This one is sponsored by Artlist, and what I want to share is a playlist of my 12 favorite songs on there that you can license for your wedding films.
More than just handing you a list and saying here are some songs, I want to tell you how I’d actually use each one in a film, which should save you a pile of time next time you’re hunting for music.
There’s a link here that gets you two extra months free with a one-year Artlist subscription, so 14 months for the price of 12, licensing and downloading unlimited music. And because I know somebody will ask: anything you license with an Artlist membership is valid in perpetuity, which is a fancy licensing way of saying forever. Even if you don’t renew after those 14 months, every song you licensed while the subscription was live is still licensed. That’s a big deal.
You can also listen to the whole playlist on Artlist rather than take my word for any of it.
Breathe, by Greg McKay
A good example of a calmer, building song. It starts far more ambient, some guitar comes in, nothing too crazy. That makes it work well if you’ve got somebody speaking over it, so toasts and speeches, or a couple reading a letter or their vows.
The thing to notice is the very end, where the waveform gets louder. There’s no dramatic, super intense hit, but the drums do get significantly louder, so if you have a moment you want to punctuate with something more emotional, that’s what it gives you.
Don’t Let Me Go, by John Isaac
Also not super intense. Don’t worry, we’re getting to the intense stuff. What I like here is the percussive beat that never gets overpowering. It feels positive and upbeat, which makes it good for the couple getting ready if you just want fast shots of that, or for footage of them going out and doing something on the day. We’ve filmed groomsmen going to a park and throwing a frisbee, and a bride and her bridesmaids going on a hike. Something like that works really well with this.
There are two spots where it gets more intense, and I like them because they stop the song feeling static. It has some nice highs and lows.
Don’t Wake Me Up, by Josh Leake
Ugh, I love this song. It starts real quiet, real subtle piano, but it does not stay there.
The quiet, hopeful piano at the start would work well for a quieter moment. If you wanted footage of the couple together while you’re also playing audio of them reading heartfelt letters to each other, I think that could work really well. Some subtle vocals come in a few seconds later that add a lot of emotional depth without ever taking over.
Right around the midway point it starts to build, and it gets so epic. If you only want the epic half, you could cut the entire first half off and still have plenty of length to do something really cool.
For that build I’m imagining guests coming in for the ceremony, then bridesmaids down the aisle, then the groom coming out and waiting at the front, everything ratcheting up to the crescendo as the bride walks. Drums come in, things get quiet, then they get loud. Imagine doves being released. It’s real, real cool. It’s just such a pretty song.
Finding Peace, by David James Terry
Staying with the building theme. Starts quiet with piano and synth, guitar around halfway, drums at the end. There’s never really a hit with this one, no crescendo where everything breaks down and goes crazy. It’s just a constant build, and builds like that are great for anticipation. Everything climbing toward a moment, getting more and more intense.
Drift, by Be Still the Earth
Let’s bring the intensity up. Be Still the Earth are one of my favorite bands on Artlist, so let me just tell you that now. If you need good music, listen to their stuff. All of it is so, so good.
First thing to notice: this is a seven minute song, and it almost feels like three songs in one. If you don’t like the beginning, try the middle. If you don’t like the middle, try the end. I’m betting you’ll love some part of it.
The subtle synth at the start would look great under slow motion of the couple dancing, just that sound bed with occasional guitar. Around 3:30 it starts to change and pick up. Four minutes in you get more guitar and drums and it starts giving off an Angels & Airwaves vibe, which, hey, fantastic band. If you want to sound like a good band, choose Angels & Airwaves. Super cinematic.
Then it goes really crazy, and that hit makes me think about the couple’s entrance. The DJ is announcing them, they come in, the song hits, and you’re straight into first dances. The electric guitar at the end is so, so good. This is one of my favorite songs in the playlist.
I Heard It in a Dream, by Jay Denton
Jay Denton has two songs on this playlist because we really like him and his music is great.
There’s a lot going on here. Synth, some wordless vocals. It stays heavy on the synth until about midway, when some genuinely intense drums come in. It has a darker tone overall, but the voice lends it a bit of hope. It makes me think of Lord of the Rings a little. Just a bit.
If you think your couple can handle it, this builds really nicely and works for more dramatic footage of them together, walking, hanging out, dancing. It’s very versatile.
Up the Stream, by SLPSTRM
Slurp Stream? Slurp Storm? It’s probably Slipstream, but I like calling it Slurp Storm, so this is Slurp Storm.
Big piano, positive and high energy. Great if a couple’s toasts are funny, or their letters are funny, or they’re just a high energy, happy pair. Works well for footage of the two of them getting ready, and it would also work for a first dance where you want to cut quickly between shots. There’s a quieter moment in the middle that keeps the energy without being intense the whole way through, so if you need your film to take a breath before the energy comes back, that’s your window.
Not Alone, by Jay Denton
Jay’s second, and the first song on this playlist with lyrics. Fair warning, you may need a slightly more country couple for this one. It’s very guitar driven. I’m from Texas so I film a lot of country weddings and I could use this easily. If your couple is in the city, maybe not. If they’re having a barn wedding out in the country, this might be the one.
The great news is that the lyrics are positive and actually usable in a wedding film. Sometimes you find a song where the words are about death or sadness or breaking up and you think, I can’t use this, these people just got married. This one is safe.
My favorite part is where it ratchets up, and then there’s a moment where everything goes quiet and you cut to the couple alone on the dance floor holding each other. It’s a super sweet, romantic moment. Then it hits again and you go back to high energy dancing.
Speaking of which, How To Smoothly Transition Between Songs In Videos & Wedding Films is worth a look too.
Heads up: there’s also a non-lyrical version, so you can use it purely as an instrumental if you’d rather.
Perfectly Messed Up, by J.A.K.
I hear you: Matt, this is great, but where’s my electronic dance music? I’ve got you covered.
Don’t let the subtle start fool you, this gets a little crazy. If your couple can handle it, it works as a dance song. Where “Not Alone” is for your country couples, this is for your city couples.
I really like its versatility too. It isn’t loud all the way through. Quiet at the start, then louder, quieter, louder again. So you can chop it up to fit whatever dance energy you’re going for, or cut the quiet parts out entirely if you want it relentless.
What Love Is Like This?, by Sajan Nauriyal
First impression is that this is a weird, sort of Pac-Man vibe song, and you’re thinking, Matt, where are you going with this. Give it a second and it turns into nice, complex, cool electronic territory.
You could use it for a lot. If you have a cool couple, footage of them together works really well precisely because it’s different. It’s intense without being overly electronic. There’s a quieter moment with guitar and drums where you could fade out and move to another song, or keep going for another hit. My favorite part is right at the end when a guitar comes in, which you could easily use for high energy dancing footage.
Illuminating Moonlight, by Cody Martin
Dialing back a little. Electronic at the start, piano coming in, calmer overall. Works for footage of the couple getting ready, putting on the tie, and for heartfelt words being spoken over the top.
Then there’s a louder section which is a little more intense but not much, so it could still carry prep footage all the way through, or you could use that hit as a transition into something else. Then more electric guitar arrives, which is nice, and that part is probably too intense for prep, so hit it and cut to whatever’s next. Couple together, dancing slow, dancing fast. Lots of versatility.
Discovery, by Zac Nelson
Last but not least, I would like to invite you to discover the song “Discovery”. Man, I’m running out of jokes here at the end.
I might have saved the best for last. Guitar building right from the start, a taste of what’s coming, and then Zac dials it back. That’s what he does, gives you a taste and makes you wait for it.
Here’s how cool this could be: use this one song for a whole wedding trailer. Starts calmer, suddenly gets really intense, boom, look at all this cool stuff that happened on this wedding day. Then it dials back, here’s the couple, here’s some audio of them, you’re learning about them, they’re getting ready. Then it builds again into first dance, parent dances, cake in each other’s faces. If you needed one song for a trailer, this hits every high and low you’d need.
If you do that, email it to me. I want to see how it looks.
If You Want More Than Twelve
And then I hear you saying, Matt, I’ve already licensed all of these, I need more. Fair enough! I did the exact same thing over on Soundstripe, so whenever you want fifteen more with the same notes on how I’d use each one in a wedding film, start there. And if you’d rather stop borrowing my picks and start finding your own, I walk through how I actually choose music for a wedding film right here, which is honestly the more useful skill anyways.
Remember you can sign up for Artlist here and get those two extra months free. And if you want to go deeper on the editing itself, that’s what I teach inside Wedding Film Framework.