Wedding Hymns
36 beautiful hymns for traditional church wedding ceremonies — with tips on how to choose the right ones for your service.
Wedding hymns are one of the great traditions of the Christian church wedding. Traditionally most services include one to three hymns — on arrival, after the marriage ceremony, and after the blessing or signing of the register. They invite your guests to participate actively in the ceremony, creating a shared moment that's different to anything else in the day.
The key to choosing great hymns is finding the right balance: songs that are meaningful to you, accessible enough for guests to sing, and appropriate in key so that even non-singers can join in.
7 Tips for Choosing the Best Wedding Hymns
- Choose hymns your guests will actually know and be able to sing. A beautiful but obscure hymn that no one recognises leaves guests sitting in awkward silence.
- Check the key — some hymns have very high notes. If in doubt, ask your organist or musician to play them in a lower key.
- Read the lyrics carefully and choose words that have meaning for your relationship and your view of marriage and faith.
- Consider the length of each hymn. Long ceremonies with multiple lengthy hymns can become tiring — keep it to 2–3 verses unless the hymn is particularly special to you.
- If your church has an organist, use them — even at a fee. A traditional organ gives hymns their proper grandeur and helps guests keep time.
- Consider that some guests may not be regular churchgoers or may not share your faith. A recording with strong vocals can help everyone feel included even if they don't know the words.
- Don't forget the signing of the register — this can be a long, quiet moment. A well-chosen hymn or song sung by a soloist during this time is a lovely touch.
36 Beautiful Wedding Hymns
A complete list of the most popular and well-loved hymns for church wedding ceremonies.
- Abide with Me
- All My Hope on God Is Founded
- All Things Bright and Beautiful
- Amazing Grace
- Bind Us Together
- Come Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love
- Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
- Glory to Thee, O Lord
- Gracious Spirit Holy Ghost
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness
- Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
- How Great Thou Art
- Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
- Immortal Love, Forever Full
- Jerusalem
- Jesus Shall Reign
- Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us
- Lord of All Hopefulness
- Lord of the Dance
- Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
- Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
- Morning Has Broken
- O Worship the King
- One More Step Along the World I Go
- O Perfect Love
- O Praise Ye the Lord
- Peace, Perfect Peace
- Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven
- Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
- Praise to the Holiest in the Height
- Tell Out My Soul
- The Lord's My Shepherd
- The Marriage Prayer
- Through All the Changing Scenes of Life
- To God Be the Glory
- We Pledge to One Another