Best Wedding Entrance Music Ideas

Your entrance music sets the tone for the entire wedding, so you need to get it right. The beginning of the reception is the point to signal that the reverent formalities are over, and the fun begins now. If you want people to party later on, you need to enter with a bang!

Your wedding entrance is a chance to individualize your wedding. You can prime your guests for the fun that lies ahead, and show your personality. Let’s look a little deeper into how we can achieve this.

Think big!

Even if you are not the wild party type, the entrance song should be something fairly high energy, at least a 7/10 on the energy scale, (1 being a slow ballad, and 10 being the most intense upbeat music possible.) The higher, the better. It does not have to be super intense, but it should evoke joy, feel fun, and not be too serious.

What is big energy? This is an upbeat song, busy with musical elements and not much empty space or “dead air”. It should be a relatively fast tempo, or feel fast, and bonus if it include lyrics that suggest partying, dancing, or feeling good. It does not necessarily have to be a familiar pop song, but that always helps. It should have a prominent beat that guests can clap along to. 

I’m a firm believer that if big entrance to party music is not your style, you’re better off not doing a grand entry at all and just joining your guests casually, as having a fizzer of an entry will dampen the mood, but if you avoid any entry entirely its a good way to maintain a casual and relaxed atmosphere.

Keep in mind your entrance is typically going to be a short time, its roughly 20-30 seconds of walking in per couple, so instruct your DJ to play form the chorus or peak part of the song, because often that’s all you will hear.

Songs for each couple, or one song for everyone?

There are two sides to this debate, and there are merits to each. If you choose to have a new song for each couple or group entering, it will allow them each to do their own unique entrance moves or dance that would be more relevant to themselves or the song, and display their unique traits.

The other option is to have one continuous song playing, and fade the music levels down in between each couple or group to allow the MC to talk over and announce them.

Personally, I’m a fan of this option, and not only because it’s less work for me as the DJ. It’s also less work for you, not having to chase up people who are lagging behind or indecisive. It also maintains the momentum having one continuous beat, allowing guests to clap along, and you can then build up to a crescendo for the happy couple!

Both styles can work, my advice is to only go with the individual songs if you are going to take full advantage of the benefits from that style.

How to get a big entrance (Aside from the music)

Think outside the box! There’s a chance to really get creative here with a prepared dance routine, some props, or both together. Think bubble blowers, “make-it-rain” money guns, even costumes. I’ve seen a bunch of groomsmen once enter all dressed as dinosaurs, which they then burst out of to reveal their tuxedos underneath, much to the amusement of all the guests!

A good MC is also key here – if using one of your guests, make sure they know how to work the crowd and hype everyone for the entry, or book a professional MC to make sure of this!

Another growing trend is to start the night with some dancing – party your way in, then head straight to the dancelfoor and get everyone to join you before sitting down. Have a quick 10 minute boogie then head to your seats to begin dinner and speeches.

Wedding Entrance music ideas

I’ve sorted these by genre so you can browse by your taste, and trimmed each clip to the point where it shoul be played to help give you a better idea of what the entrance would sound like. (Updated November 2024)