Top Wedding First Dance Songs

Originally published 6 May 2020. Updated October 2026.

We’ve heard most first dance songs by now, and the first dance is still one of our favourite few minutes of any wedding. In the length of one song we learn more about a couple than in hours of planning together: whether they sway or properly dance, whether they look at each other or at their feet, whether the song is a love letter or a private joke. This is our updated list of the best wedding first dance songs, rebuilt for 2026: the classics that never leave, the songs couples have been choosing since 2020, a few that aren’t love songs at all, and one waltz from Japan.

We’ve added a note to most of them, because choosing the song is the easy part. The rest is our job.

How We’d Choose a First Dance Song

Start with the song that’s already yours, if there is one. If there isn’t, listen to your shortlist together, start to finish, not just the chorus; plenty of love songs turn out to be about something else by the second verse. Then think about length. Most couples are happiest dancing for two to three minutes, and many favourites run past four, so decide early whether you’ll fade it, edit it, or invite everyone to join halfway through.

Think about the room, too. A ballroom with a band can carry something big and brassy, while a dance after dinner at a ryokan suits something closer and softer. If there’s a live band, ask whether they can play your song and in which arrangement. Wherever you are, the sound team needs the exact file in advance, along with whatever plays next, because the song after the first dance decides whether the dance floor fills. If you’re planning a wedding in Japan, that’s one of the many small things we hold so you don’t have to.

Classic Wedding First Dance Songs

At Last, Etta James (1960)

Still the benchmark, and it earns it: strings, a slow build and a voice that sounds like relief. It’s unhurried and forgiving, which matters more than people think when everyone is watching. Planner’s note: if you’d rather sway than spin, start here.

Can’t Help Falling in Love, Elvis Presley (1961)

Often counted as the most played first dance song there is, and about three minutes long, which is as long as most couples want to be watched. It has a dozen good covers if the original feels too familiar. Planner’s note: choose your version early, so the band or the sound team has the right one.

Stand by Me, Ben E. King (1961)

A love song that sounds like a promise rather than a confession, with a bassline everyone in the room already knows. Guests tend to start singing by the second chorus. Behind the camera: that’s when we watch the room as much as the couple.

The Way You Look Tonight, Frank Sinatra (1964)

Written for Fred Astaire in 1936, recorded by almost everyone since, and still at its best with Sinatra’s swing. It’s a song for couples who can actually dance, or who have taken three lessons and would like to prove it. Planner’s note: a big-band song deserves a band, if the venue has room for one.

Unchained Melody, The Righteous Brothers (1965)

Unashamedly dramatic, with one of the great swells in pop and a film scene attached that most of your guests can picture. Planner’s note: it’s slow for a long time and then very loud, so it’s worth one rehearsal in your actual shoes.

La Vie en Rose, Louis Armstrong (1950)

Gentle, warm and a little bit Parisian, and Armstrong’s trumpet does what a speech can’t. It suits a smaller wedding, where the whole room is close enough to lean in. Behind the camera: we love this one by candlelight.

Moon River, Audrey Hepburn (1961)

From Breakfast at Tiffany’s, sung by Hepburn herself on a fire escape with a guitar. It’s a waltz, which most couples don’t notice until they try to dance to it. Planner’s note: if you choose a waltz, take the lesson.

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli (1967)

It starts as a ballad and turns into a party, which makes it one of the best ways to bring everyone onto the floor without a second song. Planner’s note: tell the sound team and your guests that everyone joins when the horns come in.

Your Song, Elton John (1970)

Modest, a little awkward and completely sincere, which is how most people feel on a dance floor with everyone watching. Behind the camera: it’s a song for close frames and small smiles.

Grow Old with You, Adam Sandler (1998)

From The Wedding Singer, one of our best wedding movies of all time, and the gentlest song on this list: about two minutes, one guitar and words most couples quietly mean. Planner’s note: at that length, nobody has time to get nervous.

The 2000s and 2010s

If I Ain’t Got You, Alicia Keys (2003)

Piano, a big voice and a song about what’s left when everything else is stripped away. Alicia Keys was on our list in 2020, and this is still the one. Behind the camera: it builds slowly, which gives us time to find the faces around the floor.

Everything, Michael Bublé (2007)

Bright, swinging and impossible to feel sad to. It was on the first version of this list, and it still fills a room. Planner’s note: line up a good second song, because people will want to keep dancing.

Better Together, Jack Johnson (2005)

Laid-back, barefoot and happy, a song that sounds like the end of a long lunch. Planner’s note: made for a garden reception or an Okinawa beach wedding, where nobody wants a big production.

Make You Feel My Love, Adele (2008)

Bob Dylan wrote it, and Adele made the version most couples choose. It’s slow and plain-spoken, a song for holding each other rather than dancing. Planner’s note: it suits couples who are nervous about the dancing part.

A Thousand Years, Christina Perri (2011)

Written for the Twilight films and adopted by a generation of couples, many of whom walk down the aisle to it as well. Planner’s note: if it’s your processional, choose something else for the first dance, or use an instrumental version for one of the two.

All of Me, John Legend (2013)

Piano and voice, nothing else, and one of the most chosen first dance songs of the last decade. Behind the camera: stripped-back songs make for the closest, quietest frames.

Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran (2014)

The modern standard: a song about growing old together that sounds best danced close. It runs a little over four and a half minutes. Planner’s note: decide on a fade, an edit, or the moment you’ll invite everyone to join.

A Sky Full of Stars, Coldplay (2014)

Coldplay were on our 2020 list too, and this is the one couples choose now: a piano opening, then a full dance track. Planner’s note: it’s a first dance that becomes the party, so have the dance floor ready.

Tennessee Whiskey, Chris Stapleton (2015)

A country soul slow dance that even people who say they don’t like country end up loving. Behind the camera: a slow sway like this is where the best laughing frames happen.

Say You Won’t Let Go, James Arthur (2016)

A whole relationship in one song, from the night they met to old age, which is why it stays on so many shortlists. Planner’s note: it’s a story song, so make sure the story is one you’d tell about yourselves.

Perfect, Ed Sheeran (2017)

Ed Sheeran again, and fair enough. It’s an easy song to sway to and a lovely one to turn to. Planner’s note: there’s an orchestral version with Andrea Bocelli if you want something grander.

You Are the Reason, Calum Scott (2017)

A piano ballad about wanting to deserve someone, and the duet version with Leona Lewis gives it two voices for two people. Behind the camera: good for couples who want to be still and close.

Speechless, Dan + Shay (2018)

Written about seeing your partner on the wedding day, which makes it one of the few songs literally about the moment. Planner’s note: it also works for a first look or a processional, if the first dance needs something faster.

Released Since 2020

Joy of My Life, Chris Stapleton (2020)

Warm, grateful and as plain a love song as anyone has recorded in years. Planner’s note: a good choice for couples who want feeling without a big build.

invisible string, Taylor Swift (2020)

A song about two people being connected long before they met, which is why so many couples who met by chance choose it. Planner’s note: it’s gentle and fairly short, so follow it with something louder to open the floor.

Leave the Door Open, Silk Sonic (2021)

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak doing 1970s soul, smooth enough for a slow dance and fun enough to make the room smile. Behind the camera: couples who choose it usually dance it laughing, and so do their guests.

Until I Found You, Stephen Sanchez (2021)

It sounds like 1958, came out in 2021, and has become one of the defining first dance songs of the last few years. Behind the camera: an old-fashioned song invites an old-fashioned dance, dips included.

Golden Hour, JVKE (2022)

A piano song that swells into something cinematic, named for the light photographers wait all day for. Behind the camera: if your first dance is outdoors at the end of the day, this is the song.

Stargazing, Myles Smith (2024)

Folk-pop with a stomping chorus, for couples who want their first dance to feel like the start of a party rather than the end of a ceremony. Planner’s note: best saved for a dance outside, if the night is clear and the venue allows it.

Die With a Smile, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars (2024)

A duet, which makes it a song for two in the most literal way, and one of the most requested first dances since it came out. Planner’s note: it’s just over four minutes, so plan your fade.

Birds of a Feather, Billie Eilish (2024)

Soft, sweet and a little hazy, from an artist better known for darker songs. It’s become a favourite for couples who want something current without a big ballad. Planner’s note: it’s an easy, swaying tempo for people who don’t love dancing in public.

Belong Together, Mark Ambor (2024)

Acoustic, warm and simple, and climbing fast up first dance lists. Behind the camera: songs this light tend to make couples forget anyone is watching, which is exactly what we want.

Ordinary, Alex Warren (2025)

By some counts the most chosen first dance song of 2025: a sweeping, building ballad that sounds bigger every time the chorus returns. Planner’s note: a song that builds needs a good sound system, so check what the venue has before you fall in love with it.

Not Love Songs, and Better for It

Africa, Toto (1982)

One of our favourite first dances ever was to “Africa”, at a wedding in Tokyo. Once we knew the couple, it couldn’t have been anyone else’s song, and we still can’t hear it without thinking of them. The best first dance songs aren’t always love songs. Sometimes they’re just yours. Planner’s note: if your song is a surprise, warn the sound team, not the guests.

Wild Horses, The Rolling Stones (1971)

Rock and roll at its most tender, and on our list since the first version. Behind the camera: it’s slow enough for a real dance and rough enough to feel like you.

Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles (1969)

For couples who want joy rather than drama. Planner’s note: right for a garden, a lunchtime reception or a first dance in daylight.

Dancing Queen, ABBA (1976)

For couples who would rather everyone danced with them from the first bar. We’re Australian, so ABBA was always going to appear. Planner’s note: if you choose a party song, tell your guests to join in, or they’ll politely wait.

Starlight, Muse (2006)

Muse made our 2020 list, and this is their most romantic song: big, driving and better turned up. Behind the camera: songs this big give us movement, and movement is what we’re after.

Lovely Day, Bill Withers (1977)

Not a love song exactly, just a man saying the day is good because of one person, which is close enough. Behind the camera: couples who choose it tend to laugh the whole way through.

A Waltz from Japan

Merry-Go-Round of Life, Joe Hisaishi (2004)

From Howl’s Moving Castle, and a proper waltz: a theme that turns and turns, as the title promises. Plenty of the couples who marry in Japan love Studio Ghibli, and this is the most graceful way to bring it into the day. Planner’s note: take the lesson, and ask for a shorter arrangement if you need one.

The Song You’ll Hear for Years

Whatever you choose, you’ll hear it again for the rest of your lives: in supermarkets, in taxis, at other people’s weddings. It will always take you straight back to one room and a few minutes, which is worth more than anything on a list like this. At one of our Jinya weddings last November, the last dance became the moment their film teaser was cut to. Choose the song that sounds like you, and let the rest of the night follow it.