pavane
T11 - Bach - Sheep May Safely Graze
T12 - Grieg - Wedding Day in Troldhaugen
T13 - Handel - Where’er You Walk
T14 - Faure - Berceuse
T15 - Traditional Irish - I Would Be True
T16 - Bach - Largo Ma Non Tanto
T17 - Purcell - Allegro 3rd Movement
T18 - Vivaldi - Spring 1st Movement
T19 - Mendelssohn - Radetzky March March
T20 - Bach - Allegro 1st Movement
T21 - Mendelssohn - Wedding March
T22 - Stanley - Trumpet Voluntary
Live Music
If you wish to have live musicians for your ceremony then you will also need to list all the pieces of music in the Ceremony Choices form.
If your ceremony is taking place at an Approved Venue then please liaise with the responsible person for that venue to make the arrangements for the musicians.
If your ceremony is taking place in The Harrington Room or The Rossetti Room then please talk to us before booking any musicians, as space is somewhat restricted in both of these rooms and, dependant on the number of musicians you want, it may not be possible or it may effect the number of guests you may invite to your ceremony. If your ceremony is taking place in The Brydon Room then you may have up to four live musicians without discussing it with us first.
Any live musicians at your Chelsea Old Town Hall ceremony should enter the ceremony room first in order to set up. We regret that they cannot enter the room much in advance of the guests as the previous ceremony may not yet have finished. Live musicians must not perform too loudly, as there will be ceremonies in other rooms taking place at the same time as yours. We are afraid that it will not be possible for musicians to use the electricity points to connect electronic instruments, as these will not have been PAT tested by the council prior to your ceremony and they will not be covered by our public liability insurance, therefore we recommend that traditional acoustic instruments are used.
Once you have chosen which music you would like, please indicate those choices in the Ceremony Choices form.
