The venue is booked, you’ve chosen the dress, decorations and delectable dishes and now it’s time to choose the music for your wedding ceremony! But how do you choose? Don’t worry, we’ve sifted through thousands of songs and chosen our favourite wedding ceremony songs to share with you. Whether you’re looking for a gushy romantic song or something more upbeat, you’ll find some inspiration here!
Which Parts Of The Ceremony Need Music?
But which parts of the ceremony need music? There are four main parts of your wedding ceremony that you’ll need to choose music for. These are:
- The arrival of the guests
- The walk down the aisle (processional song)
- The signing of the register
- Your walk back up the aisle (recessional song)
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Thought About Hiring A Live Musician?
How Many Songs Do I Need For Each Part Of The Ceremony?
The guests’ arrival – As the guests arrive and start taking their seats it’s always a good idea to have some music playing to set the scene for the ceremony. Depending on how long you expect them to be sitting there before the ceremony you’ll need between five and ten songs if each song lasts around three to four minutes.
The walk down the aisle – If you and you bridal party are all going to walk down the aisle to the same song then obviously you’ll only need one. If you’ve chosen to have a separate song for your bridesmaids then two!
Signing of the register – We would recommend three songs for this part of your wedding ceremony. It might not need all three but it’s good to have them available just in case!
The recessional walk –Just one song is needed for this celebratory part of your ceremony.
Should I Hire Live Musicians to Perform My Wedding Ceremony Music?
A live performance from a classical musician or acoustic singer-guitarist is the perfect accompaniment to your ceremony. Not only does it create a more intimate and magical feel to this part of your day, but professional musicians are able to extend or cut short songs so that they match up perfectly with what’s going on during your ceremony. A live performance will resonate throughout your venue and sound incredible in comparison to a recorded track. There’s really no comparison!
The Songs!
We’ve chosen our favourite songs and pieces of music for each section of your wedding ceremony. There’s a range of different genres covering classical all the way up to modern chart hits!
Guests’ Arrival Songs
Play some of these tracks for your guests as they arrive for your wedding! Carefully chosen music will set the mood for your ceremony, from romantic love songs to uplifting tracks to capture the joy you and your guests will be feeling. There are no hard and fast rules here – pretty much anything goes! Here are our favourite wedding songs for before the ceremony!
Wedding Ceremony Entrance Songs
The song that plays as you catch a first glimpse of your soon-to-be-spouse on your wedding day will remain special to you for the rest of your life. Every time you hear it, it will conjure memories of one of the happiest moments you’ve ever experienced, so make it a good one! Below we’ve listed some of our favourite processional songs but there are so many more on this list of 100 songs to walk down the aisle to.
Signing The Register Songs
This part of your ceremony is perfectly suited to happy love songs. You’ll just have been declared a married couple and you’ll be feeling elated! Remember you’ll need three songs so you could choose one super-cute song, a dreamy romantic track and an upbeat celebratory track to help lead into your recessional walk. But again, there are no rules so choose whichever songs resonate with you most!
Recessional Songs
Once you’ve tied the knot, there’s only one thing left to do – take your first steps together as a married couple and march back up that aisle towards your wedding reception! This part of your ceremony lends itself to celebratory upbeat songs, so we’ve chosen some fun and joyful tracks to inspire you. For more ideas, check out this mega list of recessional songs to close your ceremony with a bang!
Chosen Your Songs? How About A Live Musician To Perform Them?
Your wedding ceremony songs are going to sound amazing if you hire a live musician. Click the link below to view ceremony musicians, wedding bands and more, and fill in the enquiry form on the profile of your chosen act. We’ll get back to you quick as a flash! If you’d like to chat through your options, give our friendly advisers a bell on 0800 53 000 35 so they can help match you with your dream wedding entertainment!
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