Wedding Ceremony Song Suggestions

Apr 24

First of all, it’s difficult for every wedding couple to pick songs. Unless you have a song that is already “your jam” as a couple, you’re going to be searching through online lists, asking advice from your family, and taking note when a good song comes on in the grocery store. Everyone is desperate to find just the right song.

Having said that, I do have some guidelines for choosing some good songs for your ceremony:

The processional song (the song that plays while you enter the ceremony) should be a little slower, and a little more ballad-y. If you’ve got a live musician playing it, they can make virtually any song more ballad-y, even a fast song.
Choose songs that speaks to you lyrically. This is more true here than any other song choice that you will make on your wedding day. Make sure the songs express a sentiment that feels right to you.
Couples will often choose a song for the wedding party, and a separate song for the bride. This offsets the bridal entrance and makes it more special. It also gives the officiant a natural break to ask your guests to stand.
Don’t worry about how long your songs are. It’s pretty hard to know long your walk will take, and is dependent upon many different factors; how far you have to walk, how fast people go, spacing between people processing, etc. Any experienced ceremony musician will make sure that the song lasts as long as it needs to, then wrap up the song at the appropriate time.
A recessional song (the song that plays when you exit) is best when it’s upbeat, lively, and joyous. The moment calls for an ecstatic punctuation for your wedding ceremony, so pick a song up to the task.
A note about singing a song versus playing an instrumental version. Instrumental versions of songs are pretty low key and subtle. These often work best as a processional song. The human voice is very compelling to hear, so it grabs your attention. I’d use a vocal version of a song for recessional.

I also have some specific suggestions for song choices. These are songs that are all popular, work well in my experience, and are universally loved.

Processional Songs (Click for Spotify Link):