Wedding - Monica Schley

Special Request Wedding Ceremony Songs

Posted on November 17, 2025December 16, 2025

I like learning new songs. Many brides request special wedding ceremony songs for their day and I’m always happy to accommodate. Thankfully, the sheet music to the song is often available online. I’ll usually purchase the sheet music intended for piano, because piano translates so well to harp.

Help Selecting Wedding Ceremony Songs

That said, I have a pretty large repertoire already, with songs that are tested and true. You can read my most popularly played wedding songs here: Music Songlist. Its a good place to start from if you’re not sure what kind of music you’d like to have at your wedding.

Monica Schley, wedding harpist and a bride who requested unique wedding ceremony music

In general, I would say that a wedding ceremony songs fall into approximately three kinds of programs, in addition to prelude and postlude music. Here are some variations:

#1
– Processional
– Interlude (optional)
– Recessional

#2
– Processional
– Bridal Entrance
– Interlude (optional)
– Recessional

…and for the very simple event:
#3
– Processional
– Recessional

How Special Request Songs Work Best

If a couple has special requests for wedding ceremony songs, I do my best to make that happen. Here’s an example of some songs I’ve learned for particular situations, like themed weddings and holiday parties:

Some Specially Requested Wedding Ceremony Songs

Dreams, The Cranberries – Dedicated to the passing of the lead singer of the Cranberries—Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan.
A Thousand Years, Christina Perri – is a music artist and actress, known for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) and Trouble with the Curve (2012).
Falling Slowly, from the movie, Once (Glen Hansard). I also recommend the film which is such an authentic and beautiful love story.
Flower Duet, Leo Delibes – Yes, I can transcribe an opera song to harp, but it is not easy.
Hotel California, The Eagles – There have been many versions, here is the original.
In My Life, The Beatles – You will notice this version is a little different. It was take 1 in the recording studio.
Lovesong, The Cure – I enjoying transcribing 80s music for harp, the music that I grew up on.
No Surprises, Radiohead – The guitar arpeggios in Radiohead’s compositions are perfect for harp.
Skinny Love – Bon Iver – Having grown up in Wisconsin, Bon Iver’s early music holds a special place in my heart.
Sweet Child O’Mine – Guns N’Roses – I even play heavy metal band’s softer songs.
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Annie Lennox – Songs that were originally created on synthesizers can even be transcribed to harp.
Take On Me, Aha – More synthesizers of the 80s that I have transcribed to harp.
When You Wish Upon A Star, Leigh Harline and Ned Washington – This Disney song is over 100 years old!

I Can Also Provide Wedding Music in Duet and Trio Formats

At this time of writing this, I have been performing professionally for 30 years. In that time, especially from my years as a Seattle harpist, I have met a lot of amazing musicians. I have developed great friendships because of playing songs together with these talented musicians. Performing together often started in clubs with larger ensembles when I was in my 20s, and turned into long term friendships.

Janet Utterbach, violinist, and I play weddings when asked for wedding music Duets. She has performing experience playing in the Yakima Symphony, Bellevue Symphony, Northwest Symphony, and Tacoma Symphony (2nd violin and 1st violin.) Janet has been teaching violin with the Community Music Department at the University of Puget Sound since 1991.

Nate Omdal, bassist, was in my band, the Daphnes, and now we occasionally play weddings together. Bassist, Composer, Producer, Nate Omdal is one of the Northwest’s most dependable producers and his work can be heard all over the city of Seattle. Nate has provided arrangements or worked as musical director for The Seattle International Film Festival, million dollar fundraisers, as well as the Seattle Art Museum, and Bumbershoot.

Josh Rawlings, pianist, has been my favorite musician to play weddings with because of his ability to play anything. He is a GRAMMY-Nominated and Platinum Album Award winning composer, studio musician and performer. He is the pianist featured on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ multi-GRAMMY winning album ‘The Heist’. Josh’s signature sound can be heard on ‘Same Love’ and ‘Downtown’ along with many other major albums.

Other musicians I play weddings with are violinist Julie Baldridge, and cellist Maria Scherer Wilson. With such a depth of resources, your special requested wedding ceremony songs can take on a whole new life when a trio or duo play them.

(Updated, originally published June, 2018)

One Summer’s Day As a Harpist

Posted on July 31, 2025August 27, 2025

This is one summer’s day as a harpist. I couldn’t ask for more perfection weather-wise. Blue on blue. Gentle waves and breeze. Seventy degrees. My ferry docks and so begins my work day.

The Arrival

Today’s wedding is in Issaquah at a mansion/estate/farm on a once mellow country road. Now, there are paragliders floating down the blue mountain foothills in the distance. Next to that, is a park and ride, full of RVs and cars, from tourists, commuters, and some probably camping out. The traffic is a non-stop flow of suburban stop and go.

On the drive there, I think to write a theme in B, calling it “Blue Cascade.” But I am looking for my exit, not a melody. Perhaps this will make a nice assignment for myself later.

Lakewold Gardens 2025 Poetry You Will Love

Posted on February 28, 2025August 27, 2025

Usually, I am hired to play harp at venues like Lakewold Gardens, but this year, my poetry has brought be there. I am so pleased to be included in Lakewold Gardens’ 2025 Poetry in the Gardens. Each year, Lakewold invites local poets to submit original poems to the Winter Garden Poetry competition. My poem, “An Edible Garden” was accepted and is now installed in the Garden’s self-guided tour. You can listen to the collection of 10 poems on the website as well.

Between March and through the end of summer, you can listen to the poetry as you wander the gardens. Watch for the signs and scan the QR codes with your phone. Its an absolutely stunning historic venue in south Tacoma. By chance, I’m also booked for a wedding at Lakewold Gardens in May!

You Need Harp Music for Rituals and Rites of Passage

Posted on December 14, 2023September 21, 2025

We come to rituals to commemorate a moment in time, an event, or a loved one: a birth, love, a death. Often music plays a part in these rituals. Harp music in particular can be a meaningful addition to any ceremony. You need harp music for rituals and rites of passage. My work playing music for several decades at rites of passage and ceremonies of all sorts has given me a unique perspective on the process of ritual.

I have played harp since 1990, and I have been studying music earlier than that. As a young Catholic child, I was introduced to many ceremonies of the church – for holidays, feast days, seasons of the year, and of course, various passages of human life: birth, graduation, marriage, anniversary, and death. Since then, I would guess I’ve played music for nearly 600 weddings, and 500 funerals, memorials, and vigils.

Often, when music is a part of a reverent ceremony, it is a service, rather than entertainment. For instance, when I worked for Providence Hospice as a complementary therapist, I played harp for clients whose life might be on the threshold of death at any minute. There are certain styles and sounds that are most effective at this time. Sometimes my client didn’t have any loved ones present, so the gift of music meant all the more to them.

How to Pick Out Wedding Ceremony Songs

Posted on December 31, 2022October 23, 2023

I played my first wedding ceremony while I was in high school, for young friends in love who hired me to play Pachelbel’s Canon on harp. It was a traditional church wedding, and since then, I can estimate I’ve played over 500 weddings. It certainly is something I enjoy offering to others and I feel honored to be invited to play music for these ceremonies.

The first thing I always ask my clients when they are choosing wedding music is: what is the general feel of your wedding? A wedding theme can help a bride and groom pick out songs, and it can help me better understand who they are as a couple. Is the ceremony rustic? Is it upscale? Boho? A traditional church ceremony? Is there a cultural theme?

Seattle Harpist — A rustic forest wedding playing duets with Maria Scherer Wilson
(Hood Canal, 2022)

Answers to these questions help narrow in the vibe that the music will create. A rustic farm wedding might call for Americana or Irish folk songs. An upscale downtown hotel might call for classical pieces or jazz. A traditional church wedding will likely involve Bach and pieces you might think of synonymous with weddings (Here Comes the Bride/Bridal March) as well as religious. Finally, a culturally themed wedding will include songs from that nationality or region of the world. For instance, a Chinese wedding might include old world folk songs like Cherry Blossom, with a modern flair like video game songs, or movie theme music. For a traditional Indian wedding, I improvised a lot in Eastern keys.

The next question I ask a couple, and perhaps more obvious, is what kind of music do you like?