How to Request a Custom Song for Your Wedding

Start With the Moment, Not Just the Song

Before you send me a title, think about where the song actually fits. A song that feels perfect for a first dance might feel out of place during the processional, and a song that works beautifully as background music during cocktail hour may lose all its meaning if it is rushed through in ninety seconds while your grandmother is being seated. Tell me the moment first, and the song second. That context changes how I arrange it, how long I stretch it, and whether it needs vocals at all.

Couples often assume a request has to be a love song. In practice, the most memorable requests I have learned have been childhood favorites, a song from a parent's wedding, a hymn with family history, or something completely unexpected that just makes the two of you smile. There is no wrong answer here. The only real requirement is that it means something to you, because that meaning is what the room will feel, even if they do not know the backstory.

Give the Song Time to Become Yours

Learning a piece well enough to perform it with feeling, not just competence, takes real preparation time. I ask for requests as early as possible, ideally a few months out, so I can find or build a proper arrangement, work out the vocal range if you want it sung, and rehearse it enough that it sounds natural rather than note-perfect but stiff. Last-minute requests are not impossible, but the earlier I have the song, the more freedom I have to shape it around your specific moment rather than just playing it straight through.

This is also the point where it helps to decide between solo piano and piano with vocals. Some songs live entirely in the melody and harmony and translate beautifully to piano alone. Others depend heavily on the lyric, and stripping the words away changes the song's whole effect. I am happy to talk through your specific request and tell you honestly which treatment I think will land better, rather than defaulting to whichever service you originally booked.

Popular Songs, Deep Cuts, and Everything Between

Requests I receive range from widely known pieces that have already been arranged a hundred different ways to genuinely obscure songs that require me to work everything out by ear from a recording. Both are welcome. Familiar songs give guests an immediate emotional anchor, since they already know the original and can hear how the live version honors it. Lesser-known songs give the moment a more personal, private feeling, since the meaning belongs primarily to the two of you rather than to the room. Neither approach is more correct than the other, and many couples end up mixing both across their ceremony and reception.

Whatever the song, it is worth listening to a few different versions of it before you finalize the request, tempo, key, and instrumentation. A slow, sparse piano arrangement of a song you know as a big pop production can feel completely different in the room, sometimes better, sometimes not what you pictured. Sharing a reference recording or even just describing the mood you want helps me build something that matches your intention rather than guessing.

How to Actually Make the Request

Practically speaking, the request itself is easy. You can reach me directly through the contact page with the song title, artist, and where in the day you would like it placed, and I will let you know whether it fits well as written or whether I would suggest an adjustment. If you want a sense of how I approach arrangements before you commit to a request, listening to a few recordings is a good way to get a feel for my style on both piano-only and piano-with-vocals pieces.

Pricing for a custom request does not work differently than the rest of the day. It is built into the flat rates on the pricing page for ceremony coverage, or the hourly solo piano and piano-and-vocals rates for receptions and cocktail hours, so there is no separate fee just for learning something new. If you are outside Nashville, the only additional cost is travel, detailed on the travel page, calculated from downtown at a flat per-mile rate. The request itself, however specific or unusual, is simply part of building your day's music around what actually matters to you.