Have I ever told you that I grew up in a home with literally thousands of classical records on vinyl? I did. We listened to classical music at home, and religious music at church, and to be honest, I didn’t know much about pop music till high school. And while I rarely listen to classical music these days, there are some places I just can’t stray from my roots: Christmas (gimmie some religious Medieval music!) and weddings (classical, classical, religious). Which is why I was in charge of APW Classical Wedding Music Playlist.
But when we started putting together this playlist full of ceremony music, APWers, as ever, changed my mind on a few things. This list is hip (with hints and whispers of tradition). Each of these songs makes me feel like I’m being welcomed to a wedding I very much want to be at. For those of you working on the (seemingly impossible) task of picking wedding music, may this inspire you.
And, as summer is winding to a close (what? already?) a huge thank you to Monogamy Wine, which has made these awesomely long, and informative crowd-sourced playlists possible all summer. I raise my glass of delightfully chilled white wine in their honor!
Processionals for Family/Friends/Party:
- “I’ll Be Your Mirror” by Velvet Underground
- “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash
- “Our Way to Fall” by Yo La Tengo
- “Haste to the Wedding” traditional, performed by The Corrs
- “Once Upon a Time in the West” by Ennio Morricone
- “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys
- “Twa Bonny Maidens” traditional, performed by Siobhan McDonnell
- “Love You Madly” by Cake
- “Life’s a Happy Song” by The Muppets
Processionals for Brides/Grooms:
- “Every Morning” by KebMo
- “Stay Young, Go Dancing” by Death Cab for Cutie
- “Heartbeats” by José González
- “Baby, I Love You” by Ramones
- “Brian Boru’s March” traditional, performed by Maurice Lennon
- “Baby That’s Not All” by Josh Ritter
- “The West Wing Theme” performed by The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
- “Home” by Phillip Phillips
Hymns/Ceremony Music:
- “For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Yspilanti” by Sufjan Stevens
- “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan
- “The Book of Love” by The Magnetic Fields
- “Somebody Loved” by The Weepies
- “How Can I Keep From Singing” performed by Judy Collins
Recessionals:
- “Kiss” by Prince
- “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine
- “Sigh No More” by Mumford & Sons
- “That’s What’s Up” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes
- “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder
- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
- “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen
- “I Got You (At the End of the Century)” by Wilco
- “You Have Stolen My Heart” by Dashboard Confessional
- “Brand New Colony” by The Postal Service
Last Dance Songs (For Your Wedding)
**This post was sponsored by Monogamy Wines. Thank you Monogamy for helping make the APW mission possible!**
