Wedding Ceremony Songs Guide

It's the moment you've been waiting for - you and your bridal party making a grand entrance and walking down the aisle. But what will you choose for your wedding ceremony song?

Music has the power to set a mood, evoke emotion, and give a moment cohesiveness. Are you a traditional Wagner's "Here Comes the Bride" type of couple? Or are you more contemporary, looking for a song that captures your spirit

like Norah Jones's "Come Away with Me"? Here is a list of both classic and contemporary wedding ceremony music. Many of the songs can be used for processionals and recessionals, and/or serve as prelude music (when your guests are finding seats and waiting for the ceremony to begin) or postlude music (when your guests are exiting, and/or waiting in the receiving line).

Extremely Popular Wedding Ceremony Music

• "Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin" (Richard Wagner) (also known as "Here Comes the Bride")
  
• "Canon in D" (Johann Pachelbel) (also known as "Pachelbel's Canon" and frequently misspelled as "Pachabel's Canon")
  
• "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (Johann Sebastian Bach)
  
• "A Midsummer Night's Dream, incidental music, Op. 61 Wedding March" (Felix Mendelssohn) Primarily Used For Processionals.

But are these songs too popular? If you're looking for a more unique tune, read Four Wedding Ceremony Songs to Avoid

Other Traditional Wedding Ceremony Music

"Guitar Concerto in D Major", Largo, (Antonio Vivaldi)

"Air" (from Water Music Suite), (George Frederic Handel)

"The Prince of Denmark's March" (Trumpet Voluntary in D major) (Jeremiah Clarke)

"Procession of Joy" (Hal Hopson)

"Rigaudon" (Andre Campra)

"Wedding March" (from The Marriage of Figaro), (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

Prelude from "Te Deum" (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)

"Trumpet Tune and Air" (Henry Purcell)

"Trumpet Voluntary" (John Stanley)

Other Classical Wedding Ceremony Music

• "Coronation March for Czar Alexander III" (Peter I. Tchaikovsky)
  
• "Overture" (from Royal Fireworks Music), (George Frederic Handel)
  
• "Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition), (Modest Mussorgsky)
  
• "Sinfonia" (from Cantata No. 156), (Johann Sebastian. Bach)
  
• "Cantata No.29", (Johann Sebastian Bach)
  
• "Prelude and Fugue in C", (Johann Sebastian Bach)
  
• "Toccata" (from L'Orfeo), (Claudio Monteverdi)
  
• "Romance from String Quartet", (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  
• "Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major" ("Elvira Madigan") (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  
• "Trumpet Tune in A-Major" (David N. Johnson)
  
• "Winter," Largo or "Spring" Allegro (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)
  

Contemporary Songs Appropriate for Wedding Ceremonies

• "At Last" (Etta James)
  
• "Only Time" (Enya)
  
• "Come Away With Me" (Norah Jones)
  
• "Appalachia Waltz" (Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor)
  
• "Unforgettable" (Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole)
  
• "It's Only Time" (Magnetic Fields)
  
• "The Look of Love" (Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach)
  
• "The Vow" (Jeremy Lubbock)
  
• "Come What May" (Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor)
  
• "Storybook Love" from the movie "The Princess Bride" (Willy DeVille)
  
• "Wedding Processional" (from The Sound of Music) (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein)
  
• "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Elvis Presley)
  
• "What A Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong)
  
• "When I'm Sixty-Four" (The Beatles)