ICSJ Parish Wedding Music Guidelines

What music is appropriate for a Catholic Wedding?

All music chosen for your wedding at St Joseph Church should reflect the sacred reverence of the occasion, and working together with the liturgy, should express the values of love, faith and marriage. 

Thus music in the following categories should not be used:

  • Any music that is purely secular in nature.

  • Popular music favorites.

  • Songs that do not have an obvious relation to prayer.

Your selections will be made by choosing from a list of pre-selected repertoire. These music selections can be heard on our wedding music samples page here. Ceremonies celebrating marriage outside of Eucharist are still celebrations of the wedding sacrament and the above principles still apply.

We understand that your dream song to walk down the aisle to might be by Elvis– but please save this for the reception. The Archdiocese of Chicago has strict guidelines for what is acceptable to play at a Catholic Wedding. If there are any songs you’ve heard us play at Mass, those are all appropriate requests to make! We won’t be able to play an instrumental version of your favorite pop song while you walk down the aisle.

In the case of music being requested that is not on our list, the final decision as to the appropriateness of the piece of music will belong to the Director of Music in agreement with the pastor of St. Joseph Church. In the instance that the Director of Music and Pastor approve a piece not on our list, there may be an additional music fee for rehearsal, acquiring music, etc.

Wedding Musicians

To fulfill the needs of a Roman Catholic liturgical celebration, all weddings must have at least a pianist and a cantor (vocalist) as musicians for each wedding.

A pianist/vocalist from St. Joseph Church will automatically be hired for your wedding. In addition, you have the opportunity to select supplemental musicians for a separate fee. These musicians are hired and paid directly by you from our approved musician list.

You will have an opportunity to review our musicians on our Wedding Musicians page or to listen to them in person at one of our twice-a-year Wedding Music Fairs. 

Wedding Musician Fees

  • The cost of each additional musician is determined by the musicians themselves, and they are paid separately by the couple.

  • Should you choose not to utilize the pianist/vocalist from Saint Joseph’s Church, a bench fee of $200 will be charged.

Guest Musicians

Unfortunately, due to the high number of weddings that are performed at ICSJ, it is policy that guest musicians (not on the ICSJ approved musician roster) are not allowed. This is to ensure the quality of music that ICSJ is known for, and to make your wedding day as professional and seamless as possible. Any exceptions would be reviewed by the Music Director.

Thank you, in advance, for your understanding.