What music was played at an Elizabethan wedding?
Your question pre-supposes that Elizabethan churches and weddings were like modern ones, which would be an incorrect starting point. Firstly, churches at the time were very plain and without much furniture – certainly there was nothing for the congregation to sit on so everyone had to stand. The wedding service would be conducted by a minister who was almost illiterate (he would have no knowledge of Latin for example) and the whole ceremony would be very sombre. No music would be played because in most cases there was nothing to play it on – very few churches had an organ at this time. The festivities would take place before and after the ceremony – bride and groom might be accompanied to and from the church by a procession of family and friends, garlanded with flowers and dancing with musicians playing various instruments. The music would be traditional folk-songs, not church music.
