Choosing Wedding Music
Classical music is most often requested for weddings, yet most people don't know where to begin their search of classical music. Use the list below with my compliments, and feel free to bring it to your ceremony musician as a starting place. You can even download and print a PDF of the list (below) to scribble notes on as you listen to the audio samples. (Hint: it already has some song descriptors to help you narrow it down)
Download Printable Wedding Song List
Wedding Music by Category
Traditional Wedding Music Selections
Have you always dreamt of walking down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride" and having the traditional wedding music played? Look no further!
- (Bridesmaids) Pachelbel - Canon in D Major
- (Processional) Wagner - Bridal Chorus
- (Recessional) Mendelssohn - Wedding March
Bridesmaids
These sections are listed in the order they'll take place during the wedding, but I recommend skipping to the bride's section and choosing her song first, then coming back here to pick a song that will compliment it. After all, it is her big day!
- Bach - Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
- Bach - Air on the G String
- Handel - Largo*
- Holst - Jupiter*
- Franck - Panis Angelicus
- Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus*
- Bach - Bist du bei mir (Be Thou with Me)*
- Mozart - Laudate Dominum*
- Bach - Prelude in C Major
*pieces are also listed in Bridal Processional category
Bridal Processional Section
Want classical music for your walk down the aisle but don't want the traditional "Here Comes the Bride"? This is a great place to start. I recommend first deciding if you want a grand entrance or a subtle one, then narrowing the songs down from there.
Hint: The bridesmaids' pieces tend to be more "subtle" and the recessional pieces tend to be more "grand"
- Purcell - Trumpet Tune**
- Clarke - Trumpet Voluntary**
- Bach - Bist du bei mir (Be Thou with Me)*
- Handel - Allegro Maestoso
- Handel - Allegro**
- Holst - Jupiter*
- Mozart - Laudate Dominum*
- Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus*
- Handel - Largo*
*pieces are also listed in Bridesmaids' category
**pieces are also listed in Recessional category
Mid-Ceremony Music Unity Candle, Communion, Devotion to Mary, etc.
More subdued/peaceful songs are typically chosen for the lighting of the unity candle and communion, so here are a few classical pieces to get you started. Many of the bridesmaids' pieces also work well, or popular love songs. If you and your sweetheart have a "special song," this is a great place to have it played.
- Massenet - Meditation (from the opera Thaïs)
- Mendelssohn - Song Without Words
- Bach - Aria (from the Goldenberg Variations)
- Yiruma - River Flows in You
- Schubert - Ave Maria
- Bach-Gounod - Ave Maria
Recessional
Excited to be walking back down the aisle as a married couple? Here are some upbeat and joyful classical pieces to reflect that!
- Clarke - Trumpet Voluntary**
- Purcell - Trumpet Tune**
- Mouret - Rondeau
- Vivaldi - Gloria in Excelsis
- Handel - Allegro**
- Vivaldi - Autumn
**pieces are also listed in Bridal Processional category
Popular Love Songs
These popular wedding songs can be used for any part of your ceremony. I've seen some of them used for the bride's entrance, the lighting of the unity candle, the recessional, etc. Since these songs are highly personal, it's up to you what to do with them... no traditions here!
- A Thousand Years - Christina Perri
- Beauty and the Beast - Disney
- Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts
- Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat
- How Beautiful - Twila Paris (arranged by Philip Keveren)
- NEW I Do - Colbie Caillat
- I'll Be - Edwin McCain
- Marry Me - Train
- NEW Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran
- Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens (arranged by Jim Brickman)
- The Wedding Song - Paul Stookey
- You and I Both - Jason Mraz
More songs from movie soundtracks, etc. listed here