Through the years, and thousands of weddings, we have developed a massive library of songs for couples to choose from! But beyond that, Dominic has developed some mad skills when it comes to suggesting songs (and the timing for those songs) that will best fit the mood and the couple. 

As you start to plan the music for your wedding, It’s hard to remember every song you’ve heard in your lifetime and choose the perfect one for you.

To help ease the stress around choosing your wedding music, we have created a wedding music planner that is available as a downloadable purchase from our shop! 

Our music planner is the perfect thing to help you get started! You can fill in the significant songs that are needed throughout the day, along with our suggestions for them! And it really helps make the process go much smoother. 

We are sharing a few of our all-time favorite song suggestions in this post but know that there are a lot more choices than what we list here!

Songs for the Ceremony

Don’t want to use Here Comes the Bride or Canon in D? They are popular, and there are some beautiful versions of them but there are so many other wonderful options you may want to consider!

Note: If you are getting married in a church, they might have some guidelines about what music you can or can’t use. They may also require you to use their organ player or keyboardist, so check with them beforehand so you know where you stand with it. 

When you play the processional, the first kiss, and the recessional songs, you’re probably not going to get the full song in there, you’ll just want to highlight the part of it that works best with the moment. In the planner, we break down the ceremony songs a lot more, so that it’s not just what song, but where in the song you want to use. When we suggest a song for the bride’s entrance, we also let you know that minute 1:19, for example, is perfect to start the song at when she starts walking. That way, you can let your DJ or friend who’s doing the music know exactly when to start the music. 

Here are our favorite songs to use for the ceremony:

Bride’s entrance – Classic Romantic

• At Last by Eda James (this one is kind of where it all started for us, and it became our company name – At Last Entertainment)
• If you Love Her by Flores Black
• Feels Like Home by Chantel Kreviasik – It’s just a really beautiful song that describes how you most likely feel about each other. 

Brides entrance – Country Songs:

• From the Ground Up by Dan and Shay – It’s just a phenomenal song that really hits home because it talks about how you built this relationship, especially if you’ve been engaged for a while, or you’ve been together for a long time and now you’re just getting married. Lyrically, it’s just wonderful.
• Better Together by Luke Combs – A nice simple song for almost any part of the ceremony
• I Get To Love You by Rale 

Bride’s entrance – Movie Soundtrack:

• Once Upon a Time from The Princess Bride – This one is timeless and beautiful
• The Forrest Gump Theme – Just a simple sweet melody with a good pace, it’s really beautiful 

Recessional:

• No Matter Where You Are by Us the Duo – There is specifically a wedding version of this one that is just perfect. 
• Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding – There’s a really good moment at the end where she says, “what are you waiting for”, then moves into an upbeat riff. It’s good. 
• Black and White by Nile Horan – At 31 seconds the lyrics are perfect for a recessional

Songs for Introducing the New Couple

The recessional song after you say I Do, and the introduction song for the couple are very interchangeable. Both are great moments, and we often look for songs in these two categories that have that good crescendo that matches the energy of the moment!

.Here are some of our favorites:

Introducing the couple:

• Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You by Frankie Valli – It works really great if you start it right at 1:19
• We Found Love by Rhianna

Introducing the wedding party

• High Hopes by Panic at the Disco
• Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves
• Oh What a Night by Frankie Valli

Songs for Cutting the Cake

Lots of couples ask us whether they need a cake song. You don’t need to,, but it can be fun to play a specific song for that moment too. Here are our favorites:

Cutting the cake:

• When I’m 64 by The Beatles
• Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith
• How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You by Marvin Gaye

Anything with a “sweet” or dessert theme would work really well here!

Songs for the First Dance

This is actually one we are going to skip giving suggestions on because it is just such a personal moment, and the song that fits it best will be so different for different couples. 

Two tips that we will give though:

• If you are really stuck for ideas, any of the songs in our introduction of the bride section will work really well for the first dance as well.

• If you have found a first dance song but haven’t decided on a processional song yet, go to YouTube and find an instrumental version of your song. There are beautiful versions of almost every song out there and it’s just so special to walk down the aisle to your song. Then when you dance to it as your first dance, it’s just a really nice way to bookend the day. 

Songs for the Parent Dances

Families come in all variations, and you may have any combination of parents, step parents or grandparents that you would like to plan dances with. These suggestions work well for the father and bride and the mother and groom dances, but in the digital wedding planner, you’ll find a long list of suggestions that will work for every family dynamic!

Father and bride dance:

• Father and Daughter by Paul Simon – This one is a little more upbeat and fun if you don’t want the dance to be super emotional.
• Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman – It’s just a powerful song for a beautiful moment.

Groom and mother dance:

• Boy by Lee Brice
• When You’re My Age by Lori McKenna
• Humble and Kind by Tim Mcgraw – Lori McKenna also does a version of this one that’s beautiful.

Songs for the Anniversary Dance

The anniversary dance is a fun and really heartfelt way to honor marriage at your wedding. How it works is that you invite all the married couples onto the dance floor. After the song runs for a little bit, you get the DJ to say,  “if you’ve been married less than six hours, please leave the dance floor”.Then a little bit more music plays and you say “less than five years, less than 10 years, less than 15 years”. And you get all the way up to your most senior married couples. It’s just a great way to highlight the couples that have made it 45, 15 years.

Once you have the last couple standing, you can ask them for their best piece of advice. It’s just a really beautiful moment. 

Some song ideas for the anniversary dance:

• I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith
• Remember When by Alan Jackson

Something to keep in mind, if you’re considering doing the anniversary dance, make sure you have a good amount of married people in the family. If there is a high divorce rate, it’s good to be sensitive to that and maybe come up with an alternative activity.

Songs for the Bouquet and Garter

While lots of people are choosing not to add the bouquet and garter traditions to their receptions these days, they can still be really fun and call for a really fun song! Here are a few of our favorites:

Bouquet and Garter Songs:

• Milkshake by Kayla
• Let’s Go Girls by Shania Twain
• Hollaback by Gwen Stefani
• Glamorous by Fergie
• Move B*** by Ludacris – This one replaces the B word with a scream and ends up being really fun for all the ladies to dance around to.
• Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake – This one is great to use as a garter throwing song.

Songs You Can Sing Along To

Near the end of the night when you’re trying to get everyone back on the dance floor for a couple more songs, it can be really fun to break out a few that they can sing along to. Because it’s the end of the night and guests have had some drinks, these add a whole level of entertainment to the evening. 

Sing along Songs:

• Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
• Don’t Stop Believing by Journey
• Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks
• Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing

We hope you’ve gotten some good ideas from our personal favorites music list, and if you are looking for more ideas or a way to organize the music for your wedding day, don’t forget to check out our Digital Wedding Music Planner in the shop!

Finally, remember to put your blinders on and choose the songs that mean the most to you as a couple! Don’t let anyone talk you into using something you don’t want.

Happy wedding planning!

The Wedding Duo: A Wedding Planning Podcast