Song Ideas for a Wedding First Dance | Ambient DJ Service

The topic of this article is song ideas for your first dance together as newlyweds.  We categorize our song picks into three categories:  (1) Modern or Alternative Selections, (2) Traditional and Timeless Selections, and (3) First Dance Songs used by Celebrities.

How do you select the perfect first dance song?  If possible, select a song that is personally meaningful to your love story.  Maybe it was the song that you shared your first kiss to.  Or it could be a song that was popular during your courtship.  Perhaps your selected song contains lyrics that particularly resonate with your relationship and beliefs.  Finally, it could be song that is currently popular.

Lyrics?  Yes, they are very important for a First Dance.  Be sure to make sure there aren't any lyrics that would make you or your wedding guests cringe (i.e., breakup songs, songs about past relationships).  That said, through the years we've become more lenient regarding lyrics.  In our opinion, the overall "feeling" of a song eclipses a strange lyric or two.  Rules are meant to be bent and broken.  It's your special day, so don't be afraid to think outside of the box!

The day of your wedding, the DJ can play the song in its entirety for just the bride and groom or cut/fade out the song at a pre-determined point to coincide with your choreographed dance routine.  If you don't relish the spotlight, the DJ can invite your bridal party or other guests to join you on the dance floor after a minute or two.

First Dance Songs - Modern or Alternative Selections

1. Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran (pop)
2. I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz (pop)
3. How Long Will I Love You - Ellie Goulding
4. All of Me - John Legend (R&B)
5. I Choose You - Sara Bareilles (Pop)
6. Cinema (Cover Version) - Jason Evigan (acoustic rock)
7. Earned It - The Weekend (soundtrack), Note: this song has a wonderful 'feel', but somewhat ambiguous lyrics as taken from '50 Shades of Grey' soundtrack.  An edgier selection!
8. You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne (folk rock)
9. Wanted - Hunter Hayes (country)
10. A Thousand Years - Christina Perri (pop)
11. Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not - Thompson Square (country)
12. Just a Kiss - Lady Antebellum (country)
13. God Gave Me You - Blake Shelton (country)
14. Me and You - Kenny Chesney (country)
15. Smile - Uncle Kracker (pop)
16. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star (alternative rock)
17. Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine (alternative)
18. First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes (alternative)
19. The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice (folk rock)
20. I Only Have Eyes for You - Jamie Cullum (cover)
21. Make a Memory - Bon Jovi (pop rock)
22. Marry Me - Train (pop)
23. Count on Me - Bruno Mars (pop)
24. True Companion - Marc Cohn (folk rock)
25. You and Me - Lifehouse (modern rock)
26. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz (pop rock)
27. Better Together - Jack Johnson (folk rock)
28. I’ll Be - Edwin McCain (pop rock)
29. In a Little While - U2 (pop rock)
30. Low Light - Pearl Jam (rock)
31. Two Love Birds - Robin Thicke (R&B)
32. By Your Side - Sade (R&B)
33. No One - Alicia Keys (R&B)
34. Stay With You - John Legend (R&B)
35. Back at One - Brian McKnight (R&B)
36. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones (adult contemporary)
37. Fallen - Lauren Wood (from Pretty Woman sountrack)
38. Lovesong - The Cure, or 311 (80s/New Wave)
39. The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson (indie folk)
40. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - The Talking Heads (for stripped down acoustic version, check out Shawn Colvin’s rendition) (80s/New Wave)
41. All Mine - Portishead (electronic downtempo)
42. Angels - The XX (electronic downtempo)
43. The Luckiest - Ben Folds (pop rock)
44. My Favourite Book - Stars (indie pop)
45. Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips (alternative rock)
46. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (acoustic rock)
47. I Could Not Ask for More - Edwin McCain (pop rock)
48. I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie (indie rock)
49. History in the Making - Darius Rucker (country)
50. Then - Brad Paisley (country)

First Dance Songs - Traditional and Timeless Selections

1. When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge (soul)
2. The Very Thought of You - John Coltrane w/ Johnny Hartman (jazz/vocalist)
3. You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics (soul)
4. The Closer I Get to You - Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway (soul)
5. These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding (soul)
6. It Had To Be You - Harry Connick, Jr. (jazz/big band)
7. The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra (big band) or Tony Bennett (ballad)
8. I'll Always Love You - Taylor Dayne (singer-songwriter)
9. Crazy Love - Van Morrison (acoustic rock)
10. I Will - The Beatles (pop rock)
11. Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts (country)
12. Amazed - Lonestar (country)
13. Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton (rock)
14. I’ll Stand By You - The Pretenders (rock)
15. Love of a Lifetime - Firehouse (rock)
16. Can’t Help Falling in Love - Elvis (oldies)
17. Faithfully - Journey (rock)
18. Heaven - Bryan Adams (80s)
19. Don't Want To Miss a Thing - Aerosmith (rock)
20. I Want to Know What Love is - Foreigner (rock)
21. Is This Love - Bob Marley (reggae)
22. She’s Royal - Tarrus Riley (reggae)
23. Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix (classic rock)
24. At Last - Etta James (soul)
25. Always and Forever - Heatwave (R&B)
26. Through the Fire - Chaka Khan (R&B)
27. Here and Now - Luther Vandross (R&B)
28. One in a Million You - Larry Graham (R&B)
29. Ribbon in the Sky - Stevie Wonder (R&B)
30. From This Moment - Shania Twain w/Bryan White (country)
31. It's Your Love - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (country)
32. I Cross My Heart - George Strait (country)
33. I Swear - John Michael Montgomery (country)
34. Best of My Love - The Eagles (soft rock)
35. How Deep is Your Love - The Bee Gees (disco/soft rock)
36. Crazy for You - Madonna (80s)
37. Lost in Love - Air Supply (soft rock)
38. Into the Mystic - Van Morrison (soft rock)
39. Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers (oldies)
40. We Have All the Time in the World - Louis Armstrong (jazz/vocalist)

First Dance Songs - Used by Celebrities

1. Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt - "It Had to Be You" - Frank Sinatra
2. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia deRossi - "Ribbon in the Sky" - Stevie Wonder
3. Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odum - "Angel" - Anita Baker
4. Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto - "On the Ocean" - K'Jon
5. John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette - "Forever in My Life" - Prince
6. Prince William and Princess Kate - "Your Song" by Elton John, performed live by Ellie Goulding
7. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama - "You and I" - Stevie Wonder
8. Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz - "First Day of My Life" - Bright Eyes
9. Reese Witherspoon and Jim Tosh - "Make You Feel My Love" - Bob Dylan
10. Shannen Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko - "My Baby Just Cares for Me" - Nina Simone
11. Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman - "No One's Gonna Love You" - Band of Horses
12. Fergie and Josh Duhamel - "Sweethearts Together" - The Rolling Stones
13. Ivanka Trump and Jason Kushner - "This Years' Love" - David Gray
14. Michael Buble and Luisano Lopilato - "Everybody Loves Somebody" - Dean Martin
15. LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian - "When It Don't Come Easy" - Patti Griffin
16. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban - "At Last" - Etta James
17. Shania Twain and Frederic Thiebauld - "I'm Your Man" - Michael Buble
18. Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton - "No Doubt About It" - Neal McCoy
19. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - "Songbird" - Fleetwood Mac
20. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards - "Open Arms" - Journey
21. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan - "Last Night on Earth" - Green Day
22. Katherine Heigl & Josh Kelley - “Heavenly Day” - Patti Griffin
23. Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott - “Amazed” - Lonestar
24. Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher - “Love Never Fails” - Brandon Heath
25. George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin - "Why Shouldn't I? - Cole Porter

For More Wedding Song Ideas

Unfortunately there are many inferior musical playlists circulating the Internet that were not compiled by working wedding professionals.  To that end, Ambient DJ Service has compiled a list of our best song ideas for a wedding.  These ideas include ceremony music, grand entrance songs, Father-Daughter songs, Mother-Son songs, bouquet-garter festivites, cake cutting music and grand finale selections.  Furthermore, we share 50 themed wedding cocktail hour playlists, the Top 100 Songs for a 2015 Wedding, 10 Songs NOT to play at a wedding and 7 Musical Programming Tips for a Wedding.  The majority of the songs were used by our actual clients, while the rest were selected with great care to lyrics, mood and danceability.  

To learn more about Ambient DJ Service and creating the perfect musical soundtrack for your special day, visit us on the web at www.ambientdj.com