Photo: Supplied; Pixabay
Committing to a life-partner in a marriage or civil union is a hugely significant event in anyone's life.
Highly emotional and always celebratory, it's no wonder that carefully selected songs often play an important role in such ceremonies.
According to the last census, there were close to 19,000 marriages and civil unions in New Zealand in 2023. Between a quarter and a third of these events were second time around (or more) for the participants.
Today Ian Chapman discusses song choices for such unions, avoiding the obvious mushy and sickly sentimental ones so often chosen by first-timers and focusing instead on popular choices by those who kissed a few frogs on the way to the church.
Ian Chapman is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Music at the University of Otago.
