The Best Grand Entrance Songs

What are the best songs for when the bride and groom enter the reception?

The grand entrance refers to the moment when you and your bridal party will enter the reception. Typically, it is done right before dinner is served or before the bride and groom's first dance. If you had not gotten over your shyness during the wedding ceremony, this moment will probably do it. While it is not required, it can be a special moment.

The most common order for the Grand Entrance is the following:

Parents of the Bride and Groom
Ushers
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
Best Man and or Maid / Matron of Honor
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
Bride and Groom

Choosing the right song or songs can be difficult. Most couples choose an upbeat song and use it as a lighthearted bit to liven up the reception. However, what theme this song takes varies. Some couples choose a romantic song while others pick a humorous one.

Many couples use this moment to illustrate their personality as a couple and set the tone for the wedding. It is a moment that you can be sweet and sentimental or give everyone in the room a good chuckle. Allow me to illustrate.

Entrance One: The couple walks serenely hand in hand while Etta James's "At Last" plays.
Entrance Two: The couple sashays in while "Happy Together" plays.
Entrance Three: The couple marches in while the "Imperial March" from Star Wars plays.
Entrance Four: The couple jogs in while "Let's get Ready to Rumble" plays. The bride and groom high five the bridal party and other guests as they make their way towards their seats.

As you can see, there are varieties of directions that you can go with this moment. Whichever style you choose, make sure that someone is put in charge of setting the stage before this moment occurs. A pathway needs to be cleared, lighting needs to be set, and the DJ needs to be cued.

Speaking of the DJ, make sure that he knows how to pronounce everyone's name. Give him or her a list where each name is spelled phonetically. If Monica pronounces her name so it rhymes with unique-a and not harmonica, the DJ needs to know.

Don't forget to have fun with the bridal party. Consider having the groomsmen wear sunglasses while Will Smith's "Men in Black" plays. Your bridesmaids can dance their way in as Madonna's "Like a Virgin" plays. Write up an amusing tidbit or line about each one that the DJ can then announce as the person enters.

Below you will find a list of some of the best grand entrance songs. We've included some notes about the style of the song to help you make your selection. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.

Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.

Here are a few songs that are popular for brides and grooms to use during the grand entrance.

"1999" performed by Prince
Find it on: Sheetmusicplus
"Accidentally in Love" performed by the Counting Crows
From the Shrek 2 soundtrack.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Ain't That a Kick in the Head" performed by Dean Martin
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss Theme
This is the theme song from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Find it on: Rhapsody
"Always and Forever" performed by Heatwave
A popular first dance song that also works for the bride and groom's entrance.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Another One Bites The Dust" performed by Queen
A classic rock song with a strong beat.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Ants Marching" performed by Dave Matthews Band
An upbeat song with a lot of horn.
Find it on: Sheetmusicplus
"At Last" performed by Etta James
Popular slow song that is also used as the first dance and the last dance.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Beautiful Day" performed by U2
A nice rock song with an upbeat theme.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Bittersweet Symphony" performed by Verve
A rock song that does sound more like a symphony than what you're expecting. Check it out of you want something between classical and modern.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Celebration" performed by Kool & The Gang
A disco song that works well for the bridal party's entrance.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Chapel of Love" performed by Dixie Cups
The famous 60s pop song that seems to make its way into any movie about getting married.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Children" performed by Robert Miles
A very upbeat and fast instrumental.
Find it on:
"Crazy In Love" performed by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z
A R&B / Hip-Hop song that has become popular recently.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Crazy Train" performed by Ozzy Osburne
A song that works for people who like Ozzy Osborne or hard rock.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Danger Zone" performed by Kenny Loggins
If you've ever seen Top Gun, you probably remember this song. It's fast.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Eminence Front" performed by The Who
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Enter Sandman" performed by Metallica
A classic rock song.
Find it on: Sheetmusicplus
"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" performed by Wang Chung
A popular fast dance song from the 80s
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
Theme from Rocky III
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy
This was a disco hit and is a very fast, modern version of Beethoven's Fifth.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Finally" performed by Ce Ce Peniston
A 90s dance song
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited
Technotronic dance song
Find it on:
"Get the Party Started" by P!nk
Hip Hop
Find it on: Rhapsody
"The Godfather Waltz" performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic
This is the song that most people feel is the theme song of The Godfather movies.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Gonna Fly Now" (Theme from Rocky) performed by Bill Conti
The theme from Rocky is great for the bridal party entrance.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Groove Is In the Heart" performed by Deee-Lite
This is a dance song from the 90s that you might recognize once you hear it.
Find it on: Rhapsody
"Grow Old With You" performed by Stephen Lynch (in The Wedding Singer)
Adam Sandler originally sang this song over the intercom of the plane at the end of the movie. His version is only available on the CD, but Steven Lynch (who performed it in the Broadway version) is quite good.
Find it on: Rhapsody
"Happy Together" performed by The Turtles
A very light-hearted song from the 60s that most people will recognize.
Find it on: Rhapsody
"Here Comes The Hot Stepper" performed by Ini Kamozie
A combo between a hip-hop and a dance song. Upbeat makes it good for bridal party entrance.
Find it on:
"Highway to Hell" performed by AC/DC
AC/DC does not currently offer any of its songs as downloads. But the CD is good enough to consider purchasing. If you had people who were saying you're making a big mistake, this is your song.
Find it on: Sheetmusicplus
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" performed by Marvin Gaye
A song popular from the 60s, the version by Gaye is as good for the bride and groom's entrance as the version by Taylor listed just below this one.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" performed by James Taylor
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus

For more grand entrance songs go to page 2 or scroll down for more wedding reception song pages. Don't forget to check our numerous pages on Love Songs for more songs appropriate for weddings.