If you’re looking for more traditional-style music to use for a Catholic wedding mass, we’ve put together a list of options to consider below. They’re organized into categories for which part of the liturgy they would be most appropriate for.

This list is a labor of love from the guidance of our own parish organist who helped us make music decisions for our wedding, combined with examples that other couples we photographed chose for their wedding days.

In each section we organized it in alphabetical order and included a link to a YouTube video which uses the music so that you can get a sense for what they sound like.

A quick disclaimer – this list will resonate most with couples whose jam is organs or gregorian chant. If you find yourself drawn to more contemporary pieces or to praise and worship style music, this may not be the list that you’re looking for. However, any of these done as soft instrumentals and the right singer could lend itself to being done to your liking!

Prelude

There are often two or three songs that are played prior to the processional while guests are being seated. We most commonly see instrumental pieces used for this portion (alphabetical order).

• Aria (Flors Peeters)
• Allegretto (Felix Mendelssohn)
• Hymn to Joy (Beethoven, arranged by Jeanne Cotter)
• Prelude and Fuge in G (Johann Sebastian Bach)
• Prelude in C (Johann Sebastian Bach)
• Vivace, Trio VI (Johann Sebastian Bach)

Processional

It is common to have one or even two processional songs. Many weddings will choose a song that the grandparents, parents, clergy, groom, and bridal party, walk into, then close the doors and start a new song for the bride to walk down the aisle. Guests will be seated until the bride walks down the aisle, so having an audio cue signalling that the bride is now coming down the aisle can be practical and aid in the emotional build up to the moment.

I’ll admit that O God Beyond All Praising is our personal favorite option for when the bride walks down the aisle. Its epic, joyful, and reminds everyone that the heart of why we’re here today is to worship God and witness to His goodness through the sacrament of marriage.

• Adagio Cantabile (Johann Sebastian Bach)
• Arioso (Johann Sebastian Bach)
• Bridal Chorus (Richard Wagner)
• Canon in D (Johann Pachelbel)
• Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring (Johann Sebastian Bach)
• O God Beyond All Praising (Gustav Holst)
• Prelude to “Te Deum” (M.A. Charpentier)
• Rigaudon (George Boehm)

Offertory

The offertory time is used to prepare the gifts of bread and wine to be consecrated into the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist. Songs suggested for communion could also be used here, or a marian option if the bride and groom are doing a special devotion of bringing flowers to Mary during this time.

• Ave Maria (*see examples from marian hymns)
• Ubi Caritas (Paul Halley)
• Be Thou My Vision / Lord of All Hopefulness (Slane)

Communion

• Ave Verum Corpus (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
• Ave Verum Corpus Natum
• Godhead, Here in Hiding
• Pange Lingua
• Panis Angelicus (Franck)
• O Sacrament Most Holy (Fulda)

Marian Hymns

We wanted to call out a whole section to Mary because we’ve seen them used at every part of the mass! There is a beautiful tradition that couples can opt to include where they will bring a bouquet of flowers to Mary and spend a moment in prayer at her shrine within the church, although the timing of this varies within the Catholic liturgy depending on the preferences of the priest, parish, and couple. Some couples choose to bring flowers to Mary immediately following the rite of marriage (ie. the exchange of vows and rings) while the priest prepares the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We’ve seen other couples incorporated their marian devotion to after communion instead.

• Ave Maria (Franz Schubert)
• Ave Maria (Jacques Arcadelt)
• Ave Maria (Camille Saint-Saëns)
• Magnificat Tone VIII, Gregorian Chant
• O Sanctissima (Ludwig Van Beethoven)
• Salve Regina, Gregorian chant
• Sub Tuum Praesidium, Gregorian Chant

The Church also uses the following Marian antiphons during specific parts of the liturgical year. Depending on when your wedding is, you may want to incorporate them into part of your liturgy.

• Alma Redemptoris Mater (Advent through Candlemas in early February)
• Ave Regina Caelorum (After Candlemas through Holy Saturday)
• Regina Caeli (Eastertide)

If you’d like text to include in your wedding program to explain the devotion to your guests, we put together this short sample below:

Through Scripture we know that Mary is united to the Holy Spirit and is a perfect model of faith and trust in God’s will. The bride and groom pray beside Mary asking her to present their petitions to her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Mary’s intercession, we pray that her example guides each of us to build holy families of our own and to be faithful in always doing what Christ tells us.

Recessional

We love these energetic orchestral pieces for the recessional to get everyone moving out of their pews.

• Fanfare (Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens)
• Hornpipe (Handel)
• Music for the Royal Fireworks ‘La Réjouissance’ (Handel)
• O God Beyond All Praising (Gustav Holst), you might also look up Thaxted which is the instrumental-only equivalent
• Toccata from Symphony for Organ No. 5 (Charles-Marie Widor)

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Prefer to listen to the options on Spotify?

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Choosing Your Musicians

The type of choir and instrumentals you hire for your nuptial mass will ultimately determine the style for how each of these songs sound day-of. If you find you’re drawn to trumpets, violins, etc. it will be worth the investment in add these to the music for your wedding liturgy.

If you’re looking for Catholic musicians for your wedding mass, be sure to check out our Catholic Wedding Vendors in the Twin Cities for local options or the Catholic Bridal Collective for national options.