Wedding Entrance Music

The ceremony is over and it is time for the fun to begin - time to choose your wedding entrance music! After you have had your photographs taken and your guests have mingled and had a dink during cocktail hour, it is time to sit down for the reception. On your way over to the reception venue, give your MC or best man a call so that they can get all your guests to move to their seats. Alternatively, arrive quietly during the cocktail hour, mingle a little, have a drink and do the formal grand entrance once your guests have taken their seats.

Your wedding entrance music or grand entrance music (as it is also known) is a tradition meant to announce you for first time as husband and wife. It is also tradition to announce the rest of the bridal party, but it is not always neccessary with smaller weddings where everyone will know one another.

The wedding reception entrance music you choose should reflect that the fun and celebration is about to start. You can of course choose something more epic if you wish, but generally it should be an upbeat, well known song to get your guests enthuisiastically clapping and welcoming you.

How to choose the perfect wedding entrance song

Here are a few questions to ask yourselves to help you decide on the perfect song to use for your grand entrance, and to decide how you want this important event to play out:

1. Will your guests and wedding party recognize the song, or is it too new or obscure to be appreciated?

2. Does it reflect your personalities as a couple and your wedding party?

3. Is it appropriate for the wedding reception? - even with the most formal of occasions it is appropriate to have a fun and upbeat song for this occasion, but it is never appropriate, no matter how informal the reception is, to play an offensive song with explicit lyrics.

4. Do you want to use an instrumental song or version of a song, or one with lyrics too?

5. Is your wedding party to be announced too, or will it just be the bride and groom?

6. How would you like to be announced - as Mr & Mrs Jones, the Bride and Groom or simply John and Mary?

7. Keep in mind that you will only use a small portion of the song (the first minute or so), so choose something that has impact in the first 30 seconds.

8. Enhance your grand entrance further with some special effects - ask your dj or band if they can provide a bubble machine or a smoke machine, or hire one in from an audio visual company.

Once your best man or MC has asked all your guests to be seated, he will gather up the two of you and your wedding party (if they are to be announced as well) outside of the reception area. He must make sure that the DJ or band leader is aware that you are about to do the grand entrance and should have the appropriate music ready. Choose an entrance song for your wedding party. The grandparents can be acknowledged and introduced where they are seated in the reception area. The bride's parents will then be introduced followed by the groom's parens, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the flower girls and ring bearer, the maid/matron of honor and the best man. Choose a second wedding entrance song for yourselves, the bridal couple.

Below is a list of popular and appropriate wedding entrance music:

Get Ready For This - 2 Unlimited

Sandstorm - (Originally by Darude)

Rock and Roll Part 2 - Gary Glitter

St Elmo's Fire - David Foster

Peter Gunn Theme - Henry Mancini

Love Walks In (Intro) - Van Halen

Praise You - Fatboy Slim

Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer

It Had to Be You - Various Artists

Gonna Fly Now - Original Rocky Movie Soundtrack

Lets Get Ready To Rumble - Jock James