How Many Songs Do You Need For A Wedding?

Selecting the right music for a wedding is a very important part of a wedding ceremony and later on reception. It makes a big impression on the guests and the couple must feel like all selected songs appeal to them. If not chosen right, the music can be remembered for a long time after the ceremony and people can keep discussing it. It also sets the tone for the mood, dynamics and atmosphere of the entire party.

In that case, how do you choose the right music and how many songs do you need for a wedding? The first step is to make a distinction between the wedding ceremony and the reception. Typically, the ceremony involves three songs – one song for each processional and one for the recessional. You typically need one song for the reception as the song for the couple’s opening dance. After that, a wedding reception that goes on for four hours (the average length of a reception) typically requires 20 songs an hour.

Below, we are going to examine in more details how exactly the music for a wedding is supposed to be selected.

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What Songs Do You Need For A Wedding?

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The music of your own wedding should be completely synced with the personal tastes of the bride and groom and the hits that will make them happy. The venue should also be taken into consideration as well as whether the wedding is themed or not.

The songs can be anything from popular world-wide hits to classical music. Consider the venue, your guests and the style of the wedding. You can also hire a live band to play instead of putting recordings.

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How Many Songs Do You Need For A Wedding Ceremony?

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Traditionally, a wedding ceremony involves 3 types of songs – preludes, processionals and recessionals.

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1. The prelude is the moment shortly before the start of the ceremony, about 30 minutes prior. During this time, the guests are still gathering and taking their seats. The prelude music is quietly played at the background in the meantime. The playlist consists of lighter, slower and gentler music that is very subtly noticeable.

You can choose a playlist of songs – meaning that if one song is on average 3 minutes long then you will have to prepare at least 10 songs to play for 30 minutes. Another idea is to select, for example, 5 songs and rotate them during the prelude. You can also go for 1 song but this can get very tiresome for the guests who arrive early and listen to the same song for long. Another option is to choose a classical music playlist, instead of songs.

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2. The processional is the part of the ceremony that involves the group of people walking down the aisle in a specified order to set the beginning of the ceremony. For example, officiant followed by the groom, groom’s parents, bridesmaids, best man, etc.

You can choose how to organise the music for the processionals – you can select a different song for each of the parties or you can come up with a playlist to play from the start to finish of the processional.  On average, the processionals involve the appearance of around 10 parties, so have at least 10 songs prepared.

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3. The recessional is the end of the wedding ceremony itself. This is when all parties in the ceremony walk the aisle to leave. The order of the recessional is the same as the processional but reverse! The selection of the music may be a bit easier since the recessional is faster and the parties leave the church faster than they come in. So, you can opt for, for example, 3-5 songs instead of 10 to play at the background.

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How Long Should A Walk Down The Aisle Song Be?

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Generally, a walk down the aisle should not take more than 3-4 minutes. The song also should not be longer than this. To find out precisely the length of your walk, consider a couple of things:

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The length of the aisle. Every venue is different and some aisles can be longer and shorter than others. No need to mention that the longer the aisle the longer the walk is and the shorter it is, the shorter the walk will be. Maybe it is a good idea to hearse the walk, if possible, and time down the minutes you need.

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Personal pace. Test the aisle and go up and down a couple of times at different paces.

The length of the song. Try walking with the song playing at the background as if you were in the real situation. This is the best way to align the lyrics and your pace.

All and all, the whole walking-down-the-aisle-with-a-song should not be more than 3-4 minutes. Anything longer will become boring and your guests may start feeling restless.

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How Many Songs Do You Need For A Wedding Reception?

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It is important to keep the music flowing throughout the whole reception. An average wedding reception is 4 hours long, which means that you will need roughly 20 songs per hour. It depends on the length of the songs, of course, but if one song is between 2 and 3 minutes, 20x3 is exactly full 60 minutes or 80 songs in total (20x4).

Also, sometimes families choose other special dances and song selection is required for them as well:

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• Wedding party grand entrance song

• Bride and groom’s grand entrance

• First dance as a couple

• Father Daughter dance

• Mother Son Dance

• Wedding Party dance

• Cake cutting

• Garter toss

• Bouquet toss

• Last song of the night

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How Do You Choose Your The Music for Your Wedding?

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The process is not difficult and can be entertaining but keep a couple of points in mind:

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1. Figure out the basics.

First of all decide how many songs you will need, how long will be your processional, are you going to have special dances at the reception, etc.

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2. Consult with the venue.

It is possible that some more conservative venues do not allow any kind of music. Some of them may have a list of specific traditional or religious songs you have to choose from or others may require only music that has no lyrics. Find out the rules, if any, and take it from there.

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3. Consider yourselves both.

Both the bride and groom should take the time and think of special moments they had together: how did you feel? Was there any music around? Which was the hit that year? Music from a concert you went together to or an artist you both love may also be excellent options.

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4. Choose a theme.

To make the process a little faster and easier, consider a common style of songs. For example, you can go for all pop, rock, 90s, 80s, love songs, etc.

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5. What feeling you want to re-create.

You want your reception to be the best party for you and your guests. Take a moment to think what atmosphere and what feeling you would like to re-create – slow, romantic love songs are great but they do not necessarily create a great party. Would you like it to be upbeat, techno, instrumental, evergreens, hard rock, jazz, etc.?

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6. The age of your guests.

It may be a good idea to consider the average age of your guests. Your immediate family like parents, grandparents, etc. are one thing but if the rest of the guests are predominantly in their 20s or 30s you might want to consider neutral music that everyone will be able to relate to.

If your budget allows it, you can hire a professional band or a DJ to take care of the music at your wedding. In fact, parties are much better and more fun with live music. Even if you go for this option, you will have to discuss with the band/DJ the style of music you prefer and set up at least the 10 main songs for the special dances and the wedding ceremony.

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Conclusion

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To make the process a bit easier and more organised, here is a list of about 10 songs that are usually a must at typical wedding ceremonies and receptions:

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1. Prelude.

2. Processional.

3. Bridal processional.

4. Recessional.

5. Reception Entrance.

6. First dance.

7. Father Daughter dance.

8. Mother Son dance.

9. The party starter.

10. The last song.

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Everything else covers the reception itself. An average wedding reception lasts 4 hours. That means you will need about 20 songs per hour or 80 songs in total. Everything, including the wedding ceremony and the start of the reception makes 90 songs.

When you make your selection think of a couple of things such as venue requirements, theme, feelings re-creations, the age of the guests, personal preferences as well as the number of the songs if you will most likely need.