Wedding Ceremony Music

It's the moment you've been waiting for – you and your bridal party making a grand entrance and walking down the aisle. But what will you choose for your wedding ceremony music? Music has the power to set a mood, evoke emotion, and give a moment cohesiveness. Are you a traditional Wagner's "Here Comes the Bride" and Pachelbel's "Canon in D" type of couple? Or are you more contemporary, looking for a song that captures your spirit like Norah Jones's "Come Away with Me"? Here is a list of both classic and contemporary wedding ceremony music. Many of the songs can be used for processionals and recessionals, and/or serve as prelude music (when your guests are finding seats and waiting for the ceremony to begin) or postlude music (when your guests are exiting, and/or waiting in the receiving line). I recommend that couples go to Amazon and do a quick search for any of these titles. Amazon has an MP3 excerpt for most songs, allowing you to get a sense of the music before you purchase it.

Traditional Wedding Ceremony Music

• "Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin" (Richard Wagner) (also known as "Here Comes the Bride")
  
• "Canon in D" (Johann Pachelbel)
  
• "Guitar Concerto in D Major", Largo, (Antonio Vivaldi)
  
• "Air" (from Water Music Suite), (George Frederic Handel)
  
• "The Prince of Denmark's March" (Trumpet Voluntary in D major) (Jeremiah Clarke)
  
• "Procession of Joy" (Hal Hopson)
  
• "Rigaudon" (Andre Campra)
  
• "Wedding March" (from The Marriage of Figaro), (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  
• Prelude from "Te Deum" (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)
  
• "Trumpet Tune and Air" (Henry Purcell)
  
• "Trumpet Voluntary" (John Stanley)
  

Other Classical Wedding Ceremony Music

• "Coronation March for Czar Alexander III" (Peter I. Tchaikovsky)
  
• "Overture" (from Royal Fireworks Music), (George Frederic Handel)
  
• "Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition), (Modest Mussorgsky)
  
• "Sinfonia" (from Cantata No. 156), (Johann Sebastian. Bach)
  
• "Cantata No.29" (Johann Sebastian Bach)
  
• "Prelude and Fugue in C" (Johann Sebastian Bach)
  
• "Toccata" (from L'Orfeo), (Claudio Monteverdi)
  
• "Romance from String Quartet" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  
• "Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major" ("Elvira Madigan") (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
  
• "Trumpet Tune in A-Major" (David N. Johnson)
  
• "A Midsummer Night's Dream, incidental music, Op. 61 Wedding March" (Felix Mendelssohn)
  
• "Winter," Largo or "Spring" Allegro (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)
  

Contemporary Songs Appropriate for Wedding Ceremonies

• "At Last" (Etta James)
  
• "Only Time" (Enya)
  
• "Come Away With Me" (Norah Jones)
  
• "Appalachia Waltz" (Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor)
  
• "Unforgettable" (Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole)
  
• "It's Only Time" (Magnetic Fields)
  
• "The Look of Love" (Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach)
  
• "The Vow" (Jeremy Lubbock)
  
• "Come What May" (Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor)
  
• "Storybook Love" from the movie "The Princess Bride" (Willy DeVille)
  
• "Wedding Processional" (from The Sound of Music) (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein)
  
• "Can't help falling in love" (Elvis Presley)
  
• "What A Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong)
  
• "When I'm Sixty-Four" (The Beatles)