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 music? 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" and Pachelbel's "Canon in D" 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
But are these songs too popular? If you're considering one of these songs, 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)
I recommend that couples go to amazon.com and do a quick search for any of these titles. Amazon has an MP3 excerpt for most songs, allowing you to get a sense of the music before you purchase it. And of course, if you like it, you can then purchase a cd of the music from your local book and music seller, or find sheet music on a site like sheetmusicplus.com.
