If you’re looking for inspiration for your wedding reception music, this is the definitive collection of rock wedding songs. From early 1950s rock ‘n’ roll classics to heavier late ’60s songs, including well-known hits from Elvis Presley, Led Zepplin and The Beatles, plus more contemporary alternative sounds, all with meaningful lyrics about love and commitment, making them ideal for weddings.
1. True Love Ways by Buddy Holly 1958
‘Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care’
2. Sea of Love by Phil Phillips 1959
‘Do you remember
When we met
That’s the day
I knew you were my pet
I wanna tell you
How much
I love you’
3. You Really Got Me by The Kinks 1964
One of the best rock wedding songs that will make everyone want to dance, featuring the line ‘See, don’t ever set me free, I always want to be by your side’.
4. All You Need is Love by The Beatles 1967
‘There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be
It’s easy
All you need is love, all you need is love
Love is all you need’
5. Happy Together by The Turtles 1967
‘I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you
For all my life
When you’re with me, baby the skies’ll be blue
For all my life’
6. Thank You by Led Zeppelin 1969
‘If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me’
7. Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin 1969
Perhaps the ultimate choice when it comes to rock wedding songs, with high energy, gloriously ambigous lyrics and at its heart – just ‘a whole lotta love’.
8. The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley 1970
‘And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and I’m a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything’
9. Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones 1971
‘Graceless lady you know who I am
You know I can’t let you slide through my hands
Wild horses couldn’t drag me away’
10. Golden Years by David Bowie 1975
‘I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years, gold’
11. You’re My Best Friend by Queen 1976
‘You’re my sunshine and I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
Oh you’re my best friend’
12. White Wedding by Billy Idol 1982
The first and most obvious choice of rock wedding songs for rock music fans having a white wedding.
13. Never Tear Us Apart by INXS 1988
‘I was standing
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never ever tear us apart’
14. Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns and Roses 1988
An outside choice for rock wedding songs perhaps but a well-known song with a great rock sound and beautiful lyrics that include the line ‘Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place, Where as a child I’d hide, And pray for the thunder, And the rain, To quietly pass me by’.
15. Eternal Flame by The Bangles 1989
‘Is this burning an eternal flame
I believe it’s meant to be, darling
I watch you when you are sleeping
You belong with me’
16. Love Song by The Cure 1989
‘However far away
I will always love you
However long I stay
I will always love you
Whatever words I say
I will always love you’
17. Nothing Else Matters by Metallica 1992
‘Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters’
18. Everlong by Foo Fighters 1997
‘Breathe out
So I can breathe you in
Hold you in’
19. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith 1998
When it comes to rock wedding songs, this one from the film Armageddon has lyrics that just say it all: ‘‘I could spend my life in this sweet surrender, I could stay lost in this moment forever, Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure’.
20. Thank You For Loving Me by Bon Jovi 2000
‘Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn’t see
For parting my lips
When I couldn’t breathe
Thank you for loving me’
21. Everything by Lifehouse 2000
‘You are the strength that keeps me walking
You are the hope that keeps me trusting
You are the life to my soul
You are my purpose
You’re everything’
22. Falling by The Art of Dying 2006
‘I keep falling in love with you every day
You’re the one that I knew I’d find
And every moment we spend is another away
This love’s for life’
23. One Day Like This by Elbow 2008
‘Oh, kiss me like the final meal
Yeah, kiss me like we die tonight
Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light’
24. The Love I Live For by Hinder 2008
‘Because of you
Baby i cant sleep
Stayin up all night til its five in the mornin’
Just to hear you breathe
Looked all my life, and baby here’s the truth;
Been around the world and aint a girl
That could even come close to you’
25. To Lose My Life by White Lies 2009
One of the more unusual alternative rock wedding songs featuring the lyrics ‘Let’s grow old together and die at the same time’.
26. I Need You by Saving Abel 2010
‘I need you
Like the sun needs the rain
Can’t think of any better way to say
I need you, say you need me too
Who needs you, Baby I need you’
27. Smile by Sixx:AM 2011
‘And all my life
I’ve been waiting for someone like you
To make me smile
You make me feel alive
And you’re giving me everything
I’ve ever wanted in life
You make me smile’
28. I’ll Follow You by Shinedown 2013
‘I’ll follow you down to the eye of the storm
Don’t worry I’ll keep you warm
I’ll follow you down while we are passing through space
I don’t care if we fall from grace
I’ll follow you down to where forever lies
Without a doubt I’m on your side
There is no where else I’d rather be
I’m not about to compromise
Give you up to say goodbye
I’ve got you through the deep
I’ll keep you close to me’
29. Thick And Thin by Tom Keifer 2013
One of the more recent rock wedding songs from the former lead singer of American ’80’s glam rock band, Cinderella, featuring the lyrics ‘Cause you for me and me for you makes us complete, And when your lucky star ain’t shining, I’ll be your silver lining’.
30. This Heart of Mine (I Pledge) by Pain of Salvation 2015
‘I pledge to wake you with a smile
I pledge to hold you when you cry
I pledge to love you till I die
Till I die’
More Rock Wedding Songs
Find more rock wedding songs and other music inspiration in the best love songs for your wedding, and your nearest wedding entertainment, from live bands to solo artists and DJs to play original music or any of these songs.
