When browsing wedding-related blogs, Style Me Pretty, a blog about wedding planning, posted a question posed by a bride-to-be which I found inspiring. The bride asked for suggestions for wedding ceremony processional music which was appropriate for the occasion but non-traditional. While “Here Comes the Bride” is lovely and classic, a modern bride may want to break from traditonal wedding music and opt for something unique and inventive for her wedding ceremony. One way to accomplish this is to choose pop music.

You can make your ceremony “pop” by taking a modern song and give it a classical twist. For example, one bride suggested walking down the aisle to “All You Need is Love” played by a classical string quartet. This would be a lovely choice if one had the Sparrow Lane String Quartet play at their wedding ceremony. Other suggestions from posters included:

• “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles
• “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
• “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones
• “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel
• “Bittersweet Symphony” by the Verve
• “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder
• “Calico Skies” by Paul McCartney
• “Everlong (Acoustic)” by the Foo Fighters
• “All I Want Is You” by U2
• Film Scores (For example, “Storybook Love” from “The Princess Bride”)
• Musical Soundtracks

All of these would be excellent choices if played by a string quartet, a traditional wedding band, a solo violinist or on mandolin.

There are many more lovely pop songs which would translate well into a wedding ceremony if played by any of these bands. For ideas, take a look at your CD collection or iTunes playlist and make a list of songs which inspire feelings of love, romance and beauty within you. Just be sure that each song speaks about love and romance and is appropriate for the “feel” of your wedding. Keep this list at hand when you meet with your wedding band to design your wedding’s soundtrack and you will be sure to have an event to remember.

If you have any suggestions about pop songs which would sound lovely at a wedding ceremony, let us know!

Cheesy Dance Songs to Never Play at a Wedding

First, let’s take a look at some songs which are just too cheesy for any special event, let alone your wedding. While these may be fun dance numbers for your five-year-old nephew, none of these songs are classy, sophisticated or even remotely popular:

• The Macarena
• The Ketchup Song
• The Chicken Dance
• The Hokey Pokey
• The Locomotion
• The Cha-Cha Slide
• Limbo Rock
• YMCA
• The Conga

Again, these songs might seem fun, but, they’re really only fun for people under the age of ten! Save this playlist for your child’s birthday party, not for your wedding.

Inappropriate Songs for a Wedding

While these songs may be beautiful and moving in their own right, they are certainly not appropriate for a wedding! Most of these songs actually deal with break-ups, bad relationships or even death (like “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion). Do you really want to think about those things on your wedding day?

• The Police – “Every Breath You Take”
  (This song is about a bad break-up, and now he’s watching her wherever she goes!)
• Whitney Houston – “I Will Always Love You”
  (“I Will Always Love You” — even though we broke up!)
• Celine Dion – “My Heart Will Go On”
  (He’s dead and she will always remember him.)
• Eric Clapton – “Tears in Heaven”
  (Another song about death.)
• Gloria Gaynor – “I Will Survive”
  (If it isn’t obvious, this is about surviving a terrible break-up and moving on.)
• Billy Idol – “White Wedding”
  (Billy Idol stated that this song is about hating his younger sister’s fiancé.)

Believe it or not, most of these songs are played by DJ’s at weddings all too often and many of them are featured in “Top Wedding Songs” lists on various websites. However, be sure to keep these off of your wedding music playlist and go with something more appropriate — and uplifting — instead!

Questionable Songs for a Wedding

While these songs might be fun and charming on their own, they just do not belong at a wedding reception.

• The Black Eyed Peas – “My Humps”
• The Baha Men – “Who Let the Dogs Out”
• Wang Chung – “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”
• Aerosmith – “Dude Looks Like a Lady”
• Trace Adkins – “Honkey Tonk Badonkadonk”
• Bryan Adams – “Cuts Like a Knife”
• Toby Keith – “She’s a Hottie”
• Billy Ray Cyrus – “Achey Brakey Heart”
• Sisqo – “The Thong Song”
• The Starland Vocal Band – “Afternoon Delight”

Okay, some of these songs are just plain bad!

At this point, you probably get the idea: some songs do not belong at your wedding! While they may be entertaining for a select few, it would be best to leave these out of your wedding music playlist. However, always trust your judgment; you know what’s best for your wedding day!

If you have any more “wedding music mistakes” to share with us, post a comment!