Perhaps you've heard the saying... "Music soothes the savage beast". Basically, it is describing the power of music to relax and calm the emotions. We're not implying that you'll be a "savage beast" on your wedding day, but a little music to calm the emotions might just come in handy...
Music As A Stress Management Tool
Music is a great tranquilizer. Violin music has been shown to be particularly relaxing at 60 beats per minute - the pace of many Baroque pieces. In fact, this type of music is used in stress management classes and with individuals to help them to learn how to chill out. Many New Age songs can be very relaxing as well as some smooth jazz pieces. How can you use music to help you relax both before and during your wedding ceremony? Here are a few of ways:
1) Make choosing your music a pleasant, relaxing experience.
Planning a wedding is tough work. The details can be overwhelming, and if you don't give yourself some time outs, you may well be exhausted by the time your wedding gets here. Use choosing the music for your ceremony as a chance to stop and take a time out in the middle of all your planning.
It can be very meaningful, satisfying and enjoyable to pause all of the planning for a while, sit down with your fiancé, and listen to some of the music that you could potentially use for your ceremony. Not only is this type of music usually pleasant to listen to, but much of it is also romantic, and it will give you and your fiancé a much needed chance to focus on the love you have for each other - something that sometimes gets lost in the midst of the chaos!
2) Use music as a chance to relax during the ceremony.
A well placed interlude song (any song played during the ceremony for a minute or more when there are no words being spoken) can give you a chance to take a time out and catch your breath during the ceremony. By its very nature, the ceremony is focused on the bride and groom. Between the march up the aisle, the declaration of intent, the vows, the ring exchange, etc. you'll be pretty busy.
Use an interlude close to the middle of the ceremony to take a bit of the focus off of you, and to give you a chance to pause, look around a little, and reflect on the happiness of the moment. This is your wedding day after all - take a minute to enjoy it! One good spot to place the interlude is just before or after the vows. We discuss the interlude in more depth in another section of this website, but again, we're mentioning it here because it makes such a great stress management tool!
3) Schedule music time outs as part of your busy day.
Yes, planning a wedding can be difficult, and yes, it can produce anxiety and worry and, in general, stress a person out. One of the keys to managing your stress is to include scheduled time-outs during the busy days planning and leading up to your wedding.
We know what you're thinking - I can't even find enough time to do everything I'm supposed to do, how am I supposed to find enough time to relax too? We're not talking about massive amounts of time here, more like 10 or 15 minutes in the middle of a busy day or at the end of one just to sit or lie down, and listen to some of your favorite relaxation music. Remember, the time to relax is when you don't have time for it... (Think about it).
Now that you know how to use music as a relaxtion tool, read on to find out how to use music as a negotiation technique.