Wedding reading
A recorded song
The family’s choice
“A recorded song” by The family’s choice is a piece of music read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 4 minutes read aloud, usually by a musician. It is still in copyright, so the words are not reprinted here — the reader brings a printed copy.
Why the words are not printed here
Name the track and the artist as the family say them, and let the venue handle the playing. Three things to settle beforehand: who presses play, whether it is the full track or faded at a set point, and whether you sit down while it plays. You almost always should — standing at the front for four minutes with nothing to do is the longest four minutes of the day.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
For anything modern. Add the title, and the run-sheet gives it a cue and a slot.
Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: their favourite song · played not sung · a slideshow · the entrance or the exit · anything modern.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “A recorded song” take to read aloud?
“A recorded song” takes about 4 minutes read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “A recorded song”?
A musician rather than a reader. “A recorded song” runs about 4 minutes, and whoever is running the sound needs the exact cue point agreed in advance.
Can “A recorded song” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. It is still in copyright, so we name it and point you at a copy rather than reprinting the words. Name the track and the artist as the family say them, and let the venue handle the playing. Three things to settle beforehand: who presses play, whether it is the full track or faded at a set point, and whether you sit down while it plays. You almost always should — standing at the front for four minutes with nothing to do is the longest four minutes of the day.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.