Weddings are a main-stay for the working musician - make sure your gig book is well stocked and ready! May we suggest:
Solo:
Prelude No. 1 - J. S. Bach
This prelude is a favourite for guitarists. This arrangement takes a different tack by re-configuring the arpeggio to a pattern that is more guitaristic, resulting in a more flowing performance. For added charm, play with a capo at the 5th fret...
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - J. S. Bach
A piece that needs no introduction...
Trio:
Trumpet Voluntary and Trumpet Tune - J. Clarke
Wedding music for your guitar trio...
Sleepers Awake - J. S. Bach
"Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Awake, calls the voice to us), BWV 140, also known as Sleepers Wake, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, regarded as one of his most mature and popular sacred cantatas. In this arrangement, guitars 1 and 2 share the melody and the chorale (hymn) tune entrances in alternation; the chorale is notated in octaves to give the option of playing in one or the other register (or both) as fits your artistic desire...
Quartet:
Wedding Day at Troldhaugen - E.Grieg
Wedding music for your quartet!
Canon in D - J. Pachelbel
This perennial favourite works well for 4 guitars and is a sure crowd-pleaser. Enjoy!
Flute and Guitar:
Canon in D - J. Pachelbel
A perennial favourite at weddings...
Alla Hornpipe - G. F. Handel
A lovely wedding gift from Handel...
Violin and Guitar:
Ave Maria - C. Gounod
It's hard to imagine something more exquisite than Bach's Prelude No. 1, yet this is what Charles Gounod achieved when he composed an Ave Maria using the prelude as his foundation. Truly remarkable...
Ave Maria, D Major - F. Schubert
I mostly play this piece at weddings, and since it is often several weeks or months between performances, I like to use this 'simplified' arrangement because I can get it under my fingers again quickly. I like the resonance of the drop D tuning, however for those weddings when it is not convenient to tune down, I use an arrangement in E major, also published on this site.