Wedding Ceremony Songs and Music: How to Plan It, Moment by Moment
By Ryley Smithson, Tennyson Events · Updated October 2026
The most popular wedding ceremony songs on our run sheets are "Can't Help Falling in Love" for the walk down the aisle (chosen by 9 of our couples) and "This Will Be" by Nat King Cole for the exit (chosen by 6). Those counts come from the run sheets of 183 weddings, 2017 to 2026, mostly 2024 to 2026.
Listen to our 2026 ceremony playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ze5xiP8EyopsbCS0hP6UK
The most chosen ceremony songs
Can't Help Falling in Love – Crazy Rich Asians version (chosen by 9 couples, bride's walk)
This Will Be – Nat King Cole (chosen by 6 couples, exit)
To Build a Home – The Cinematic Orchestra (chosen by 5 couples, bride's walk)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (chosen by 4 couples, exit)
You've Got the Love – Florence and the Machine (chosen by 4 couples, exit)
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri (chosen by 4 couples, bride's walk)
Turning Page (acoustic) – Jae Hall (chosen by 3 couples, bride's walk)
Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles (chosen by 3 couples, bridal party walk)
Truly Madly Deeply – Savage Garden (chosen by 3 couples, bridal party walk)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) (chosen by 3 couples, signing)
A Thousand Years (chosen by 3 couples, signing)
Home (Good Neighborhood) (chosen by 3 couples, exit)
Full lists: walk down the aisle songs, signing songs and recessional songs.
The ceremony in four music moments
1. Pre-ceremony
Guests arrive to this. It sets the mood while people find seats. Only 10 of our couples named pre-ceremony songs, and none picked the same one twice, so there's no "top" song here. The artists that came up more than once: Angus & Julia Stone. Others included Fleetwood Mac, Michael Bublé and Leon Bridges.
Aim for 20 to 30 minutes of music so there's no silence if guests arrive early.
Keep it low and steady. People should talk over it, not listen to it.
2. The walk
90 couples named a bride's song and 42 named a bridal party song, so the bridal party often walks to something different. Where a song is too long or has a long intro, we make a custom edit. 3 of our couples had one on their run sheet. Most songs need their start trimmed so the first note lands as the walk begins.
I love editing a bridal entry song. The bridal party gets down the aisle on the right amount of music, then the bride enters at exactly the right moment, right as the song hits. It's beautiful, and it's why I offer to edit the songs.
Who cues the walk? I'm always cued by the celebrant. The celebrant is in control of the ceremony, and we take our cues from them, so we're ready to go. The most important thing is that the celebrant goes outside to check the bride and the bridal party are all ready and lined up before the ceremony starts. That way, when they come back in and I push play, the bride is ready. Mistakes happen when no one has checked. You don't want to leave that to chance. If the celebrant is a friend or family member, or it's one of their first weddings, I'll often go and check myself.
3. Signing
73 couples named a song. It's the one moment where soft and familiar beats big. The celebrant will usually say something clear to cue it, and I go through the ceremony with them beforehand so we know how everything lays out. We don't need to use the same song twice, as there are plenty out there. If the signing runs long, I'll play something to fill the gap until we're ready to move on. That's why it's important to meet up and chat music with couples, so I know what to put in that gap. Read more in wedding signing songs.
4. The exit
93 couples named a recessional, the most of any ceremony moment. It's the first upbeat song of the day, so it's where couples show their personality. For the exit, anything upbeat works well, as long as it hits on the drop. I really love seeing confetti, and anything jump-up and happy is great. You don't have to go EDM and banging, and the classics are always a winner. One or two songs is plenty. Once the recessional has finished I swap straight into the drinks playlist outside.
Live, recorded or both
Some of our couples add live music: 2 had live violin at the ceremony, 1 had a live acoustic guitar and singer, and 2 had live acoustic pre-ceremony. 2 went fully unplugged.
We can play the ceremony either way. Plenty of performers won't press play on ceremony music because they find it too stressful. We've done so many that it's well within our wheelhouse. Celebrants and coordinators say an all-in-one package (ceremony and reception) is one of the best things you can do. We have celebrant audio issues all the time. It's one of the most common problems. Celebrants are not techie people, they're people people. That's why we offer to play ceremony music and supply the equipment. We're the techie people. We know how to work it all, we travel with extra gear so everything keeps working, and our microphones are rock solid and above industry standard.
On the day we set up the celebrant's mic, talk through the running order and music, give the videographer a clean feed (they can take a feed directly from our microphone, so they capture clear vocals without the music coming up underneath the celebrant), and place the speaker where it won't spoil photos. 2 of our couples had us provide the celebrant's speaker.
Bringing the music up under the celebrant
I think bringing the music up underneath the celebrant as they talk is really good. Practising that final bit matters for me and the celebrant, so we go through it before the ceremony. It helps to know where the drop is, or where the energy really hits.
Soft pop and acoustic versions
Want a pop song at the ceremony without the studio vocal? Acoustic covers are an easy answer. Start with our soft pop playlist of 24 tracks: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Q7uOtthz9vGcrEtoeP76Z
A taste of what's in the 2026 playlists:
"So Easy (To Fall in Love)" – Olivia Dean
"Best Part" – Daniel Caesar and H.E.R.
"Forever You and Me" – The Teskey Brothers
"Only Love" – Ben Howard
"Everywhere" – Fleetwood Mac
"Birds of a Feather (Acoustic Cover)" – Laurel Wood
"You Make My Dreams (Acoustic)" – Alex Francis
"Kiss Me (Acoustic)" – Laurence O'Brien
Check the lyrics of every song, even a cover. A tender melody can hide a break-up song.
Building your ceremony music
Before the wedding we do 1 to 2 catch-ups about your music. Then we spend 1 to 2 hours building playlists and custom edits, so every must-play is downloaded. Send us the order of events and we'll map a song to each moment. For the reception side, see first dance songs, our wedding reception timeline and wedding DJ hire. For the main hub, see wedding songs in Adelaide.
Quick answers
What songs are played at a wedding ceremony?
Most couples pick a song for the bride's walk, one for the bridal party, one for signing and one for the exit. "Can't Help Falling in Love" was chosen by 9 of our couples for the walk.
What is the best wedding ceremony music?
It depends on your ceremony, but instrumental and acoustic versions are common. 2 of our couples had live violin and 2 went fully unplugged.
What are good acoustic wedding songs?
Try "Only Love" by Ben Howard or an acoustic cover of "You Make My Dreams". Both are on our 2026 playlists.
How many songs do I need for the ceremony?
Usually four moments: pre-ceremony, walk, signing and exit. Add one more if your bridal party and bride walk to different songs.
Do you play ceremony music as well as the reception?
Yes. We handle both, which celebrants and coordinators tell us is one of the best things you can do.