Wedding Ceremony Songs: Playlist Guide

Wedding Ceremony Songs:

Playlist Guide

Wedding Ceremony Song selection and the placement of your choices throughout the ceremony will significantly impact the feeling of each moment. It’s worth sitting down with your fiancé and imagining the ceremony timeline unfold so you can curate the perfect experience during this intimate and emotional portion of your wedding.

We’re here to talk through some considerations for each segment of the wedding ceremony to make sure you’re prepared to choose the perfect songs for each moment and also communicate your choices to your team of wedding vendors.

If you have a vocalist

****Remember to listen closely to the lyrics of your favorite songs and make sure they are aligned with the mood you’re setting****

instrumental music a bit more subtle with the impact of the song lyrics on the mood

Live Wedding Music Enhances the Ceremony’s Emotional Impact

As a professional wedding musician myself, I can speak first hand on the impact of my songs in these intimate moments. My couples get to choose their custom aisle walk, processional and recessional songs and it’s always fun to see what tone is set by each couples song selections.

I had one bride who told me on the first day that we met that she was hiring me because she wanted my violin to make her fiance as emotional as she would be in that moment. She chose such emotion evoking songs for her processional and aisle walk that I almost cried every time I practiced her songs and imagined how much of an impact they would have on her wedding ceremony. In the end, her fiance did not cry during my violin songs but most of the brides family was brought to tears! If you want to experience this combination of songs for yourself, here’s a link to the youtube video:

Emotion Evoking Aisle Walk Songs

Another bride went for a bold impact with her music choice when selecting At Last by Etta James for her Aisle Walk Song. When I select my audio clip for the aisle walk, I map it out based on the length of your aisle. Some aisle walks only last 15 seconds and I want to make sure to perform the most juicy part of the song you choose. This story took place in a very small chapel which enhanced the impact of this moment even more dramatically. The aisle was so short, that I jumped right to the chorus, the most impactful part of the song. The doors to the chapel opened and for the first time, the guest laid eyes on the gorgeous bride in her wedding dress while I sang “At Last”. The impact was deeply emotive and I could see clearly from my vantage point that several of the guests were brought to tears by this show stopper of a moment.

On the contrary, music can have a lighthearted and playful effect if you choose to surprise your guests with a wildcard of an Aisle Walk Song. My most recent couple has selected for the groom to enter to a Drake song which is a plot twist of high energy for a usually serene moment like walking down your wedding aisle. The couple told me this song choice will be comically surprising because the groom is usually shy and they want to surprise everyone with a bold and comedic song choice.

Let’s Break it Down

a step by step layout to your ceremony soundtrack

Processional

The number of songs needed for the procession depends on how many people you’re planning to include in your wedding party. You’ll need one to three songs for this portion of the wedding ceremony but planning in an extra song for good luck could never hurt ;-)

Recessional

This song represents the kick off to the celebration! Here we’re transitioning out of the intimate, heart-felt environment established during the wedding ceremony into a more lively portion of the evening. Higher-energied songs with a slightly faster tempo work best for this moment. Choose 1-3 songs for this transition into the cocktail hour. The recessional length will also depend on the size of your wedding party.

Pre Ceremony Music

Most ceremonies include 15-30 minutes of music leading up to the start of the wedding ceremony to entertain guests while they arrive at the ceremony site and find their seats. Gentle instrumental music is a great fit for this segment of the wedding ceremony. Acoustic style love songs with vocals also work well for this portion of the ceremony.

Aisle

The moment we’ve all been waiting for and the most important choice of all the Wedding Ceremony Songs! The perfect Aisle Songs have been known to bring tears to eyes just at the thought of it all.

Acoustic Covers or Instrumental Covers of your favorite song are often a nice touch for the Brides Entrance Song, but a timeless classic like “Pachelbel’s Canon in D” or “Can’t Help Falling In Love” will also curate a heart melting experience.

Your loved ones will rise to greet you as you enter the space and this is your time to shine. Remember to walk slowly down the aisle to truly soak in this glorious moment! The more you take your time with your entrance, the more your get to rock out to your favorite song.

How Cues Work

If you hire a Live Musician or Wedding DJ to curate the music for your ceremony, they will probably have their own system for communicating about cues and ensuring seamless transitions between ceremony moments.

As your ceremony plans coalesce, the mappings of each moment will become clearer for all involved. Remember to share your Ceremony Document with your hired musicians so they can plan accordingly.

If you are DIYing the ceremony music, we recommend assigning someone in your wedding party to control the queue and ensure your song selections are aligning with the desired timeline of your ceremony.