I met with a couple recently to discuss music for their wedding.  They asked me if they could be introduced to the George Harrison song “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You.”  My immediate answer was “of course!”  We pride ourselves on great customer service and so if one of my brides and grooms has a specific vision for that moment, I’ll make it work.

So then we listened to the song together.  It has all the elements of what I would consider a great song for a grand introduction.  It’s upbeat and the lyrics are happy and positive.  Plus, it’s one of those songs that everyone knows.  As soon as the drums start people recognize it and will sing along to the chorus.

IntroductionThen we listened further.  The main challenge was that the original version starts with a quick 4 bars (4 x 4 in terms of musical structure) and Harrison starts singing even before the end of that fourth bar.  In other words there is less than 6 seconds of drum beat before the vocal starts.  As an MC, I prefer a little more of a “musical bed” – usually something in the 15-20 second range.  But no worries, I was able to loop the beginning of the song, giving me extra drum beats to use as back ground music so I could introduce the bride and groom and then Harrison would sing (my looped version is here on my Soundcloud page)  The end result: The bride and groom got exactly what they wanted and their grand introduction was not only a huge hit but it was personalized just for them.

And that’s the point of this blog.  Some couples have no real idea of what songs they want to use for their introductions.  And that’s fine.  We will help you select the right songs to enhance the moment.  Because that’s all that music is doing: adding energy and excitement to the introductions.  That’s why we recommend something upbeat (although if you want to walk into something mellower, you’ll probably hear us say the same thing: “of course!”)  As MCs we also want to use the beginning of the song as a musical bed and then try to time it so as we say the names of the bride and groom there’s a great lyric or musical transition which will raise the energy even higher.  Some songs fit perfectly that way (an old school classic example of this is 2 Unlimited’s song “Get Ready For This – where as an MC we just timed it out so we were saying the couple’s name at :16 where the vocal starts) and some, like the Harrison song, need to be tweaked or edited by us. Another example with a more modern song is the Tiesto remix of John Legend’s “All of Me.”   The energy in this remix is great AND the lyrics in the chorus are perfect.  However, the instrumentation in the beginning is too long and then the song (like most songs) starts with a verse.  But again, no worries.  I made a quick Introduction2edit and have used this song many times recently (there’s an example right here in this video clip.  Skip to :38 and you’ll hear this couple’s grand introduction.)

So again, whether you already have a specific song in mind or not, we at Elite can help you make this moment special.  If you’re looking for suggestions we have plenty to offer.  We’ll probably narrow things down by asking you what kind of music you love (rock, dance, oldies etc) and then we’ll play you some suggestions.  But, if you have a song that you’ve been dreaming about being introduced to, just let us know.  If it works without an edit, great.  But if we need to tweak it, we can do that too.  Our ultimate goal is to make your grand introduction an unforgettable moment.  It often sets the tone for a great party!