Planning the song list for an entire wedding – the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, after-party, and more – can be quite the task, which is why we're sharing all of the good tunes for your wedding day.
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When it comes to organizing the music for your wedding day, there are many choices to make. What mood do you want to set as guests begin to arrive? What about the ceremony music – including the songs for the processional and recessional? Which love songs and ballads are most appropriate for the cocktail hour or dinner service? How about the reception music – every moment from your first dance to the after-party? For those who have hired a DJ or live band for the big day, your chosen professional will likely have some suggestions; however, if you or your future spouse want to take the reins on choosing the "must-play" wedding songs, we've got you covered!
Thankfully, EastCoast Entertainment is saving the day by sharing wedding music from one of their Spotify playlists! In honor of the celebration of all love year round, we're sharing some tunes from the full-service entertainment agency's "Love Is Love Is Love" playlist, which is the ultimate list of all the good wedding songs. You'll find everything from the classics that will never go out of style, to tried-and-true songs that will get everyone on the dance floor, as well as some of the latest hits that will keep guests of all ages dancing all night long. Whether you love pop, R&B, soul, alternative, or country music, there's something for everyone on this list of wedding songs.
With so many different types of brides and grooms, as well as wedding guests, the most popular wedding song varies based on every guests' experience. Popular wedding reception songs vary from event to event; however, there are certainly some tried-and-true wedding reception songs that get everyone on the dance floor! As for wedding ceremony music, popular tunes range from traditional, to classic, to modern, so it's important to choose wedding songs that fit the vibe of your particular event.
Take a look at the 100+ wedding songs below along with some notable romantic lyrics for some of the love songs. Click the titles to add them to your own wedding playlist on Apple Music, which is offering new subscribers three months free*! (*Limited-time offer for new subscribers redeeming on eligible devices. Plan auto-renews at $10.99/mo until cancelled. Terms apply. )
"At last, my love has come along. My lonely days are over, and life is like a song."
"Oh, honey, bring it to me. Bring your sweet loving, bring it on home to me."
"When a man loves a woman, he can do no wrong, he can never own some other girl. Yes when a man loves a woman I know exactly how he feels, 'cause baby, baby, baby, you're my world."
"There comes a time, a time in everyone's life where nothing seems to go your way, where nothing seems to turn out right. There may come a time you just can't seem to find your place, and for every door you open seems like you get two slammed in your face. That's when you need someone, someone that you, you can call when all your faith is gone and it feels like you can't go on. Let it be me"
"Honey I love you, that's all she wrote."
"Sweet pretty baby, won't you be my lady, oh sweet honey, darling."
"In the darkest night hour, I'll search through the crowd. Your face is all that I see I'll give you everything."
"Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes, watching the ships roll in, then I watch them roll away again."
"She hears him say, 'Brandy, you're a fine girl' (you're a fine girl). 'What a good wife you would be' (such a fine girl)."
"Tryin' to live without your love is one long sleepless night. Let me show you, girl, that I know wrong from right."
"I was the one you always dreamed of, you were the one I tried to draw."
"Listen baby, ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby. If you need me call me, no matter where you are, no matter how far. Don't worry baby, just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry, you don't have to worry."
"Ooh, your kisses, sweeter than honey."
"I don't need no money, fortune, or fame. I've got all the riches baby one man can claim. I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girl, talkin' 'bout my girl."
"If you want it, yeah, you can have it. Oh, oh, oh if you need it, ooh we can make it."
"We're out here in the boondocks with the breeze and the birds, tangled up in the tall grass with my lips on hers. On a highway to heaven, headed south of her smile, mm get there when we get there, every inch is a mile."
"And tonight I wanna drive so far we'll only find static on the radio, and we can't see those city lights and I love the way you look in a firefly glow. Saying everything without making a sound, a river rolling in the background, underneath a harvest moon standing on your shoes in my bare feet, dancing to the rhythm of your heartbeat."
"Huh, come here, baby. Let me light up your world."
"You set my soul on fire. That's why I know you're my heart's only desire. Ooh baby, here I am, signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours!"
"Take a look in that mirror. Now tell me who's the fairest. Is it you? Is it me? Say it's us and I'll agree, baby."
"Sooner or later in life, the things you love you loose, but you got the love I need to see me through. You got the love."
"I won't be late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life."
"You are the one thing, one thing I'm living for. I don't wanna be needing your love, I just wanna be deep in your love."
"Standing in the sunlight laughing, hiding behind a rainbow's wall. Slipping and sliding all along the waterfall, with you my brown-eyed girl."
"I'm not lookin' for somebody with some superhuman gifts, some superhero, some fairy-tale bliss. Just something I can turn to somebody I can miss."
"And so I fall in love just a little ol' little bit every day."
"I got some good friends that live down the street, got a good lookin' woman with her arms 'round me. Live in a small town where it feels like home. I've got everything I need, and nothin' that I don't."
"If you're gonna be a homebody, we're gonna have a house party. If you wanna be a homebody, we're gonna have a house party."
"You got that something in your eyes, I think about it all the same. If you ever wonder if I wanna make you mine, yeah, boy."
"Sweet home Alabama, oh, sweet home, baby. Where the skies are so blue and the governor's true. Sweet home Alabama, Lordy Lord, I'm coming home to you, yeah yeah."
"Both of us have known love before, to come on up promising like a spring, to walk on out the door. Our words are strong and our hearts are kind. Let me tell you just exactly what's on my mind. You are the best thing."
"Hey, sweet pea, apple of my eye. Don't know when, and I don't know why, but you're the only reason I keep on coming home."
"I needed to try, needed to fall. I needed your love, I'm burning away, I need never get old."
"You got to hold on."
"So be in my eyes, be in my heart."
"I need you to call me, I need you to hear you sweetheart."
"You're the reason that I feel so strong, the reason that I'm hanging on."
"I'm gonna need someone to hold me down, I'm gonna need someone to care."
"I will hold on hope."
"'Cause it's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do. Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you."
"You're the one that I want, ooh, ooh, ooh, honey. The one that I need."
"You've brought a lot of sunshine into my life. You've filled me with happiness I never knew. You gave me more joy than I ever dreamed of, and no one, no one can take the place of you."
"Now I've had the time of my life. No, I never felt this way before (never felt this way). Yes I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you."
"Dear future husband, here's a few things you'll need to know if you wanna be my one and only all my life."
"Come on, dance. Jump on it, if you sexy then flaunt it. Well it's Saturday night and we in the spot, don't believe me just watch."
"So honey now, take me into your loving arms. Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars. Place your head on my beating heart, I'm thinking out loud, maybe we found love right where we are."
"'Cause your love's got the best of me, and, baby, you're making a fool of me. You got me sprung and I don't care who sees 'cause, baby, you got me, you got me so crazy, baby."
"Remember how we knew love was here to stay. Now December found the love we shared in September. Only blue talk and love remember true love we share today."
"I gotta get a move on before the sun I hear my baby calling my name and I know that she's the only one."
"No, I don't want 'good' and I don't want 'good enough,' I want 'can't sleep, can't breathe without your love.'"
"If I never get to see the Northern Lights, or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand, baby, I could die a happy man."
"No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do to make you feel my love."
"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me."
"Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight. Take me through the darkness to the break of the day."
"Oh, young hearts run free."
"I need you more than anyone, darlin'. You know that I have from the start, so build me up buttercup, don't break my heart."
"Oh, she's my baby, don't you understand. Yeah, I'm her lovin' man. Now I got a woman, way over town, that's good to me, oh yeah."
"You put the boom-boom into my heart. You send my soul sky-high, when your lovin' starts. Jitterbug into my brain, goes a bang-bang-bang 'til my feet do the same."
"She'll see I'm not so tough. Just because I'm in love with an uptown girl."
"At times I wonder why I fool with you, but this is new to me, this is new to you. Initially, I didn't wanna fall for you, gather my attention it was all for you."
"Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me."
"'Cause she's so high, high above me, she's so lovely. She's so high, like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite. Oh, yeah, she's so high, high above me."
"Oh see you crash into me baby, 'cause I am swimming in your seas, and in your ocean, and I feel your waves come and crash into me."
"I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden."
"I, I'm I'm so in love with you. Whatever you want to do, is all right with me. 'Cause you make me feel so brand new, and I want to spend my life with you."
"Lovers keep on lovin', believers keep on believin'."
"Been traveling these wide roads for so long. My heart's been far from you, ten-thousand miles gone. Oh, I wanna come near and give ya, every part of me."
"Don't stop believin'. Hold on to that feelin'."
When putting together your wedding playlist, it's important to choose songs that fit the mood – and the wedding event. Take a look at some more song ideas for the wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, below!
For your wedding ceremony playlist, choose romantic tunes either played in full, or select songs you love and have them played by a string quartet, harpist, or guitarist. Popular options include Frank Sinatra hits for a black tie wedding, "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley, your favorite tune by The Beatles, or even "Chapel of Love" for a fun twist on a traditional ceremony. Some couples who love indie music may even choose melody options from songs by bands such as Death Cab for Cutie. Choose what feels right to you as a couple – music is a great way to personalize your event!
For the cocktail hour, select songs that will be great background music for mingling and sampling hors d'oeuvres and libations. Romantic tunes like "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green, "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder, or "Crazy In Love" by Beyonce can all be great ideas that help to maintain the romantic feeling of the day. Some of the best wedding reception songs can also be played at the cocktail hour; however, be sure to not have too many (if any) repetitive songs on your wedding playlist.
The wedding reception songs themselves are a great place to have some fun! Choose wedding songs from your favorite wedding reception playlist and sprinkle your favorites throughout the night. You'll want wedding songs that are perfect for the dinner service, songs ideal for the dance floor, and of course first dance songs and special dance songs.
For example, Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" or "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper are popular choices for the bouquet toss – if you're taking part in that tradition – and "Sexy and I Know It" is often chosen for the garter toss. Some guests will come to expect "Twist and Shout," the "Cha Cha Slide," or other typical songs found on a wedding reception playlist; however, only have those played if you also want them included!
You'll want to play a mix of songs that make your guests want to hit the dance floor, romantic songs for slow dances, and a collection of both new music and oldies so loved ones of all ages will enjoy the soundtrack for the evening. When playing music by Ed Sheeran and John Legend or songs such as "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson, "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk, or "We Found Love" by Calvin Harris, be sure to mix in some "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond, "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston, or songs from Elton John, Marvin Gaye, The Righteous Brothers, Earth Wind & Fire, The Beach Boys, or even Michael Jackson or The Jackson 5.
Also, if you have a lot of older guests attending your wedding, it may be best to keep the hip-hop and "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot for the after-party. Fun songs to end the night include "Livin on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi or "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey, "Closing Time" by Semisonic, or even "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC.
Know yourselves and your guests when it comes time to put together your wedding playlist or choose a song for your wedding video, and of course reference the list from EastCoast Entertainment above as well as these nontraditional wedding songs to make sure your favorite love songs are included in your wedding reception playlist from your first dance to the father-daughter and mother-son dance!