If you are planning a wedding, one of the many details you get to choose is the music that is played throughout the day. The choices you make with music speak to you as a couple, as a song can remind you of a first date, a late night together, can make you smile, or think fondly of your partner.
Music is so important! It sets the mood, gets people excited, and encourages guests to sing and dance! More specifically, there are a few parts of your wedding day that require song choices to be made: ceremony processional and recessional songs, introduction into the room songs, first dance songs, and a few others for key times throughout the event. One of my favorite songs to help couples choose is the LAST dance song. As a wedding planner, I have extensive experience with what songs go with each special part of your day.
A good last dance song is a song that your guests know, some will know every word while others can belt out the chorus. We want to get everyone onto the dance floor, swinging and swaying and singing. It can be a high-energy song, or it can be a very sweet, slow song. A good last dance will serve as a bittersweet farewell to your wedding day and can also help lead guests out of your venue and onto your grand exit, afterparty, or any place other than your reception area! You know the saying: you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here (a friendly reminder from your venue).
The song can be about love like “Joy of My Life,” or it might be a song people can relate to for example “Piano Man” and “All the Small Things.” It could also be a song about friendship like “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places.” Or just a song that literally everyone knows like “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” Note: We should probably avoid songs about heartbreak, losing a love, or someone else’s lover ("Jessie’s Girl" was a hard one to leave off this list)!
I think there is a little something on here for everyone. Admittedly the list is a little heavy on the Elton, Queen, and power ballads, but I restrained myself from only including a bunch of 2000s pop songs (I am a millennial after all) so make sure to read the whole list!
Thank you to my friends and family (Laura, Carly, Lauren H and other people I randomly questioned) who helped me compile this list!