Of course, John Legend and Lady Gaga will be on your wedding playlist, but when you finally sit down to create your dream day playlist, coming up with songs might be much more challenging than anticipated. Bad wedding reception songs can prevent your guests from ending up on the dance floor, so make sure your playlist is thoughtfully crafted. To ensure your wedding playlist isn’t a flop, you’ll need to do some research. Lucky for you, we have an entire list of classic wedding songs you need to play at your wedding and when you should play them.
A huge trend for 2023 is nostalgia. Even though new songs are quickly being added to wedding playlists, the focus is on the classics and sentimental-type songs. So, Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer and Fade Into You by Mazzy Star are some top examples that have and will always find a spot on the wedding playlist.
Mixing nostalgia songs with newer songs like Stuck With U by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber or Harry Styles Love of My Life will undoubtedly make their way onto the wedding playlist, no matter the trends.
You’ll need your wedding processional song for your wedding party as they walk down the aisle, a song for when the bride walks down the aisle, and one for the groom/bride and wedding party as they leave the ceremony. Luckily, this means you can pick more than one song, so here are some of our favorites:
James Arthur – Falling Like The Stars
Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling In Love
The Beatles – Here, There And Everywhere (2009 Remastered)
John Legend – All Of Me
Train – Marry Me
Dan + Shay – Speechless
Jason Cassidy – You (Wedding Song)
Picking first dance wedding songs can be daunting and stressful since there are so many options, but remember it should embody your and your spouse’s relationship. An excellent place to start is to play this list of songs with your partner, see which one feels the most special to you both, and slowly narrow it down until you’ve found the one. Here are some options to pick from:
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
Scotty McCreery – This Is It
Taylor Swift – Love Story
Aerosmith – I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing
Etta James – At Last
Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight
Ed Sheeran – Perfect
Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are
Stephen Sanchez – Until I Found You
Dan + Shay – 10,000 Hours
Play more upbeat wedding songs to keep wedding guests moving and having fun. Occasionally throw in a slow song for slow dances, a father-daughter dance, or a mother-son dance, but for the most part, you’ll want to keep things fast and happy to keep everyone in the celebratory mood.
Some wedding music you’ll defiantly want to shake something to:
Jason Derulo – Marry Me
Jonas Brothers – Sucker
Elvis Presley – Burning Love
John Travolta and Olivia Newton – You’re The One That I Want
ABBA – I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
Dan + Shay – Glad you Exist
Dolly Parton – Islands In The Stream
Olly Murs – Dance With Me Tonight
Pat Benatar – We Belong
Luke Combs – Forever After All
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
Bruno Mars – Leave The Door Open
Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Shawn Mendes – Fallin’ All In You
Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk
Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer
Thomas Rhett – Die A Happy Man
If you choose to skim past most of this article, you’d want to pause a moment to at least read this list because we’ve written out our best wedding songs you’ll want to play at some point at your wedding.
According to Spotify, Love On Top by Beyoncé, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) by Stevie Wonder, I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston, All Of Me by John Legend, and Everything by Michael Bublé are among the top played songs at weddings.
Here Comes the Bride is that traditional walking-down-the-isle song you hear at weddings. It’s often remixed and/or done by a live band, so it might sound different depending on the wedding, but it’s all the same song.
You’ll need to think about having songs for are:
It’s common but optional to include the song title, composer, and the name of the person performing it if it’s a live performance.
An excellent place to start is a minimum of 15 songs per hour, which is 60 songs for four hours that should cover the reception and dinner.
The biggest takeaway is that there are many songs to pick for your special day, and no one song (no matter how popular) is better. What makes a song perfect and memorable is how it connects you and your significant other by adding a sentimental touch and making your big day more memorable. So, don’t stress and get more advice and tips on our site, The Groom Club, to ensure your wedding day is how you imagined, from the destination to the perfect song.
