Please don’t fear! You don’t have to know a lot of theory. All you need to do is end a phrase, play a V/7 chord followed by a I chord, and you’re done.
Trust me, no one who is listening will know that you didn’t play the processional exactly as it was written. It really and truly isn’t necessary to practice several different wrap up points.
The rule of thumb is to play to the end of your contract or until the room is empty, whichever comes first, provided you aren’t playing the cocktail hour.
Both her requests, no Wagner, and Canon for the Bride, are actually very common, Sidney. You should find out which part of the Canon she wants, though, since you probably won’t have time to play much of it; does she want the slow part or the faster part?
I’m about to play my first wedding too, in a few months. Luckily, the bride (a close friend) gave me plenty of time to practice. She also wants Paco Bell’s Canon but she asked me if I could integrate it with– get this– the DJ. I love her too dearly to contradict her musical choice at her own wedding, so I said yes immediately and regretted it as soon as I started thinking on the way home. Have any of you done this before? It is this DJ http://www.gatheringguide.com/ec/bands_djs_entertainment.html and he’ll be playing CDs. I’m not sure which song yet– the bride still has to make up her mind. Do you have any suggestions? Does it seem feasible? Thank you,