All Things Bright and Beautiful tops wedding charts
All things bright and beautiful' is the most popular hymn picked by couples marrying in a Methodist church a new survey reveals this week. The wedding favourite list includes: All Things Bright and Beautiful; Morning has Broken; Lord of all Hopefulness; Give me Joy in my Heart; Amazing Grace; Make me a Channel of Your Peace; As Man and Woman; Love Divine; Dear Lord and Father of Mankind and Lord of the Dance. The list is compiled from a survey of Methodist ministers, which will be part of a new report: 'Marriage in the Methodist Church', to be considered by the Methodist Conference in July 2002. When picking processional music and music to be played during the signing of the register, traditional music is still preferred by most couples. Wagner's Bridal March and Mendelssohn's Wedding March are the most popular pieces. Other pieces mentioned in the survey include Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary, Widor's Toccata, the theme from the film Titanic, Purcell's Trumpet Tune, Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Pachelbel's Canon and the Regimental march of the Wessex Regiment. Other composers mentioned are Scott Joplin, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gustav Holst. Several ministers say there has been an increase in the use of pre-recorded music. Some couples like to hear a CD of their favourite music as the register is signed or as they process in or out of church. Two songs particularly mentioned were Love Changes Everything and Up Where We Belong.