There are loads of songs that play throughout your wedding day, from the tunes that welcome your guests before the ceremony to the absolute bangers that play throughout the night at your reception. Music helps set the scene, builds romance and excitement, and complements what is already an absolutely beautiful day.
When you think of wedding music, one of the first songs you might think of is the one you walk down the aisle to. And for good reason. It’s the song playing when the two of you meet eyes from each end of the aisle as your guests watch on. It’s a song you’ll both remember forever and will always hold a special place in your hearts.
Needless to say, it’s a pretty big decision. There are so many wonderful pieces of music out there, that you might not know where to start. Or, you might not have a clue about the sort of songs you can walk down the aisle to at all.
So, we’ve created this list of the best songs to accompany you down the aisle to help you make this crucial decision. We’ve included everything from the classics through to alternative contemporary hits, so you can walk down the aisle to a song that perfectly fits with you and your theme for the big day.
Why is choosing a wedding aisle song important?
The song you walk down the aisle to is so much more than just background music. It sets the scene for one of the biggest moments of your life and helps establish the tone for the entire day. It’s usually one of the standout moments of any wedding, so you’re probably incredibly keen to make the right decision about which song you should have during your big moment.
In all honesty, there’s no right song to walk down the aisle to – only the song that’s right for you. But, what that means can vary from couple to couple. To help narrow it down for you, think about the following points and see how certain songs might fit into that.
- How does the song reflect your love story? It might be the lyrics, the notes, the tune or something else.
- How does the song fit with the tone of the ceremony? You might be going for traditional, joyful, religious, or have a specific theme.
- Does the song have a strong emotional connection? Many songs you walk down the aisle to are about love, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be about love for it to work.
- Does rhe song reflect your personality? Choosing a song is a great opportunity to have it express who you are.
How long should a wedding aisle song be?
The length of the song you walk down the aisle to doesn’t need to be too long, but the minimum length will depend on the size of your venue.
Most songs are around three to four minutes long, which is usually long enough. But, if you have a large wedding and therefore a large venue, think about how long this walk might take and if your chosen song will be long enough.
You may also choose to have a separate song playing for the bridal party. If not, this time should also be considered when making your choice.
If you’re keen to use a shorter song, there’s no harm in making edits to make sure it’s more than long enough. Or, if there’s a particular section of a song you like, you could edit it down so your favourite part definitely features.
Can you walk down the aisle to a song with lyrics?
Yes, it’s becoming more common for couples to choose a song with lyrics. So, if this is something you’d like to do, then you should definitely go for it! Traditionally, instrumental songs are used, but songs with lyrics can have a fantastic emotional connection and can ensure a memorable impact.
If you are going with a song with lyrics, make sure you fully understand the message behind them before making your choice. You ideally want something with a romantic or positive meaning, which reflects the joy of your big moment. For that reasons, you might not want to pick something that has a darker meaning or has swearing or something controversial in there. You want the focus of the moment to be on you, not on the music per se, after all!
Should you have live or prerecorded music to walk down the aisle to?
Both live and prerecorded music can contribute to a beautiful and memorable wedding ceremony. There are advantages to both, of course.
Advantages of live music to walk down the aisle to:
- Unique and memorable
- Creates an intimate and personal atmosphere
- Authentic and beautiful
- Flexible and adaptable
Advantages of pre-recorded music to walk down the aisle to:
- Consistent and reliable
- A wide variety of songs of any style and genre
- Affordable
- Less setup and coordination
Whichever you choose, it’s important to remember that there isn’t a right or wrong decision. It totally depends on your preferences, the venue and your budget, and which is most in keeping with your vision for the day.
155 best songs you can walk down the aisle to
Are you keen to start hunting for the perfect song to walk down the aisle to at your wedding? Here are 155 of the best songs to choose from across several different genres, which should give you a great place to start.
Classical favourites
- Bridal Chorus (“Here Comes the Bride”) – Richard Wagner
- Canon in D – Johann Pachelbel
- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Meditation from Thaïs – Jules Massenet
- Water Music Suite: Air – George Frideric Handel
- Trumpet Voluntary – Jeremiah Clarke
- Air on the G String – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Largo (from Xerxes) – George Frideric Handel
- Rondeau – Jean-Joseph Mouret
- Spring (from The Four Seasons) – Antonio Vivaldi
- Wedding March – Felix Mendelssohn
- Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy
- Minuet in G Major – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Ave Maria – Franz Schubert
- Salut d’Amour – Edward Elgar
- The Swan – Camille Saint-Saëns
- Liebestraum No. 3 – Franz Liszt
- Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2 – Frédéric Chopin
- Panis Angelicus – César Franck
- Adagio in G Minor – Tomaso Albinoni
- Ode to Joy – Ludwig van Beethoven
- Prelude (from Cello Suite No. 1) – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Flower Duet – Léo Delibes
- Pavane – Gabriel Fauré
- Gymnopédie No. 1 – Erik Satie
- Traumerei – Robert Schumann
- Waltz of the Flowers – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Fantaisie-Impromptu – Frédéric Chopin
- Sheep May Safely Graze – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Lakmé: El Dúo de la Flor – Mado Robin
- Prelude in C Major – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Boléro – Maurice Ravel
- Valse Sentimentale – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Modern classics and film scores
- The Ludlows – James Horner (Legends of the Fall)
- Across the Stars – John Williams (Star Wars)
- My Heart Will Go On (Instrumental) – James Horner (Titanic)
- Married Life – Michael Giacchino (Up)
- Glasgow Love Theme – Craig Armstrong (Love Actually)
- Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet – Nino Rota
- Pride and Prejudice Theme – Dario Marianelli
- Somewhere in Time – John Barry
- Theme from The Notebook – Aaron Zigman
- When You Wish Upon a Star – Cliff Edwards (Disney’s Pinocchio)
Religious songs
- Amazing Grace – Traditional
- Be Thou My Vision – Traditional
- How Great Thou Art – Carl Boberg
- Abide With Me – William Henry Monk
- In Christ Alone – Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
- The Lord Is My Shepherd – Traditional
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness – Thomas Chisholm
- Ave Verum Corpus – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- On Eagle’s Wings – Michael Joncas
- Hallelujah Chorus – George Frideric Handel
Cultural songs
- Greensleeves – Traditional English
- Scarborough Fair – Traditional English
- Danny Boy – Traditional Irish
- Highland Cathedral – Traditional Scottish
- Hava Nagila – Traditional Jewish
- Shenandoah – Traditional American
- Erev Shel Shoshanim – Traditional Hebrew
- Arirang – Traditional Korean
- Kalinka – Traditional Russian
- Wedding Tarantella – Traditional Italian
Romantic songs with lyrics
Key lyrics: ‘I have died every day waiting for you / Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years.’
Key lyrics: ‘At last, my love has come along / My lonely days are over, and life is like a song.’
Key lyrics: ‘I could hold you for a million years / To make you feel my love.’
Key lyrics: ‘Oh, my love, my darling / I’ve hungered for your touch a long, lonely time.’
‘I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets / To carry love, to carry children of our own.’
Key lyrics: ‘I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words / How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.’
Key lyrics: ‘Take my hand, take my whole life too / For I can’t help falling in love with you.’
Key lyrics: ‘Tell the world that we finally got it all right / I choose you.’
Key lyrics: ‘Take me into your loving arms / Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars.’
Key lyrics: ‘I’d climb every mountain / And swim every ocean / Just to be with you.’
Key lyrics: ‘All of me loves all of you / Love your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections.’
Key lyrics: ‘Forever can never be long enough for me / To feel like I’ve had long enough with you.’
Key lyrics: ‘And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times / It’s you, it’s you, you make me sing.’
Key lyrics: ‘You already know that you’re my weakness / After all this time, I’m just as nervous.’
Key lyrics: ‘I’m gonna love you ’til my lungs give out / I promise ’til death we part like in our vows.’
Key lyrics: ‘Lucky I’m in love with my best friend.’
Key lyrics: ‘How long will I love you? / As long as stars are above you.’
Key lyrics: ‘But I won’t hesitate no more, no more / It cannot wait, I’m yours.’
Key lyrics: ‘Cause you still look perfect as days go by / Even the worst ones, you make me smile / I’d stop the world if it gave us time.’
Key lyrics: ‘You’re still the one I run to / The one that I belong to.’
Alternate versions of popular songs
- Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley (Piano Version)
- A Thousand Years – Christina Perry (String Quartet)
- All of Me – John Legend (Violin Instrumental)
- Perfect – Ed Sheeran (Piano and Cello)
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (Ukulele and Violin)
- Marry Me – Train (Acoustic Guitar Version)
- Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen (Harp Instrumental)
- I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston (Flute)
- Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer (Acoustic Guitar)
- Fields of Gold – Sting (Piano Cover)
- Imagine – John Lennon (Classical Piano Version)
- Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol (String Quartet)
- Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles (Classical Guitar)
- You Are the Reason – Calum Scott (Violin and Piano)
- Love Story – Taylor Swift (String Quartet)
- Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran (Piano Solo)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses (Harp Instrumental)
- I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith (Piano and Violin)
- Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton (Acoustic Instrumental)
- The Scientist – Coldplay (String Quartet)
- Shallow – A Star is Born soundtrack (Cello and Piano)
- True Colors – Cyndi Lauper (Classical Guitar)
- Forever Young – Alphaville (Violin Cover)
- Hoppipolla – Sigur Rós (Piano Cover)
- Yellow – Coldplay (Acoustic Version)
Operatic songs
- O Mio Babbino Caro – Giacomo Puccini
- Flower Duet – Léo Delibes
- Nessun Dorma – Giacomo Puccini
- The Prayer – Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion
- Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana – Pietro Mascagni
- Barcarolle – Jacques Offenbach
- La Donna è Mobile – Giuseppe Verdi
- Time to Say Goodbye – Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman
- Marche Militaire – Franz Schubert
- Mon Coeur S’Ouvre à ta Voix – Camille Saint-Saëns
Alternative choices
Key lyrics: ‘Yours was the first face that I saw / I think I was blind before I met you.’
Key lyrics: ‘Come with me, my love / To the sea, the sea of love.’
Key lyrics: ‘Home is wherever I’m with you.’
Key lyrics: ‘Can I be close to you?’
Key lyrics: ‘They will see us waving from such great heights / Come down now, they’ll say.’
Key lyrics: ‘You are the only exception.’
Key lyrics: ‘And I told you to be patient / And I told you to be fine.’
Key lyrics: ‘Have I found you? / Flightless bird, jealous, weeping.’
Key lyrics: ‘Fade into you / Strange you never knew.’
Key lyrics: ‘I belong with you, you belong with me / You’re my sweetheart.’
Key lyrics: ‘One night of magic rush / The start, a simple touch.’
Key lyrics: ‘Look at the stars, look how they shine for you.’
Key lyrics: ‘Oh, simple thing, where have you gone? / I’m getting tired, and I need someone to rely on.’
Key lyrics: ‘If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied / Illuminate the “no”s on their vacancy signs.’
Key lyrics: ‘A moment, a love, a dream, a laugh / A kiss, a cry, our rights, our wrongs.’
Key lyrics: ‘And if a double-decker bus crashes into us / To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die.’
Key lyrics: ‘Can I go where you go? / Can we always be this close forever and ever?’
Key lyrics: ‘You can feel it in your mind, oh, you can do it all the time / Plug it in and change the world.’
Key lyrics: ‘I wanna be your vacuum cleaner / Breathing in your dust.’
Key lyrics: ‘I tiptoed in the room / I know you got to have your rest / She says, Come lay beside me / I been waitin’ since you left.’
Indie songs
Key lyrics: ‘Every kiss is a cursive line / Every touch is a redefining phrase.’
Key lyrics: ‘And at once, I knew I was not magnificent / High above the highway aisle.’
Key lyrics: ‘’Cause it’s you and me / And all of the people with nothing to do / Nothing to lose.’
Key lyrics: ‘Well I have been searching all of my days / All of my days.’
Key lyrics: ‘That I am / I am / I am / The luckiest.’
Key lyrics: ‘To the ends of the earth, would you follow me? / There’s a world that was meant for our eyes to see.’
Key lyrics: ‘Running through the heat, heartbeat / You shine like silver in the sunlight / You light up my cold heart.’
Key lyrics: ‘And I swear, God made you for me.’
Key lyrics: ‘And I’ll be better when I’m older / I’ll be the greatest fan of your life.’
Key lyrics: ‘Say you love me to my face / I need it more than your embrace.’
Key lyrics: ‘You’re just too good to be true / Can’t take my eyes off of you.’
Key lyrics: ‘She is love, and she is all I need.’
Key lyrics: ‘Let my love open the door / To your heart.’
Key lyrics: ‘When we were lovers / I loved you with all my heart.’
Key lyrics: ‘Come away with me / And I will write you a song.’
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Happy Planning!
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