The wedding songs that you select for your wedding day will remain with you for the rest of your life. Of course, wedding songs aren't exactly a life or death decision, but you should realize that the choices you make will become part of the memories you hold of one the most special days in your life. So choosing the songs for your wedding is not something you should approach lightly.
Before you do too much work coming up with the perfect wedding songs, you should check for any rules at the location of your wedding. If you've chosen to get married in a church, chapel or other religious venue, then they may have guidelines regarding wedding songs. However, if your wedding is scheduled for a non-religious location like a banquet hall, then you'll probably be able to select from a wider range of choices.
For those who are planning to have a traditional wedding, it's usually more appropriate to choose classic wedding songs that fit in well with the formal style of the event. More casual wedding ceremonies or weddings based on a theme allow you a little more latitude on picking wedding songs. It is your wedding and you should be able choose the soundtrack you want.
However, it's usually a really good idea to get a second opinion on your chosen wedding songs from a few family members and friends. They can give you their opinion on how the songs will fit in with your wedding, and they may have an unexpected insight on the meaning of the song lyrics and how they relate to your wedding.
You can find help on the internet if you're having trouble choosing wedding songs or just want to get some ideas on what other people are choosing. For example, http://www.popular-wedding-songs.com/ provides a list of the top 10 wedding songs. This isn't the only list by a long shot. In fact, http://www.usabride.com/wedplan/t_music.html provides lists of popular wedding songs in several categories, including father daughter wedding songs and mother son wedding songs. For couples who are interested in making sure their wedding is accompanied by Christian wedding songs, there are suggestions available at http://www.christianmusic.about.com/cs/hitcharts/tp/aatp081603.htm. This list focuses mostly on songs by contemporary Christian artists.
There are several parts of the wedding ceremony that usually have musical accompaniment. You can choose wedding songs for the entrance of the mothers, the processional and the recessional. If you're planning to light a unity candle, there's almost always an appropriate love song performed during that process. There may be an interlude in the wedding to allow the wedding party to reposition for certain parts of the ceremony and this is a great time to include another wedding song.
Of course, the ceremony isn't the only part of the wedding that includes wedding songs. There are several parts of the wedding reception that traditionally have certain types of wedding songs associated with them. You may want to choose specific songs that are special to you for the first dance and the last dance. Some brides even like to include fun wedding songs to go with the cake cutting ceremony.
Your wedding day is a memorable, once-in-a-lifetime event. Both the bride and groom will cherish the memories of their wedding throughout their marriage, and the wedding songs will be a significant part of those memories. With the large number of choices available, the task of deciding may seem difficult. But it's well worth whatever amount of time and effort it takes.
Wedding songs provide a meaningful musical backdrop to one of the most significant events in your life
