Songs your guests can sing.
Wedding hymns: fourteen your guests can actually sing
A wedding crowd is a mix of people who sing every week and people who haven’t sung since school. The right hymn carries them all. These fourteen do, and every title links to the full words.
Updated November 5, 2026
The short answer
Most church weddings have one or two hymns, usually near the start and near the end. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling are two of the safest choices. Choose strong tunes that people know, and print the words of every verse you plan to sing.
Set your hymns in the bulletin
Choose your hymns and we will set the words in a finished bulletin, ready to print.
Make a wedding program$29 for this program. No account needed.
To begin with
The first hymn sets the mood and gets people singing. Choose something strong and well known.
Beethoven’s tune, which guests know even if they don’t know the hymn.
Grand, and a good test of the organ.
Familiar to nearly every American congregation.
A strong hymn of praise, and a Methodist favorite.
Bright, with plenty of alleluias to carry people along.
Hymns about love and marriage
The great wedding hymn, with a choice of tunes, so check with your musicians.
Gentle, and popular with couples.
Beautiful, and quieter than most.
A beloved hymn of grace, and very singable.
To finish
End on something big, so people leave singing.
Grand and grateful.
Warm and joyful, and well known in many churches.
A good fit for an outdoor wedding.
Strong and simple, and easy to pick up.
Light-hearted, and good if there are children.
How to choose
- Ask your pastor and musicians what the church knows. A hymn the regulars can sing will help everyone else.
- If you have few singers among your guests, choose one familiar hymn and leave it there.
- Check the tune. Some hymns have more than one, and it matters more than you’d think.
- Print every verse you plan to sing, and leave out the rest.
Our wedding template shows where the hymns go in the service.
Set your hymns in the bulletin
Choose your hymns and we will set the words in a finished bulletin, ready to print.
Make a wedding program$29 for this program. No account needed.
Questions people ask
How many hymns do you need at a wedding?
Two is common in Britain, and one or two in America. Three is fine, but only if your guests will sing them.
Can you have non-religious songs at a church wedding?
That is up to whoever is taking the service. Many are happy with secular music before the service or during the signing, and less so in the service itself. Ask early.
Are these hymns public domain?
Yes. Every hymn on this list is public domain, so you can print the words freely. Check before you print any modern song.
What can we sing during the signing?
Most couples have a choir piece, a soloist or organ music rather than a hymn, as people like to watch and take pictures.