Here Comes My Bride All Dressed in White
Typically when brides walk down the aisle holding onto the arm of their daddies, you hear the traditional "Here Comes The Bride" play on the church organ. Dum-dum-da-dum, Dum-dum-da-dum. People are pretty familiar with it (You can hear it here.) English speaking Americans will sing to themselves "Here comes the bride, all dressed in white." Not too many know what comes next but the lyrics are:
"Here comes the bride
All dressed in white
Sweetly serene in the soft glowing light
Lovely to see
Marching to thee
Sweet love united for eternity."
But actually those aren't the lyrics. Though often called "The Wedding March," the song's true title is "Bridal Chorus." It comes from a German opera called "Lohengrin" by Richard Wagner, written in 1850. The bridal party sings it to the bride after the ceremony.
What the bridesmaids sing, in part, is this:
"Faithfully guided, draw near
to where the blessing of love shall preserve you!
Triumphant courage, the reward of love,
joins you in faith as the happiest of couples!"
Doesn't work rhythmically in our English as well as in the German but the words are sweet and encouraging
It was this song that Princess Victoria walked down the aisle of the Chapel Royal in St. James Palace in 1858 to her beloved German Prince Albert. And she was indeed dressed in white. Matter of fact, it is Victoria who is credited with starting the tradition of brides wearing white. Prior to that brides wore any color.
With your wedding less than 350 days from now, I don't know whether you've both decided that will be the song Ayla comes down the sandy aisle to or if you'll even have music. In our wedding, our bridesmaids came down the aisle of the church to "Trumpet Voluntary" written by Jeremiah Clarke (previously incorrectly attributed to Henry Purcell) in the 1700's and was titled "Prince of Denmark's March." I chose it because Princess Diana came down the aisle to it when she married Prince Charles in 1981. After the bridesmaids came down, I came down to "The Wedding March."
Another traditional and popular processional song is Pachelbel's Canon in D, but there are hundreds of different songs brides will step-together-step-together as they saunter down the aisle.
I don't know that it matters, or that you need a song at all. But the whole idea of a bride being presented to her husband by her father started when the father and groom arranged the marriage as a business deal, and the father literally handed her over. I am guessing little music accompanied such an exchange in these loveless arrangements.
Yet there will be another wedding in the future where a bride will join her Groom, and I can tell you there will be great music and singing that day. The church is called the "Bride of Christ" and John writes in Rev. 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready," and in Rev. 21:2 " I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." Rejoicing indeed.
If our marriages on earth are to parallel this relationship between the church and Christ - Ayla being presented to her beloved Rob - then there isn't enough pomp in the world to herald such a blessed celebration. So whatever you do, do it big, do it memorably and have fun!
Discussion: Have you both thought about if you will have music during the ceremony and if so what? Why have you made these selections? What do you think of the comparison of your marriage to that of Christ and the church?
Prayer: Almighty Father, to get to witness the New Jerusalem will be cause for celebration indeed. We rejoice in you, Lord, and thank you for processional music. May it glorify You. In Jesus, Amen.
Source: http://betrothedinfaithfulness.blogspot.com/2014/11/here-comes-bride.html
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