When you think of ceremony songs, do you immediately start humming, “Here Comes the Bride?” No? Just us?
Well, there’s actually a lot more to ceremony music and many more songs for you to pick from. There are a number of big moments during the ceremony where you can add music. And there’s so many different ceremony songs you can choose. If you’re not into classical music or anything you can waltz to, throw it out! If you’re more Taylor Swift than Beethoven, let Tay play!
A while back we gave you our pick for top wedding ceremony songs. But we’d thought we’d give you a few more suggestions in this complete list.
Play on, maestro!
Processional
The processional is when your bridal party or other important people (perhaps some grandparents) make their way down the aisle. The ceremony songs below are usually the first tunes your guests will hear to let them know that the ceremony is starting.
- I Was Married – Tegan & Sara
- Home – Phillip Phillips
- Love On Top – Beyonce
- Marry You – Bruno Mars
- 100 Years – Five for Fighting
- Your Song – Elton John
- This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole
- Everything – Lifehouse
- Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
- Love Someone – Jason Mraz
- Only Time – Enya
- Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy
- Canon in D – Pachelbel
- Fur Elise – Beethoven
- A Thousand Years – The Piano Guys
- Yellow – Vitamin String Quartet
- Ave Maria – Celine Dion
- Landslide – Fleetwood Mac
- The One – Gary Allan
- Can’t Help Falling In Love With You – Elvis
- Makin Plans – Miranda Lambert
- Your Everything – Keith Urban
- All You Need Is Love – The Beatles
- I Choose You – Sarah Bareilles
- Is This Love – Bob Marley
- Reign of Love – Coldplay
- Best Day of My Life – American Authors
- Hey Ho – The Lumineers
Groom’s Entrance
We’re all about giving the groom his time in the spotlight. While traditionally the ceremony was all about waiting for the bride to come down the aisle, we say: why can’t the groom have his own aisle moment too? Check out these ceremony songs perfect for a groom’s grand entrance.
- Star Wars Theme Song (or the theme song to any show you love!)
- Back in Black – AC/DC
- The Best Day – George Strait
- On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
- Your Song – Elton John
- Men in Black – Will Smith
- Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top
- Rhythm of Love – Plain White T’s
- Let’s Hear it for the Boy – Denise Williams
- I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
- Marry Me – Jason Derulo
- Bless The Broken Road – Rascal Flatts
- Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Michael Buble
- Somebody Like You – Keith Urban
- Show Me What You Got – Jay Z
- I Feel Good (I Got You) – James Brown
- Some Kind of Wonderful – Grand Funk
- I Believe in a Thing Called Love – The Darkness
- Want to Want Me – Jason Derulo
Bride’s Entrance
The finale of the processional usually belongs to the bride coming down the aisle. This is often the big moment where everyone rises and turns to catch a glimpse of the beautiful bride coming to the front. If any of these ceremony songs are going to be remembered, it will be this one.
- At Last – Etta James
- Make You Feel My Love – Adele
- By Your Side – Sade
- Crazy In Love – Beyonce
- I Do – Colbie Caillat
- Love Story – Taylor Swift
- Ribbon in the Sky – Stevie Wonder
- Beautiful Surprise – India Arie
- All of Me – John Legend
- Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
- I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
- Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
- One Love – Bob Marley
- Marry Me – Train
- Cowboy Take Me Away – Dixie Chicks
- Iris – The Goo Goo Dolls
- Paradise – Coldplay
- How Long Will I Love You – Ellie Goulding
- Kiss from a Rose – Seal
- Tale as Old as Time – Beauty and the Beast
- I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
- The Luckiest – Ben Folds
- She Keeps Me Warm – Miranda Lambert
Signing the Licence
You might be thinking, “We need a song to sign our licence!?!” Of course, it’s not mandatory. But it can be a little bit awkward to leave your guests in silence while you two, your witnesses and your officiant head to the side to sign your marriage licence. If you’re already setting up audio for your other ceremony songs, you might as well add one here too!
- Seasons of Love – Rent
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Stevie Wonder
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight – Elton John
- By My Side – Ben Harper
- One Hand, One Heart – West Side Story
- Pictures of You – The Cure
- The Good Life – Kanye West
- This I Promise You – N’Sync
- All I Want Is You – U2
- Endless Love – Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
- Love Me Tender – Elton Presley
- These Words – Natasha Bedingfield
- What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
- Silver & Gold – Neil Young
- The Rose – Bette Midler
- Stand By Me – Ben E King
Recessional
Finally, we have your ceremony songs for the recessional. This is when the ceremony is coming to a close, you’ve just shared your first kiss, you’ve been announced as newlyweds, and you’re headed back up the aisle beaming from ear to ear. Don’t be afraid to have some fun and play something really joyous that your guests can dance on out to.
- Everything Is Awesome – Tegan & Sara
- Thinking Bout You – Frank Ocean
- Everything – Michael Buble
- Safe and Sound – Capital Cities
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- Say You Won’t Let Go – James Arthur
- You and I – Ingrid Michaelson
- Just the Two of Us – Bill Withers
- This Magic Moment – The Drifters
- The Best is Yet to Come – Frank Sinatra
- Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine
- Us – Regina Spektor
- Happy – Pharrell Williams
- Bless the Broken Road – Rascal Flatts
- Amazed – Lonestar
- Stuck Like Glue – Sugarland
- You Send Me – Aretha Franklin
- Head Over Boots – Jon Pardi
- No One – Alicia Keys
- Sky Full of Stars – Coldplay
- Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain & Tennille
- Walking on Sunshine – Katrina & The Waves
- Happy Together – The Turtles
Now that you’ve got your ceremony songs figured out, don’t forget to book your wedding officiant for the ceremony!
written by Riana Ang-Canning
feature image by Kaoverii Silva
