Ryanne Molinari

Yesterday was my second wedding anniversary, and I’ve been planning this post since July 9th, 2021. As a musician, I was naturally passionate about selecting just the right music for my wedding ceremony. To my dismay, wedding music seems to be something of an afterthought for non-musicians, but it matters so deeply! 

A wedding is, above all, a covenant made before God. However the world might try to redefine a wedding ceremony, it remains a worship service, revealing what or who a couple worships. Selecting appropriately reverent music, then, was my first priority. Weddings also are sentimental occasions, though, so choosing music that was unique to our lives was also important. This can be a difficult balance to strike (cue violent war flashbacks to hearing show tunes at a church wedding), but I was and am thrilled with how the music at our wedding turned out.

First, I knew I wanted to include the dearest Carol Webb, one of my childhood piano teachers. Carol is divinely gifted with the ability to improvise and arrange hymns. She played as people entered and found seats, incorporating my favorite hymns, old and new, such as “In Christ Alone” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.” She set the mood perfectly, establishing the focus of our ceremony from the minute it began.

Carol continued to play as my bridesmaids entered, switching to an arrangement of “Love, Divine, All Loves Excelling.” This hymn tune can also feature the text of a wedding-specific hymn about Christ blessing the feast at Cana, which I love.

Once my bridesmaids were situated, my first organ teacher began to play a fanfare on “Amazing Grace.” This is the first hymn I ever learned and, through it, I first heard the gospel. When I was a baby, my dad would hum it to me every night. Walking down the aisle with my dad to this hymn nearly made me weep before I even reached the altar. This particular arrangement is also special because it was written by an organist and composer who encouraged my studies at Biola.

Once I was at the altar, we asked our guests to stand as the organ struck the opening chords of “Amazing Grace.” My high school choir teacher led the singing. Again, I was so overwhelmed and grateful to have my musical and spiritual role models lead us in worship. It felt like almost every season of my life was represented.

Because one of my bridesmaids is a professional performer, another is pursuing her doctorate in classical voice, and the other two have excellent voices, I felt like I had my own little choir backing me up. Singing “Amazing Grace” as a congregation put me at ease; finally, I was doing what I was used to!

A note: As I watch our wedding back, I feel I’m listening to the message for the first time. Billy and I are both used to being in front of a congregation, but were so nervous we pretty much blacked out during the actual sermon. Our pastor opened the ceremony with the following beautiful, convicting words:

“Dear friends, we are gathered together today on this wonderful July afternoon in the sight of God to establish a holy covenant between Billy and Ryanne. What you are about to witness is a testimony of God’s grace in the lives of this man and this woman as they pledge their love to one another. This is also a holy covenant. It is a covenant that is being made with God Himself. It is a commitment to the Lord first and foremost, that what God joins together in heaven today will be bound on earth as long as these two shall live. So in the midst of our joy and gladness, we stand here also reverently and soberly in the fear of God…”

Soberly and reverently in the fear of God.

These might not sound like cheerful words to many wedding-goers, but they resonate deeply with my soul. This is what we wanted our wedding to be: sober, reverent, God-fearing. Now, two years later, I pray earnestly that this is what our lives together in marriage will continue to be: sober, reverent, God-fearing. (For more thoughts on the fear of God, see this post.)

After the message and our vows, we sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” which is my grandparents’, Billy’s, and Billy’s parents’ favorite hymn. Finally, we prepared to recess, and I was thrilled to hear the opening strains of my favorite organ piece: a transcription of Bach’s “Wir danken, dir Gott.” (Thank goodness I was able to hire such an excellent organist! This piece is no joke!) Admittedly, I picked this piece as my wedding recessional long before I’d found a groom, but I think that’s something many musicians do. (Some girls dream of wedding dresses…some of us dream of organ recessionals. Some of us are really weird.)

Two years into marriage, and these songs continue to be a source of praise when things are going well and encouragement when times are tough. I hope that, on each anniversary, we will look back and continue to exult the Lord for His amazing grace in bringing us together and His enduring faithfulness in upholding our marriage as a sign of His love for the Church.

P.S. If you’d like to listen to our reception playlist, it’s full of sweet, simple songs that will surely put you in a lovely mood.