Unique wedding processional songs and “Here Comes the Bride” alternatives

Posted by
Photo by Velodramatic
Photo by Velodramatic

My fiancee and I are going to be walking into the ceremony together and then meeting in the middle.

As you can imagine, the traditional “Here Comes the Bride” wedding processional song wouldn't really fit us too well.

That being said, does anyone know of any alternatives to that song?

I'm open to anything!

-Shell

Here we go! We've already rounded up AWESOME first dance songs and non-sappy father/daughter dance songs, now it's time to put our Offbeat Bride spin on wedding processional songs.

Here are our favorite “Here Comes the Bride” alternatives, ranging from the classic, the modern, and the totally nerdy (of course).

Classical alternatives

  • Satie's “Gymnopédie No. 1” (hear it)
  • Gustav Holst's “Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity” (hear it)
  • “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven's Symphony 9 (hear it)
  • Vivaldi's “Spring Allegro” (hear it)
  • Handel's Air From “Water Music” (hear it)
  • Mussorgsky's “Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade” (hear it)

Variations on a theme of traditional

  • Queen's wedding march — I had to! (hear it)
  • Canon In D Remix by Ronald Jenkees (hear it)
  • Etta James' At Last (hear it)

Subtle (and sometimes nerdy) alternatives

  • “Concerning Hobbits” (hear it)
  • The Princess Bride's “Storybook Love” (hear it)
  • The Turret Opera from Portal 2 (hear it)
  • “The Shape of Things to Come” from Battlestar Galactica (hear it)
  • Sigur Rós' “Hoppípolla” (hear it)
  • “Romantic Flight” from the movie How to Train Your Dragon (hear it)
  • “Neville's Waltz” from Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (hear it)
  • The Skyrim theme (hear it)
  • The theme from Braveheart (hear it)
  • Triumphal March from Aida (hear it)
  • Game of Thrones theme (hear it)

Goth and metal

  • Amhran by Leaves' Eyes — an operatic metal band from Norway (hear it)
  • Apocalyptica's version of “Nothing Else Matters” (hear it)
  • Suite Gothique by Leon Boellmann (hear it)
  • Anything from Gothic Wedding Collection by Vitamin String Quartet (hear it)

Silly

  • The theme from James Bond (hear it)
  • The theme from the Pink Panther (hear it)
  • The theme from Mission impossible (hear it)
  • “A Cadence to Arms” by Dropkick Murphy (hear it)
  • The Jurassic Park theme (hear it)
  • The Throne Room/End Title song from Star Wars (hear it)
  • The Muppets' Somebody's Getting Married/He'll Make Me Happy (hear 'em)
  • Europe's “The Final Countdown” (hear it)

Pop and rock

  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow (hear it)
  • Colbie Caillat's “I Do” (hear it)
  • Adele's “One and only” (hear it)
  • The Beatles' “In My Life” (hear it)
  • Pearl Jam's “Just Breathe” (hear it)
  • Cat Power's version of “Sea of Love” (hear it)
  • Tesla's Love Song (hear it)

Indie

  • Thirteen by Elliot Smith (hear it)
  • Phone Call by Jon Brion from Eternal Sunshine (hear it)
  • Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah (hear it)
  • We Are Going To Be Friends by the White Stripes (hear it)

Want to see more music selections?



Check our entire first dance post archive!

Meet our fave wedding vendors