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13 Alternative Processional Songs For Your Walk Down The Aisle
The ‘walking down the aisle’ music, otherwise known as processional or bridal entrance music, can be one of the hardest tracks to choose.
Especially if you’re not a traditional ‘da da da daaaah…Here Comes The Bride’ (on the organ) kind of bride.
There are so many things to consider when choosing your processional music.
Do you want to make a grand entrance?
Or perhaps you’d prefer a track that starts off slow but builds up to a crescendo?
Do you want instrumental music? Or a song with meaningful lyrics?! Decisions decisions…
Dress Chantilly by Claire Pettibone | Photo by Juliet Elizabeth
Lucky for us John from Aria Melody DJ is here to help with some beautifully quirky, alternative processional music options for your wedding.
I’ve DJ’d quite a few weddings lately held in unique venues all over the NYC area and many brides have chosen unique songs to which they walked down the aisle so I thought I’d share of a few of them.
Each song sets a different tone and mood – so no matter if you’re going for sweet & sentimental or dramatic or contemporary…there are many, many songs out there just waiting to be found.
Your DJ should be able to trim or edit the parts you like or cut the weird lyrics (there are always weird lyrics). Of course, there are hundreds of great modern-tracks-with-a-classic-twist from the very popular Vitamin String Quartet. Or, if you’re looking to go back to the classics, the Lumiere String Quartet has great selections.
Photo by Erin Brown Photography via Soundtrack To I Do
Click the play button to listen to each track and don’t forget to turn the volume up nice and loud!
1. “Reign of Love” – Coldplay
2. “I Love NYE” – Badly Drawn Boy
3. “Longing to Belong” – Eddie Veder
4. “Can’t Help Falling In Love” – Ingrid Michaelson
5. “She” – Elvis Costello
6. “Hoppipolla” – Sigur Ros
7. “Moth’s Wings” – Passion Pit
8. “Rose of My Heart” – Johnny Cash
9. “Halo” (Beyonce cover) – One Republic
10. “Sparkplug Minuet” – Mark Mothersbaugh
11. “Let Me Tell You About My Boat” – Mark Mothersbaugh
12. “Sky Cloud Winter Breeze” – Orba Squara
13. “Falling In Love At a Coffeeshop” – Landon Pigg
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these songs as I put this post together. You may not recognise the titles but after listening you’ll recognise some of the instrumental songs from adverts and film scores. There are some truly beautiful songs on this list.
Have you got any other alternative processional song ideas? I’d love to hear them!
To find out more about New York based Aria Melody DJ ’s services, check out their website and visit their blog for more awesome playlists.
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73 Responses and Counting...
We’ve just decided on ours! I mm going to walk in to ‘Sparks’ by Coldplay!
LOVE this post Elizabeth, absolutely brilliant idea and something not too often thought of until the very last minute. Great selection too xx
Ohh great idea!! I’ll be walking down to a vitamin string quartet song…cannot wait! :)
Love this post. For us it’s At Last by Etta James. After eight years it seemed appropriate :)
There are 2 new pop bride’s entrance songs written especially for the bride walking down the aisle available only at http://www.weddingmusiccentral.com. “Here She Comes” with a vocal by Oren Waters, and
“When She Walk”, written for a Platinum Weddings episode is new, fresh and totally appropriate for that moment.
After seeing 500 Days of Summer, I just knew our wedding party needed to shimmy on down the aisle to “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall & Oates. It was such a fun way to start our wedding day, insanely appropriate for us, and my heart still skips a beat whenever I hear the opening notes.
where is this dress from! and who was the designer?
I walked in to Hopipopolla by sigur ros and it was incredible.
I am walking down to “Life in Technicolor” by Coldplay. I cannot wait!!!
Great recommendations here. Many people choose Coldplay as an alternative. I’d prefer something personal rather than traditional.
Our wedding party is walking to one song, while I walk to “My Little Girl” by Jack Johnson. It’s very short and sweet.
Love these choices!! Great post. :)
another one you could post is john lennon’s “real love” cover by regina spektor. its lovely.
I love that song ~ actually did a post about it too :) http://bridalmusings.com/2011/03/real-love-performed-by-regina-spektor-is-this-the-wedding-song-youve-been-looking-for/
Gorgeous choice!
I hadn’t heard that Jack Johnson song before, had to go have a listen ~ it’s lovely.
Wow! That’s such an exciting, powerful song to walk down the aisle to! :)
My sister walked down the aisle to “Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop.” It was super sweet since she and my now brother-in-law met each other while working at Caribou Coffee.
I walked down the aisle to Craig Armstrong’s “Glasgow Love Theme”…. beautiful…
That is so sweet ~ what a lovely idea!
Oh my, that is such a beautiful piece of music ~ I adored Love Actually too :)
I love this song. Did your fiance pick it?
Where is this dress from???
The photo above of the bride is actually a bridal portrait done by Juliet Elizabeth Photography. The link to the tumblr is incorrect.
Here is the correct link:
http://julietelizabeth.com/index2.php?v=v1#/gallery1/9/
It’s important to give credit where credit is due. Most of the time, tumblr pages do not acknowledge the source of a photo.
Thank you for providing the original source and introducing me to Juliet Elizabeth’s beautiful photography.
This is great, thanks for posting
We chose “She Walks this Earth” by Sting….much better choice than the usual wedding march!
Beautiful. Yes much better!!
This is SO amazing. Thank you for posting this, because I’ve been going CRAZY trying to find songs other than ye olde Wedding March. They’re so beautiful, and I may actually have something to walk down the aisle to!
I am walking down the aisle to “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts
Hello, can you please tell me the designer of the wedding dress in the top photo? It’s just lovely and I’d like to know who designed it.
Thank you,
Chenoa
I’ve had several friends get married last year, and as we are Texas Country fans, three of them used songs from that genre. One that I can remember is “She’s Like Texas” by the Josh Abbott Band. I loved that all of the songs they chose were special to each couple.
Hi Chenoa, I’ve been trying to find out who designed it for ages ~ finally found this image of the same dress on Wedding Chicks. It’s by Claire Pettibone :) Here’s a link to the post: http://www.weddingchicks.com/gallery/anne-adams-photography-claire-pettibone-wedding-dresses/?pid=8086
Wow I hadn’t heard that song before, it’s beautiful.
Claire Pettibone
You’re welcome, so glad to have helped :) Best of luck with the rest of your wedding plans.
In a little less than 2 months I’ll be walking down to “The Moon” by The Swell Season..it’s our “special song” and I’m surprising my fiance’ with it! I’m aiming to get him to tear up! HAH!
The girls will walk to “Oh My Stars” by Andrew Belle C:
Wow! I am loving discovering all this great music! I’m sure your fiance will get a lump in his throat as soon as he hears the first few notes of The Moon. It’s hauntingly beautiful. And what a wonderful voice, Andrew Belle has!
Enjoy every second of your walk down the aisle and your wedding :)
I had “Is’nt she lovely”
You just helped me big time.. Eddie Vedder – longing to belong is perfect for the processional entrance THANK YOU!
I love the sparkplug minuet song! I can’t find it anywhere on itunes though… I would love to walk down the isle to this. Could someone let me know where I could download or buy it from?
Awesome! Thanks! I really wanted Chris Cornell ‘Thank you’ but I can only get it with a live audience… not quite the same having applause break out in the middle of the march!
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i decided that im going to walk down the isle to a disney song possibly youll be in my heart by phill colins is there any other suitable disney songs that anyone can suggest?
I walked down the isle last week to Doris Day’s version of Zip-a-dee-doh-dah, such a happy time deserves a happy song, It had me dancing down the isle and the guest smiling and singing along.
Oh I’ve just seen this, you’re very welcome, so glad to have helped! :)
Hi Sammie, it’s on The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack which you can get on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Royal-Tenenbaums-Mark-Mothersbaugh/dp/B000062U7H :)
You’re welcome. Oh no, that’s a shame. Yep applause kind of ruins it a little…unless it was at the end when you reach your husband to be ;)
How lovely. Gosh there are so many…I love Disney! Hope this is helpful >> http://blog.musicnotes.com/2010/02/12/fall-in-love-with-30-disney-love-songs/
Congratulations! Hope you had an amazing day. What a wonderfully upbeat and happy song, it must’ve been so fun dancing down the aisle to that! :) I agree completely that weddings are happy times (there’s no need to walk down the aisle to something that’s going to make you cry.)
So sorry I missed your comment Allie, thanks for sharing. Hope you had (or will have) an amazing wedding day! :)
I walked to “I love NYE” (#2). I couldn’t have played a more perfect and appropriate song. Thank you!
I am getting married in a barn, but I am having my bridal party walk down the aisle and once they get in the whole wall of the barn opens up overlooking a meadow and I will start my walk in there with my dad. I am walking in to the song from Juno “All I Want Is You” by Barry Louis Polisar
This is a fantastic blog! I still have a year until I get married, but now its definitely a toss up between I love NYE or Glasgow Love Theme. Thanks for posting xo
My mom walked down the aisle to “Thank you” by Led Zeppelin… yeah, my parents are awesome! I am thinking about using the same song for my wedding this summer.
I am walking down the aisle to “Plainsong” by the Cure. Think the processional of the coronation in Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
[...] 13 Alternative Processional Songs For Your Walk Down The Aisle [...]
Pachebel’s Canon in D
When I was married I walked down the aisle to Little Martha by the Allman Brothers. Still can’t think of a better song- so beautiful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmSPCOby-1A
I’m going to be walking down to “Come Thou Font” by Paul Cardell, and my girls will be walking to Vitamin Sting Quartet’s “Wonderful Tonight”…. this is a great blog!
i am going to use let me down easy by billy currington
So much in love by All for One
A Thousand Years by Christina Perri…here is me walking down to it.
Thanks for introducing us to the Eddie Veder song “Longing to Belong” — the groom’s a big Pearl Jam fan and we are using it for our processional song.
What about “Marry Me” by Train, “Question” by Old 97′s or “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes
I’ll walk down the aisle to Ian Britt, “The Shape of Us”
I will follow you into the dark by death cab for cutie
Beautiful !!! Congrats to you and your husband :)
We decided that i will be walking down the aisle to “a thousand years” by Christina Perry but in the piano / cello cover :) tradition with a twist.
Amazing post… and such great ideas. Brilliant work!!!
I’ll be 10/19/13 and will be walking down the aisle to the reprise of 16 going on 17 from The Sound of Music, or So This is Love from my favorite Disney movie, Cinderella :)
I am walking down to “Sea of Love” by Cat Power. Still trying to figure out what the wedding party will walk down to.
Lol same here!! :D