First Dance Wedding Songs for Autumn and Winter

The first dance at your wedding is one of those moments that can fill you with dread. You can either go a traditional route by playing a song that everybody knows, but which you can insist is important to the both of you; you can go for that medley of dances that includes the whole Will Smith and Carlton “Jump on it” segment from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, or you can go for a modern pop classic like Ed Sheeran or Florence and the Machine. But what if you want to go for something a little less known? We’ve looked at a few lesser known but beautiful tracks that might just be the perfect fit for your wedding in autumn or winter.

The Wooden Sky - Take Me Out

No, not Franz Ferdinand’s break out hit but a song from little known Canadian Indie folksters, The Wooden Sky. There’s something rather simple about this melody and the lyrics. The tune itself has a timeless quality, with the simplicity of the words helping to elevate it to perfect first dance material. “Take me anywhere, I’m around/I’d meet you anywhere at all/Oh I wanna see everything you’ve seen…” You can’t deny that this would be a top choice if you’re looking for a slow dance and we absolutely love this live version. It blends beautifully with our thoughts of an autumnal Devonshire sky.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – The Ship Song

There’s just something about Nick Cave’s voice that fits perfectly with the idea of an autumn wedding. Romance in the style of Punch Drunk Love, this effort from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is undoubtedly more well-known than the others on this list but it still isn’t that mainstream and in fact the album that it appeared on was derided upon its release in 1990. It talks of intense love, perhaps too intense, but we guarantee that nobody will be able to avert their eyes if you danced to this haunting but stunning song. It's all about giving yourself entirely to another person and that really is what getting married is all about.

Ben Folds – The Luckiest

The truth is that it’s difficult to find love songs that people haven’t heard and rather surprising to us is that this one doesn’t have more than 8 million listens on Spotify. Now that seems a lot but let’s just assume most of your wedding party won’t have heard this song even if you have. Essentially working around a refrain of being “The Luckiest” person throughout the history of time, this won’t leave a dry eye in the house.

Kath Bloom – Come Here

This is one for the cinephiles amongst you. Take one of the most romantic films of all time and think of the defining scene from that film. Naturally you won’t all be thinking of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (if you've never seen it, stop what you're doing and go and watch it now!), but if you are then it’s hard to overlook that scene in the record booth. We’ve included the scene rather than the song in the video above… But the spot on lyrics make this one a great choice for your wedding day - “No, I’m not impossible to touch, I have never wanted you so much, come here, come here…” Bliss.

R.E.M - At My Most Beautiful

Even at their height in the 1990s, this wasn't one of R.E.M's most well known songs, so we are putting it here to hopefully help at least one person discover it. If it becomes your choice of wedding song then that's great but if not, at least you'll have been introduced to a song that really gets to the basics of love. Sure, you can make grandiose proclamations if you desire but at it's simplest, love is all about finding the beauty in the little things. What a band and what a gorgeous choice for your first dance at your wedding. 

Bonus:

Ennio Morricone - Love Theme

Why can’t a wedding song just be a lovely piece of music? No lyrics necessary, Ennio Morricone has a whole back catalogue of melodies that would fit perfectly on the dance floor of a wedding. For this blog, we’ve decided to go with Love Theme (makes sense) from the stunning Cinema Paradiso, a film which is possibly one of the most romantic ever made. We’d probably advise this more for walking down the aisle than your first dance, but it’s still beautiful.