Ceremony songs and instrumental music:
Creating the perfect soundtrack for a wedding can be a daunting task. Selecting special songs for the ceremony can be challenging and often miss the mark. At the same time, there are a multitude of inferior playlists online that are not compiled by professional wedding DJs.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer a Top 20 lists of songs for wedding ceremonies (traditional and modern). Many of these songs are based on those picked by actual clients, as well my years of seeing what works and what doesn’t.
Here we go!
Modern processional/prelude music:
- Perfect versus Canon in D (Piano & Violin) – Paul Hankinson
- Lover (cover) – Paul Hankinson
- A Thousand Years (cover) – The Piano Guys
- Say You Won’t Let Go (cover) – Daniel Jang
- Speechless – Dan + Shay
- Afterglow – Ed Sheeran
- Stand By Me – Florence & the Machine
- Heartbeats – José Gonzáles
- Best Part (f/ H.E.R.) – Daniel Caesar
- Can’t Help Falling in Love (cover) – Amber Leigh Irish
- Make You Feel My Love – Adele
- Latch (Acoustic) – Sam Smith
- I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
- Blinding Lights – Teddy Swims
- I Only Have Eyes for You (cover) – Jamie Cullum
- Yours – Russell Dickerson
- Senorita (cover) – Daniel Jang
- Sunflower (cover) – Vitamin String Quartet
- Kingdom Hearts (cover) – Vitamin String Quartet
- Love Me Like You Do (cover) – Brooklyn Du
Traditional processional/prelude music:
- Canon in D – Pachelbel
- Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major – Bach, performed by Yo-Yo Ma
- Salut d’Amour, Op. 12 – Edward Elgar
- Sleepers Awake – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Sarabande – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Air on a G String – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Sheep May Safely Graze – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Meditation – Jules Massen
- Fur Elise – Ludwig van Beethoven
- Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) – Edward Elgar
- Four Romantic Pieces, Op. 75 (Allegro Moderato) – Antonin Dvorak
- Spring (from The Four Seasons) – Antonio Vivaldi
- Bridal Chorus (“Here Comes the Bride”) – Richard Wagner
- Trumpet Voluntary (Prince of Denmark’s March) – Jeremiah Clarke
- Trumpet Tune – Henry Purcell
- La Califfa – Sarah Brightman
- Ave Maria – Sarah Brightman
- Nella Fantasia – Ennio Morricone
- Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy
- Etude No. 2 – Philip Glass