Bridal Procession Music

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Yesterday’s post was about wedding prelude music, so naturally, today I’d like to discuss the bride's procession music. (This is the music that’s played the bride walks down the aisle.)

One of the most popular melodies for a bride’s entrance and walk down the aisle is “Bridal Chorus” from German composer Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. Most of us know the song as “Here Comes the Bride” or “The Wedding March.”

I can appreciate the traditional tie that many brides have to this music and it is a clearly decipherable cue for guests that the bride is going to make her grand entrance. I don’t know if it’s because I spent most of my Saturday mornings watching cartoons, but every time I hear the melody I think of the following lyrics:

Here comes the bride, all fat and wide
Look at her wiggle from side to side
Here comes the bride, all fat and wide
Ten pounds of mince meat walking by his side

I know those aren’t the true lyrics and no matter how much I try to stop myself, that is what I repeat in my head when I hear the melody. If any future brides suffer this same predicament, I have compiled a list of 50 alternative songs and melodies that you can play while walking down the aisle. Some are traditional, others not so much. Remember, it’s your day and you get to choose that best represents you and your partner:

1. "Air" (from Water Music Suite), (George F. Handel)
2. "All I Have to Do Is Dream" - The Everly Brothers
3. "Appalachia Waltz" (Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor)
4. "At Last" (Etta James)
5. "Best of My Love" (The Emotions)
6. "Canon in D" (Johann Pachelbel)
7. "Canzon V" (Giovanni Gabrieli)
8. "Coronation March for Czar Alexander III" (Peter I. Tchaikovsky)
9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Queen
10. "Flatbush Waltz" (Andy Statman)
11. "Have I Told You Lately" (Van Morrison)
12. "I Can't Stop Loving You" (Ray Charles)
13. "Overture" (from Royal Fireworks Music), (George Frederic Handel)
14. "Procession of Joy" (Hal Hopson)
15. "Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition), (Modest Mussorgsky)
16. "Rigaudon" (Andre Campra)
17. "Romeo and Juliet Love Theme" (Tchaikovsky)
18. "Sinfonia" (from Cantata No. 156), (Johann S. Bach)
19. "Sonatas for Organ, Op. 65, No. 3 (con moto maestoso)," (Felix Mendelssohn)
20. "Spring" (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)
21. "Sunrise, Sunset" (from Fiddler on the Roof), (Sheldon Harnick & Jerry Bock)
22. "Te Deum" (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)
23. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Roberta Flack)
24. "The Look of Love" (Dionne Warwick/Burt Bacharach)
25. "The Prince of Denmark's March" (Jeremiah Clarke)
26. "The Vow" (Jeremy Lubbock)
27. "To A Wild Rose" (Edward MacDowell)
28. "Toccata" (from L'Orfeo), (Claudio Monteverdi)
29. "Trumpet Tune in A-Major" (David N. Johnson)
30. "Trumpet Tune" (Henry Purcell)
31. "Trumpet Voluntary" (Jeremiah Clarke)
32. "Unchained Melody" - The Righteous Brothers
33. "Wedding Processional" (from The Sound of Music), (Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein)
34. "When I Fall In Love" (Nat King Cole)
35. "Winter," Largo, (from The Four Seasons), (Antonio Vivaldi)
36. "Wonderful Tonight" - Eric Clapton
37. “Baby, I love your way” (Big Mountain)
38. “Come What May” (Nicole Kidman And Ewan McGregor)
39. “Fly Me to the Moon” (Frank Sinatra)
40. “I Can't Help Falling In Love” (Elvis Presley)
41. “In My Life” (The Beatles)
42. “Let’s Stay Together" (Al Green)
43. “Someone to Watch Over Me" (Linda Ronstadt)
44. “Still in Love With You" (Al Green)
45. “Time in a Bottle” (Jim Croce)
46. “Unforgettable” (Nat King Cole)
47. “What a Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong)
48. “When A Man Loves A Woman” (Percy Sledge)
49. “Your Song” (Ewan McGregor or Elton John)
50. The Four Seasons (Handel)

Personally, I’m a fan of “Canon in D” (probably because I haven't found some idiotic lyrics for it) and “Your Song,” (mostly the one Ewan McGregor because it's an awesome version and yeah, he's damn hot) with but that’s just me. What do you think?