101 Best Recessional Songs

2020

 

 
Walking to the altar from behind wedding guests to start the wedding ceremony is customarily set to music. The people walking down the aisle could include as much as the entire wedding party to as few as the bride herself. This is known as the processional.

In addition, the same can be said for the exiting of the wedding party and all the guests, the wedding recessional. However, the bridal couple starts the recessional after the announcement of the newly married couple to their guests from the officiant. Then, the wedding party exists followed by the wedding guests from front to back rows.

Wedding Recessional Songs are played at a wedding ceremony after the bride and groom have been announced, husband and wife. Wedding recessional songs play while the bride and groom walk down the aisle after the ceremony is complete; away from the altar. The song can continue to play as the wedding party also exit down the aisle. If you have a special wedding recessional song that you think we should add to our list, please add your song suggestion through the comment section below.

Traditional wedding recessional songs listed below include Ode To Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven, Trumpet Tune by Henry Purcell and Hornpipe by George Frideric Handel. Wedding recessional songs signal the end of the wedding ceremony. Therefore, you can also choose fun songs for the recessional such as the Star Wars Theme by John Williams, Celebration by Kool & The Gang and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by James Taylor.

Please Note: Many songs listed below can be found with vocals and instrumental songs. If the link is for vocals, please search on Amazon for what you are looking for and vice-versa.

Recessional Songs For Weddings

Last Updated: January 6, 2020

The wedding recessional songs signify the end of the wedding ceremony. After the recessional song is played, many bridal couples start a receiving line to thank each guest for coming.

The Recessional is the First Impression You Make As a Couple

You two are not the cookie-cutter couple. Not by a long-shot. While you practice the wise “go along to get along” policy with regard to the dresses and flowers and ceremonial details — after all, the marriage is for you but the wedding is for your families — the line is drawn at the Recessional. “I now pronounce you Husband and Wife” (or whatever variation on that traditional theme you decide to go with) and the music that follows is the anthem that signals to your guests that this is no longer two people but one unified couple.

Why not chose an anthem that reflects who you are? Here a few ideas.

Nirvana — Come as You Are

You look amazing in your gown and tuxedo but underneath the glam are a pair of hearts clothed in flannel. You’re a grungy couple with just a hint of cynicism about the world and Cobain spoke to you both in your youth. From the iconic guitar opening to the world-weary vocals, this song announces to the world that you are coming as you are (as you were, as a friend, as a known enemy).

Chris Young – Gettin’ You Home

One of those connections (on top of your mutual love for trucker hats and watching the sunset while sipping lemonade on the back porch) is that you both have a pair of well-worn and cherished cowboy boots. Perhaps a bit of two-stepping down the aisle and out of the sanctuary is exactly the message you want to send to your friends and family?

The Ramones-Baby I Love You

This is the song our brains should play every time we get a crush on someone and the two of you took that simple puppy love of staring across a crowded room and only seeing each other and built the solid rock of life together. It’s also ear-wormy enough that your family and guests won’t want to wait until you’re fully out of the room before they get up and follow you, humming along. Almost a John Hughes kind of movie credits recessional moment.

The Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl

Your courtship was that of a groom seeking someone to blow his mind with her amazing perspective on the world, life and love and this Dead Milkmen hit says it all.

She’s So Hot…Boom! – Flight Of The Conchords

A little unorthodox but so are you. You and your new spouse are irreverent, funny, and with few boundaries so why not splash that excess of personality like paint on a Pollack and strut your stuff in style. Also, the bits at the reception from the show will guarantee a lot of laughs.

Journey – Any Way You Want It

Talk about hitting your stride with a bang! Steve Perry and Journey represent an attitude and the amount of hairspray you’re both wearing right now practically smells like the ’80s. Herald in your wedded journey with something that makes you put on mirrored sunglasses and jam your way out of the chapel.

Use this to anoint your day and everyone else will be singing about “lovin’ things,” too.

The White Stripes-Fell In Love With A Girl

That opening guitar riff declares in no uncertain terms that you are both chargings into your future together as a couple with which there is a reckoning. You are one of those couples — hip, powerful, and unified in your passionate embrace for life, love, and each other.

Whichever song you chose to take that stroll up the aisle and out into your new lives is significant. Any couple can finish with the music of a thousand other weddings but you want to make a statement about your newly minted philosophy toward a marriage unlike any other. Be bold. Be yourselves. Announce your betrothal with some edge.

Recessional song list curated by Matthew Campbell