Quick Answer: Wedding recessional songs are the upbeat music played as you walk back up the aisle right after the kiss. The most popular picks are “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder, “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole, “You Make My Dreams (Come True)” by Daryl Hall and John Oates, and “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. The traditional choice is the “Wedding March” by Felix Mendelssohn. You need one recessional song, it should be joyful and faster than your entrance music, and your DJ should hit play the moment the kiss lands.
Wedding recessional songs get one job: turn the most formal moment of your day into the start of the party. You just got married. The music should sound like it. This guide comes from the Bash Entertainment team, the Metro Detroit DJs and musicians who cue this exact moment every weekend, and it covers every style, the exit order, and the timing tricks that make the walkout land. Let’s send you back up that aisle right.
What Is a Recessional?
A recessional is the formal exit at the end of a wedding ceremony, when the newlyweds walk back up the aisle followed by the wedding party and family. It is the mirror of the processional, which is the entrance at the start. The word comes from “recess,” meaning to withdraw. The mood could not be more different from the entrance, though. The processional is a slow, emotional walk in. The recessional is a celebration walking out, and the music should flip the same way.
The Wedding Recessional Order: Who Walks Out First?
The couple always walks out first in the wedding recessional order, and everyone else follows. Here is the standard exit order:
- The newlyweds lead the way, right after the kiss and the announcement.
- Flower girl and ring bearer follow, often escorted by the wedding party.
- Maid of honor and best man walk out together.
- Bridesmaids and groomsmen exit in pairs.
- Parents of the couple follow the wedding party.
- Grandparents come next.
- The officiant exits last, or steps forward to dismiss guests row by row.
One song usually covers the whole exit. Your DJ keeps it playing while guests file out, so the room never falls silent between the ceremony and cocktail hour.
What Is the Most Common Wedding Recessional Song?
The most common wedding recessional song is “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder, with “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole right behind it. Both are joyful, instantly recognized, and built on horns that make a room cheer. For traditional ceremonies, the most common pick is still the “Wedding March” by Felix Mendelssohn. If you asked our DJs to name one song that never fails this moment, most would say Stevie.
Upbeat Wedding Recessional Songs
Upbeat wedding recessional songs are the default for a reason: the kiss just happened and the room wants to celebrate. These are the exit songs that fill our Metro Detroit request sheets:
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours), Stevie Wonder
- This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), Natalie Cole
- You Make My Dreams (Come True), Daryl Hall and John Oates
- September, Earth, Wind & Fire
- Marry You, Bruno Mars
- Happy, Pharrell Williams
- Can’t Stop the Feeling!, Justin Timberlake
- Best Day of My Life, American Authors
- Love on Top, Beyoncé
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
- How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), Marvin Gaye
- Dog Days Are Over, Florence + The Machine
- I’m Yours, Jason Mraz
- Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Traditional and Classical Wedding Recessional Songs
Traditional wedding recessional songs bring the grandeur, especially in churches and formal venues. The classics, credited to the composers who wrote them:
- Wedding March, Felix Mendelssohn
- Ode to Joy, Ludwig van Beethoven
- Trumpet Voluntary (Prince of Denmark’s March), Jeremiah Clarke
- Trumpet Tune, Henry Purcell
- Hornpipe from Water Music, George Frideric Handel
- Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, George Frideric Handel
- Spring from The Four Seasons, Antonio Vivaldi
Here is the story behind the big one. Mendelssohn composed the Wedding March in 1842 for Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and it became the wedding standard after it was played as the recessional at a royal wedding on January 25, 1858. That same royal wedding entered to Wagner’s Bridal Chorus. One ceremony gave us both traditions: Wagner walks you in, Mendelssohn walks you out. Getting those two straight matters, because plenty of song lists mix them up or credit them to random playlist artists.
Church, Christian, and Catholic Recessional Songs
Catholic wedding recessional songs and church exits usually come from the sacred and classical repertoire, and many parishes ask you to keep it that way. Always confirm your pick with the parish music director first. These recessional hymns and sacred pieces are widely approved and still feel triumphant:
- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, hymn set to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy
- Now Thank We All Our God, Johann Crüger
- Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, traditional hymn
- All Creatures of Our God and King, traditional hymn
- Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, George Frideric Handel
- Toccata from Symphony No. 5, Charles-Marie Widor, the grand organ exit
For a Christian ceremony outside a formal parish, upbeat worship songs like “Good Good Father” by Chris Tomlin or “This Is Amazing Grace” by Phil Wickham keep the joy and the faith together.
Fun and Modern Recessional Songs
Fun wedding recessional songs turn the exit into a singalong, and searches for them have doubled this year. If your crowd will grin, go for it:
- Mr. Brightside, The Killers
- Don’t Stop Me Now, Queen
- I’m a Believer, The Monkees
- You’re the One That I Want, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
- Crazy in Love, Beyoncé
- Shut Up and Dance, Walk the Moon
- Accidentally in Love, Counting Crows
- I Believe in a Thing Called Love, The Darkness
- All You Need Is Love, The Beatles
- Sweet Disposition, The Temper Trap
The funny picks work best when they are still songs people love. “I’m a Believer” gets laughs and singing. An inside joke nobody recognizes just gets confused smiles. Our test: if half the room can sing the chorus by heart, it belongs on the list.
Country Wedding Recessional Songs
Country wedding recessional songs fit Michigan barn venues and country-loving crowds perfectly, and most song lists barely touch them. Our picks:
- Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show, with the Darius Rucker version as the crowd favorite
- Chicken Fried, Zac Brown Band
- Stuck Like Glue, Sugarland
- Life Is a Highway, Tom Cochrane, with the Rascal Flatts version everyone knows
- Forever and Ever, Amen, Randy Travis
- Lover, Lover, Jerrod Niemann
Recessional Music: Instrumental and Piano Versions
Recessional music does not need lyrics to feel joyful, and instrumental exits are the standard for many churches. Most instrumental versions of pop songs are covers, so know what you are asking for: when a playlist lists “Marry You” by a string quartet or “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” on solo piano, those are arrangements of Bruno Mars and Stevie Wonder, not the originals. Great instrumental and piano recessional picks:
- Wedding March, Felix Mendelssohn, organ or strings
- Ode to Joy, Ludwig van Beethoven, piano or full arrangement
- Can’t Stop the Feeling!, Justin Timberlake, string quartet versions
- Marry You, Bruno Mars, piano and string versions
- Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles, instrumental versions
Live is the level up. A violinist ripping into an upbeat exit as the doors open is a moment guests film every single time.
Bride and Groom Recessional Songs: Timing the Walkout
The best recessional songs for the bride and groom start at the exact right second, and that is a DJ job, not a playlist job. Here is how we run it. The officiant says you may kiss. We ride the applause, then hit the song on the button the moment the announcement lands, starting at the hook, not the quiet intro. Nobody wants to walk out to eight seconds of buildup. The song keeps rolling while your wedding party exits and guests file out, and it hands off cleanly into cocktail hour so the energy never drops.
Want to turn the walkout into a full send-off moment? Cold spark fountains firing as you pass make the exit look like a movie premiere, and they pair with the recessional song perfectly. See how couples stack that effect on our wedding lighting and effects page. And one clarification while we are here, because couples ask: your recessional song is not your closing song. The closing song is the last dance of the reception, hours later. Different moment, different energy, and your DJ plans both.
Plan the Whole Ceremony Soundtrack
The recessional is one half of the aisle. The entrance is the other. Our full guide to wedding processional songs and order covers who walks in, when, and to what music, so the two posts together map your entire ceremony. Your ceremony time also shapes how the exit looks on camera, and our wedding day timeline guide helps you place it right.
When you want one team cueing the kiss, the song, the sparks, and the party after, that is what the Bash Entertainment DJ and emcee team does across Metro Detroit every weekend. Tell us your date. We will make the walkout hit.
