From the Director of Sacred Music, Dr. John Shaddy
A wedding is a sacrament celebrating the coming together of a man and a woman in marriage. Since music is a valuable and important aspect of any liturgy, the music at your wedding celebration can say something special to all in attendance. To help you do so, musical norms in keeping with the current policy of the Diocese of Trenton and the universal church have been established at St. Gregory the Great. Besides being of good quality, music must be liturgical (appropriate to the ceremony) and pastoral (appropriate to the particular worshipping community).
There is much good music that is appropriate for the occasion. This page provides samples of both organ and vocal music. Samples of some of the hymns and organ music can be found below, under Wedding Selections.
The following items are included on this page:
• Vocal music texts;
• Music suggestions for specific places in the ceremony;
• Wedding Music Selection form
It is required that you a have a cantor sing for the wedding ceremony. The Director of Sacred Music works with a small select group of outstanding vocalists, one of whom will cantor the wedding. In accordance with parish policy, only cantors from St. Gregory’s parish are permitted to cantor weddings. There is a separate fee for the cantor.
The organ is used for the processional and recessional. In accordance with parish policy, only our parish organist is permitted to use the instrument.
The Wedding Music Selection form must be completed and returned to the Music Office three months before the wedding. Simply drop it off at the Church Rectory Office, or mail it in. Be sure to include a check with the form as outlined below.
The following fees for the organist and vocalist are current as of November 2017:
• organist: $250.00
• vocalist: $200.00
The procedure for payment of fees is as follows: one check should be made out to Dr. John Shaddy for the amount of $450.00, attached to the completed wedding music selection form, and returned to the Rectory Office at least three months before the wedding.
Planning a wedding can be an exciting, but hectic, adventure. Please do not hesitate to contact the Director of Sacred Music if you have any questions. We will do our best to be of service.
Best wishes!
Dr. John Shaddy
Director of Sacred Music
St. Gregory the Great Church
jj38shad@aol.com
The following is a list of the organ and vocal selections, some of which that are featured on the sample tracks.
Vocal Selections:
Psalms:
Psalm 128: Blessed Are Those Who Fear The Lord
Psalm 103: The Lord Is Kind And Merciful
Psalm 118: This Is The Day
Psalm 145: I Will Praise Your Name Forever, My King and My God
Psalm 66: Let All The Earth Cry Out To God With Joy
Hymns:
Wherever You Go (Priory)
Wedding Song (Stucke)
I Have Loved You (Joncas)
We Have Been Told (Haas)
Hear Us Now, Our God and Father (Prichard)
Wedding Hymn (Wesley)
When Love is Found
Hail Mary, Gentle Woman (Landry)
Irish Wedding Song (Traditional)
Organ Selections:
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke)
Bridal Chorus (Wagner)
Wedding March (Mendelssohn)
Trumpet Tune (Clarke)
Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
These are hymns and organ selections that are particularly appropriate for weddings. There are other, more general hymns of praise and thanksgiving that are also appropriate. Contact the Director of Sacred Music if you would like some other suggestions.
The clips below provide samples of the accepted, time-honored, and typical music from which a wonderful musical experience for your wedding may be formed. The performances heard here are not meant to be the full length of the piece, but merely sufficient for you to hear the wonderful choices of music with which you can fill your wedding.
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 128: Blessed Are Those Who Fear The Lord
Psalm 103: The Lord Is Kind And Merciful
Psalm 118: This Is The Day
Psalm 145: I Will Praise Your Name Forever, My King and My God
Psalm 66: Let All The Earth Cry Out To God With Joy
Gospel Acclamation:
The gospel acclamation is an alleluia with one verse. Please select one verse from below.
1. “God is Love; let us love one another as God has loved us.”
2. “If we love one another, God will live in us in perfect love.”
3. “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.”
4. “If anyone loves me, he will hold to my words, and my father will love him, and we will come to him.”
Presentation of Gifts:
Hear Us Now, Our God and Father
Wherever You Go
Irish Wedding Song
I Have Loved You
Wedding Hymn
Communion:
We Have Been Told
Wedding Hymn
(in addition, communion and Eucharistic hymns are appropriate here, e.g.,One Bread, One Body, I Am The Bread of Life, The Supper of the Lord, Behold the Lamb, etc.)
Psalm 118: This Is The Day
Refrain: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.” (refrain)
The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done;
It is wonderful in our eyes. (refrain)
Psalm 128: Blessed Are Those Who Fear The Lord
Refrain: Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways !
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
Blessed shall you be, and favored.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
Behold, thus is the man who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
All the days of your life.
Psalm 103: The Lord Is Kind And Merciful
Refrain: The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And forget not all his benefits.
He pardons all your iniquities,
Heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
Crowns you with kindness and compassion.
Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
Slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
Nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
Psalm 145: I Will Praise Your Name Forever, My King and My God
Refrain: I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
I will extol you. O my God and King,
And I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
And I will praise your name forever and ever.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger and of great kindness.
The Lord is good to all,
And compassionate to all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord,
And let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
And speak of your might.
Psalm 66: Let All The Earth Cry Out To God With Joy
Refrain: Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
Sing praise to the glory of his name;
Proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!
Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
Sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
His tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
Through the river they passed on foot;
Therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger and of great kindness.
The Lord is good to all,
And compassionate to all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord,
And let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
And speak of your might.
Hear Us Now, Our God and Father
Hear us now, our God and Father, send Your Spirit from above
On this Christian man and woman who here make their vows of love!
Bind their hearts in true devotion endless as the seashore’s sands,
Boundless as the deepest oceans, blest and sealed by your own hands.
Give them joy to lighten sorrow! Give them hope to brighten life!
Go with them to face the morrow, stay with them in every strife.
As your word has promised, ever fill them with your strength and grace,
So that each may serve the other till they see you face to face.
May the grace of Christ, our Savior, and the Father’s boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit’s favor rest upon them from above.
Thus may they abide in union with each other and the Lord,
And possess in sweet communion joys which earth cannot afford.
Wherever You Go
Wherever you go I shall go.
Wherever you live so shall I live.
Your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God, too.
Wherever you die I shall die,
and there shall I be buried beside you.
We will be together forever,
and our love will be the gift of our life.
Wedding Song (There Is Love)
He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts,
rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.
The Union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain,
for whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name, there is love.
Well, a man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home,
they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one.
As it was in the beginning is now and ‘til the end,
woman draws her life from man and gives it back again, and there is love.
Well, then what’s to be the reason for becoming man and wife?
Is it love that brings you here, or love that brings you life?
For if loving is the answer, then who’s the giving for?
Do you believe in something that you’ve never seen before?
Oh, there’s love.
I Have Loved You
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
I have called you and you are mine.
Seek the face of the Lord and long for Him:
he will bring you his light and his peace. (refrain)
Seek the face of the Lord and long for Him:
he will bring you his joy and his hope. (refrain)
Seek the face of the Lord and long for Him:
he will bring you his care and his love. (refrain)
We Have Been Told
We have been told, we’ve seen his face
and heard his voice alive in our hearts;
“Live in my love, with all your heart,
as the Father as loved me, so I have loved you.
“I am the vine, you are the branches,
and all that live in me will bear great fruit.” (refrain)
“You are my friends if you keep my commands,
no longer slaves, I call you friends.” (refrain)
“No greater love is there than this:
to lay down one’s life for a friend.” (refrain)
Wedding Hymn
O God, to those who here profess their vows of life-long love,
grant joy and peace; their marriage bless with gladness from above.
Christ, grant that neither grief nor place nor life nor death may part
those who, enjoying your sweet grace, in you are one in heart.
Spirit of God, whom we adore: preserve, protect, defend,
increase, rekindle, and restore their love till life shall end.
The Irish Wedding Song
There they stand, hand in hand, they’ve exchanged wedding banns,
Today is the day they sing of their plans.
And all we who love them, just wanted to say,
May God bless this couple who marry today.
In good times, in bad times, in sickness and health,
May they know that riches aren’t needed for wealth.
Help them face problems they’ll meet on their way.
O God bless this couple who marry today.
When Love Is Found (O Waly Waly)
When Love Is Found and hope is home.
Sing and be glad that two are one.
When love explodes and fills the sky,
Praise God and share our Maker’s joy.
When Love has flow’red in trust and care
Build both each day that love may dare
To reach beyond home’s warmth and light
To serve and strive for truth and right.
Praise God for love, Praise God for life
In age or youth, husband or wife
Lift up your heads, let love be fed
Through death and life in broken bread.