The Best Classical Instrumental Songs for a Wedding Ceremony

What are the best classical instrumental songs for your wedding ceremony?

Music played as a background to various wedding interludes should provide the right background ambience without overshadowing the actual event. You will not need music for the entire ceremony. Some moments are better served by silence, which allows your guests time for quiet reflection. Appropriate background music can help add emphasis to a particular reading. For example, if someone is reading an Irish poem, having an instrumental version of "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" will help add emphasis to the reading. If you are looking for music to use during unity ceremonies, check out the Best Unity Ritual Songs.

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When choosing music, you will want to consider what mood you are looking to set. Keep in mind that mood is not always determined by the songs you choose. Sometimes it is a matter of what type of instruments used or how the song is arranged. For example, take the classic love song "Because You Love Me." If you click on the player below, samples of different versions of it will play. Notice how the mood changes from one version to the next, depending on the singer or the arrangement used.

When selecting music, here is a general guide as to what instruments you should consider to set the right mood. Here is a good guideline as to which instruments best fit different moods.

Elegant: strings, harp, violin, flute
Contemporary: guitar, drums, keyboard
Traditional: organ, piano
Serenity: harp, flute, violin, piano
Uplifting / Joyful: strings, violin, guitar, flute, piano, organ
Playful: violin, guitar, piano
Formal: organ, violin, harp
Contemporary: guitar, piano
Romantic: violin, piano, harp
Spiritual: organ, harp, strings

We have selected a few of the more popular classical instrumental pieces and listed them below. If you are looking for contemporary pieces, we have listed them on our page of Best Contemporary Instrumental Songs. While there are quite a few versions of each song available, we looked for some of the more popular versions or versions that were recorded specifically for weddings. 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.

A few songs you might consider for the interlude are:

Air from Water Music Suite, HWV 348, performed by George Frederic Handel
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Air on a G String" from Orchestral Suite No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
Arioso In A, "Sinfonia" from Cantata No. 156 performed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Ave Maria" by Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Gounod
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Canon in D" by Johann Pachelbel
One of the most played pieces, it can work almost anywhere but most commonly during the prelude and processional.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir," Cantata No. 29, BWV 29 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Find it on: Sheetmusicplus
"Clair de Lune" from Suite Bergamasque by Claude Debussy
Find it on: Rhapsody
"Greensleeves"
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Hornpipe" from Water Music Suite by Georg Friedrich Handel
Also known as Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 7; it is a very nice choice for the bride's processional or the recessional.
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Meditation" from Thaïs by Jules Massenet
Find it on: Rhapsody
"Mandolin Concerto in C Major" by Antonio Vivaldi
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
Nocturne in E Flat, Op.9 No. 2, by Frederic Chopin
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Overture" from Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351 by George Frideric Handel
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Prelude in C Major" by Johann Sebastian Bach
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Prelude To Te Deum" by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Rigaudon" by Andre Campra
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Romeo And Juliet" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"Sheep May Safely Graze" ("Was mir behagt"), Cantata No. 208, by Johann Sebastian Bach
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus
"The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi
Find it on: Rhapsody Sheetmusicplus

If you are looking for instrumental songs check out either our Best Classical Love Songs or Best Contemporary Instrumental Songs. Don't forget to check our numerous pages on Love Songs for more songs appropriate for weddings.