Your wedding song: It's more than just a three-to-four minute track. Once you've walked down the aisle as a couple and made your way to the dance floor, you'll have your first dance, a pinnacle moment in your love story. The tune you and your partner choose will become an anthem you'll remember for the rest of your life.
Each year, despite the countless classics that top the charts, there are a few that truly make the cut as romantic masterpieces. Remember the first time you heard Aerosmith's "Don't Want to Miss a Thing?" You melted. And how many times have you listened to Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight?" While every love story and every wedding is completely unique, there are just some songs that everyone loves, and that become the most popular first dance songs of their respective years.
From Etta James's "At Last" to Justin Bieber and Dan + Shay's "10,000 Hours," we rounded up the most popular wedding songs from the past 62 years.
2021: "10,000 Hours," by Justin Bieber and Dan + Shay
Lyrics of Love: "I'd spend ten thousand hours and ten thousand more/Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours/And I might never get there, but I'm gonna try"
2020: "Conversations in the Dark," by John Legend
Lyrics of Love: "When no one seems to notice/And your days, they seem so hard/My darling, you should know this/My love is everywhere you are"
2019: "Good as You," by Kane Brown
Lyrics of Love: "Tomorrow, tonight, the rest of my life/I wanna be the man you want me to be/So startin' right now, girl, tell me everything you need"
2018: "Speechless," by Dan + Shay
Lyrics of Love: "Starin' at you, standin' there, in that dress/What it's doin' to me, ain't a secret/'Cause watchin' you is all that I can do/And I'm speechless"
2017: "Perfect," by Ed Sheeran
Lyrics of Love: "I found a love for me/Oh darling, just dive right in and follow my lead/Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet/Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me"
2016: "Love on the Brain," by Rihanna
Lyrics of Love: "I'm no good without you/And I can't get enough/Must be love on the brain"
2015: "Sugar," by Maroon 5
Lyrics of Love: "Yeah you show me good loving, make it alright/Need a little sweetness in my life"
2014: "Thinking Out Loud," by Ed Sheeran
Lyrics of Love: "And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70/And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23"
2013: "All of Me," by John Legend
Lyrics of Love: "'Cause all of me/Loves all of you/Love your curves and all your edges/All your perfect imperfections"
2012: "Ho Hey," by The Lumineers
Lyrics of Love: "I belong with you, you belong with me/You're my sweetheart"
2011: “A Thousand Years,” by Christina Perri
Lyrics of Love: "I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more"
2010: "Just the Way You Are," by Bruno Mars
Lyrics of Love: "When I see your face/There's not a thing that I would change/'Cause you're amazing/Just the way you are"
2009: "Marry Me," by Train
Lyrics of Love: "Forever can never be long enough for me/To feel like I've had long enough with you"
2008: "Lucky," by Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Caillat
Lyrics of Love: "Lucky I'm in love with my best friend/Lucky to have been where I have been/Lucky to be coming home again"
2007: “Everything,” by Michael Bublé
Lyrics of Love: "It's you, it's you, you make me sing/You're every line, you're every word, you're everything"
2006: "For You I Will (Confidence)," by Teddy Geiger
Lyrics of Love: "Oh, I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have/And cannonball into the water/I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have/For you, I will"
2005: "First Day of My Life," by Bright Eyes
Lyrics of Love: "Yours was the first face that I saw/I think I was blind before I met you/And I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been/But I know where I want to go"
2004: "Bless the Broken Road," by Rascal Flatts
Lyrics of Love: "Every long lost dream led me to where you are/Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars/Pointing me on my way into your loving arms"
2003: "Crazy in Love," by Beyoncé feat. Jay Z
Lyrics of Love: "I look and stare so deep in your eyes/I touch on you more and more every time"
2002: "A Moment Like This," by Kelly Clarkson
Lyrics of Love: "Can't we make this dream last forever?/And I'll cherish all the love we share"
2001: "The Luckiest," by Ben Folds
Lyrics of Love: "I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you"
2000: "My Everything," by 98 Degrees
Lyrics of Love: "You are my everything/Nothing your love won't bring"
1999: "Amazed," by Lonestar
Lyrics of Love: "Baby, when you touch me/I can feel how much you love me/And it just blows me away"
1998: "Don't Want to Miss a Thing," by Aerosmith
Lyrics of Love: "I could spend my life in this sweet surrender/I could stay lost in this moment forever/Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure"
1997: "I'll Be," by Edwin McCain
Lyrics of Love: "And tell me that we belong together/And dress it up with the trappings of love"
1996: "Because You Loved Me," by Celine Dion
Lyrics of Love: "You were always there for me/The tender wind that carried me/A light in the dark shining your love into my life"
1995: "Kiss From a Rose," by Seal
Lyrics of Love: "Yes, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray/Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah"
1994: "Endless Love," by Luther Vandross feat. Mariah Carey
Lyrics of Love: "I want to share/All my love with you/No one else will do"
1993: "Have I Told You Lately," by Rod Stewart
Lyrics of Love: "Have I told you lately that I love you/Have I told you there's no one else above you?"
1992: "I Will Always Love You," by Whitney Houston
Lyrics of Love: "Darling, I love you/I'll always love you"
1991: "Save the Best for Last," by Vanessa Williams
Lyrics of Love: "And now we're standing face to face/Isn't this world a crazy place?"
1990: "More Than Words," by Extreme
Lyrics of Love: "All you have to do is close your eyes/And just reach out your hands/And touch me/Hold me close don't ever let me go"
1989: "Have I Told You Lately," by Van Morrison
Lyrics of Love: "You fill my life with laughter/And somehow you make it better/Ease my troubles that's what you do"
1988: "Giving You the Best That I Got," by Anita Baker
Lyrics of Love: "I hope you see that you can lean on me/And together we can calm a stormy sea"
1987: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Lyrics of Love: "I've been waiting for so long/Now I've finally found someone"
1986: "In Your Eyes," by Peter Gabriel
Lyrics of Love: "In your eyes/The light, the heat (in your eyes)/I am complete (in your eyes)"
1985: "Greatest Love of All," by Whitney Houston
Lyrics of Love: "Because the greatest love of all/Is happening to me"
1984: "I Want to Know What Love Is," by Foreigner
Lyrics of Love: "I wanna know what love is/I want you to show me/I wanna feel what love is/I know you can show me"
1983: "Stuck on You," by Lionel Richie
Lyrics of Love: "I'm stuck on you/I've got this feeling down deep in my soul that I just can't lose"
1982: "Up Where We Belong," by Joe co*cker and Jennifer Warnes
Lyrics of Love: "Love lifts us up where we belong/Far from the world below/Up where the clear winds blow"
1981: "Endless Love," by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
Lyrics of Love: "Two hearts/Two hearts that beat as one/Our lives have just begun"
1980: “The Biggest Part of Me,” by Ambrosia
Lyrics of Love: "You changed my life/You made it bright/And I'll be a savior to you/For the rest of my life"
1979: "Reunited," by Peaches & Herb
Lyrics of Love: "There's one perfect fit/And, sugar, this one is it"
1978: "Three Times a Lady," by Commodores
Lyrics of Love: "When we are together, the moments I cherish/With every beat of my heart/To touch you, to hold you, to feel you, to need you/There's nothing to keep us apart"
1977: "Wonderful Tonight," by Eric Clapton
Lyrics of Love: "I feel wonderful/Because I see the love light in your eyes/And the wonder of it all/Is that you just don't realize how much I love you"
1976: "Always and Forever," by Heatwave
Lyrics of Love: "Always and forever/Each moment with you/Is just like a dream to me/That somehow came true, yeah"
1975: "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)," by Natalie Cole
Lyrics of Love: "Loving you is some kind of wonderful/Because you showed me just how much you care"
1974: "You Are So Beautiful," by Joe co*cker
Lyrics of Love: "You're everything I hoped for/You're everything I need/You are so beautiful/To me"
1973: "Just You 'n' Me," by Chicago
Lyrics of Love: "Just you and me/Simple and free/Baby you're everything I've ever dreamed of"
1972: "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," by Stevie Wonder
Lyrics of Love: "You are the sunshine of my life/That's why I'll always stay around/You are the apple of my eye/Forever you'll stay in my heart"
1971: "Colour My World," by Chicago
Lyrics of Love: "As time goes on/I realize/Just what you mean/To me"
1970: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)," by Stevie Wonder
Lyrics of Love: "Ooh baby, here I am/Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours"
1969: "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face," by Roberta Flack
Lyrics of Love: "The first time ever I saw your face/I thought the sun rose in your eyes"
1968: "You're All I Need to Get By," by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Lyrics of Love: "You're all I need to get by/Like the sweet morning dew, I took one look at you/And it was plain to see/You were my destiny"
1967: "Can't Take My Eyes off You," by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
Lyrics of Love: "You're just too good to be true/Can't take my eyes off of you/You'd be like Heaven to touch/I wanna hold you so much"
1966: "When a Man Loves a Woman," by Percy Sledge
Lyrics of Love: "When a man loves a woman/Can't keep his mind on nothin' else/He'd trade the world/For the good thing he's found"
1965: "Unchained Melody," by The Righteous Brothers
Lyrics of Love: "Woah, my love, my darling/I've hungered for your touch/A long, lonely time"
1964: "Be My Baby," by The Ronettes
Lyrics of Love: "I'll make you happy, baby, just wait and see/For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three"
1963: "Do You Want to Know a Secret," by The Beatles
Lyrics of Love: "You'll never know how much I really love you/You'll never know how much I really care"
1962: "Bring It on Home to Me," by Sam Cooke
Lyrics of Love: "Baby, bring it to me/Bring your sweet loving/Bring it on home to me"
1961: "Can't Help Falling in Love," by Elvis Presley
Lyrics of Love: "Take my hand/Take my whole life too/For I can't help falling in love with you"
1960: "At Last," by Etta James
Lyrics of Love: "At last/My love has come along/My lonely days are over/And life is like a song"