Which Songs Would (or Did) You Choose For Your Wedding?

We were long distance for 3+ years when we got married and so our song was “Wouldn’t it be nice” by the Beach Boys… it just spoke to everything that led up to that day of finally being together again – for good

Like many cis, different-sex couples, putting together our wedding primarily fell to me, the woman in our relationship, and when my (now) husband expressed a significant interest in any aspect of its planning I tried to let him have it. So when he suggested Neil Young’s Harvest Moon for our first dance, I immediately agreed (helps that it’s such a gorgeous song!).

Just over two years later I had to have an emergency c-section to deliver our daughter. Although not the birth I wanted or ‘planned’ (what birth ever is?!?), we had considered the possibility of a c-section ahead of time and my only real request was that we could play our own music. So my husband played a playlist of our wedding songs, held my hand, and whispered to me about his favorite parts of our wedding while my obstetrician cut me open – and our daughter was born to ‘Harvest Moon’ at 8:57am Christmas Eve. It wasn’t the birth I planned, but she was healthy and perfect and she came into the world feeling her parents’ love for each other and her.

Thanks for giving me the chance to remember such a happy moment :). We really need those now.

My husband and I eloped in Vegas so we didn’t have the option of choosing any music. If we had it to do over David Bowie’s Heroes, Billy Swan’s Don’t Be Cruel, or Marcus Mumford’s When I Get My Hands On You would have been our choices…but then again I wouldn’t have changed a moment of our ten minute wedding, it was perfect.

Roberta Flack – First time ever I saw your face

It’s a stunning performance. I wouldn’t be mad if I walked down the isle to that. I cry though, like really hard so maybe not a good song for me :P

Choosing songs for my wedding was one of my favorite parts – I love having a soundtrack that I can go back to and bring back that day. But my favorite part of the day (music wise) was something I didn’t plan at all.

When I was about eight, I had a music box I got for Christmas that had a carousel horse inside it and was decorated all around the edges with roses and gold detail. It played “Unchained Melody” and to my eight year old self I didn’t think there was any more romantic song and I told my uncle that I would one day play the song at my wedding.

Fast forward just about twenty years and my uncle was helping to arrange the music for my wedding ceremony. He hired a trumpet player to play the recessional and processional, but there was a point mid-ceremony that we needed a short bit of music for. We were doing a ring warming (everyone touches/blesses the rings and passes them up through the audience for the vows). My uncle said he would handle the minute or two of music needed so the audience could finish passing the rings.

Anyway, I completely forgot about it at all until we’re mid-ceremony. I look up to see where the rings were and hear the trumpet player start playing again. It took me a few seconds to figure out the song – it was “Unchained Melody.” I looked to my uncle who was, as is the custom in our family, pretty much devolving into a puddle of tears. The look on his face though as he saw me realizing what he’d done was my favorite part of the day on a day full of some pretty incredible memories. The fact that he’d remembered, and the fact that he’d went out of his way to make a wish I’d made two decades ago come true – I’ll never forget it.

I walked in to Tom Perry’s “Wildflowers” and we walked out to “I Believe in Miracles (where’d you go/you sexy thing)” by Hot Chocolate. We only used the short title, so it looked pretty religious on our very sectarian program!

I walked down the aisle to Jeff Mangum’s version of “I love how you love me.” We walked back up the aisle to the Del Vikings “Come and go with me.” We danced our first dance to “The Best is Yet to Come” by Frank. No regrets.

My family and I take music and parties very seriously. I worked on my own wedding playlists for months. My Dad had died 6 months prior so I knew I needed to keep it upbeat so I wouldn’t lose it.

My big brother walked me down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s fun and happy version of At Last and everyone clapping and smiling (probably because I was a first time bride at 45!). When done, we walked out to Teddy Pendergrass singing It’s So Good When Somebody Loves You Back.

Our first dance the hubs insisted on our fave song by Charlie Rich- Behind Closed Doors. It was awesome. We had pretty much everyone on the dance floor most of the night. Caterer said he’d never seen so many folks dancing. Afterwards I got several emails wanting my lists. Music brings people so much closer!
Part 1 is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2pFWTJNtn4xA6S3cwoIumr?si=VcaUJWKmS06-ZW7GjO3yqQ
Part 2 is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/390CiyemlaXVeHoyXcurYJ?si=eR0hWS9YSj-CJlX2Uucg-g

YEEEESSS I LOVE playlist posts and thank you for sharing your playlists! I followed you :) I love hearing new music and sharing music is so fun. I’m not married yet and I so look forward to chatting about this with my future husband so fun

I walked down the aisle to “Book of Love”, the Magnetic Fields version. I heard the Peter Gabriel one in Shall We Dance, and loved the lyrics, but loved the original version more.

Our first dance was to “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke because we were getting married in an Amish barn in Pennsylvania (I loved the scene from Witness and my husband remembered it from Animal House). And our long standing is joke is that I’m the smartypants and he was the underachiever in school.

I lived in NYC for 15 years and was moving to be with my husband, so we also played Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”, and had anyone who wanted to join us in a kickline. All my friends and family from New York did!

What a happy thread to stumble on today! Loving reading everyone’s comments.

Our friends and family (and my husband) processed in to John Legend’s “Refuge (When It’s Cold Outside).” It took us for.ev.er. to find a song that fit the mood we were going for: sentimental, but still upbeat.

The choice for my processional was a lot easier: the acoustic version of “Latch” by Sam Smith. That was a meaningful song early in our relationship and was a no-brainer.

After the ceremony, we walked back down the aisle to Beyonce’s “End of Time” — such a fun, celebratory song! And our first dance was to the short but sweet “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges. Still tear up whenever I hear that one.

Our first dance was Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte. We did like 32 bars of merengue to start off as a couple, but then we started pulling everyone into a conga line and everyone stayed dancing for a long time! Until we did the cake (which was actually a piñata, during which someone screamed SMASH THE PATRIARCHY while I was trying to break it). It was great.

My husband (then fiance) was in a local “Big Band” band, they played at our wedding reception as a sweet gift! I told my future hubby that I really wanted, “At Last” as our wedding song but apparently was not in their repertoire and so instead they played “Unforgettable” which was beautiful but ironically I always FORGET which song they played!!!!!!

Our friend circle is a pretty nerdy bunch, so when our buddy DJ’d for us he surprised us all with the “Make a Man out of You” song from Mulan towards the end of the night. It was the perfect song to give the party a second wind. All my dorky and beautiful friends rushed into a huddle to shout-sing the lyrics together. All of us punching the air and wearing these crazy nostalgic smiles. It was so unexpected! One of my favorite memories of the night.

Our first dance was John Legend: Stay with You – to this day it still makes me tear up thinking of our wedding day!

My husband has two daughters, at the time of our wedding, they were 5 and 7. After we did a formal dance with our parents, the music was interrupted and we danced “Ain´t no mountain high enough” by Martin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. We practiced for weeks a coreography that could include my two stepdaughters. All our guests went crazy!! It was one of the highlights of our party and I am so glad that our first dance was with them!

At my daughter’s wedding, my son (he was also best man) escorted me down the aisle to a string version of “Kashmir”. I was surprised & when I quietly asked him “is this Kashmir, he said “Yes Mom – its meant for you”. I almost lost it. My son’s a musician & knows how much I loved the Brit Group. He, my daughter & son-in-law thought this would be a nice touch.

My daughter’s wedding song was the same wedding song I had “Today I met the Boy I’m Gonna Marry”. Our family also loves Motown.

Our First Dance song was “Cheek to Cheek” by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald – this has long been ‘our’ song and it felt extra-special to dance to it surrounded by smiling faces. I always ask the bride and groom at weddings whether there is a story to their song, I’m always curious :) Though it would probably also be nice to pick out a song, even a new one, and make it your Wedding song, thus making it special.

We had official wedding songs, a first dance, etc. but when they played “Midnight Train to Georgia”, it was just me and my husband on the dance floor, dancing happily while everyone ate dinner. During our first dance it felt like we were on display, so this is the song I think about as “ours” for the wedding.

Such a weird song for a wedding: All those years ago, by George Harrison. I don´t know but I love the vibe.

Our wedding was small and mostly (older) family members. Our reception was held at an old theatre in the downtown area of our town (think Stars Hollow but Texan). We played only rock and roll from the 1950’s and 60’s. Our first dance was to ‘Brown-Eyed Handsome Man’ – it was so fun and we still have relatives comment on how memorable the music was!

Our reception was held at the New York aquarium so I asked my DJ for various ocean themed songs. He played Bobby Darin’s “Somewhere Beyond The Sea” during the evening and I loved it so much that he played it again for me. Three years later while I was hugely pregnant and watching “Finding Nemo” on cable, “Somewhere Beyond The Sea” (the Robbie WIlliams version) came on over the closing credits. It made me so happy to remember that song from our wedding as my baby kicked in my belly. I still get giddy when I hear that song.