Every wedding needs music, and for some of us, the most pivotal musical decisions will be the hymns we choose to include in the ceremony. Here are ten of the most rousing and popular examples.
How many hymns should you have at a wedding?
A usual wedding ceremony will involve two or three hymns, with the final hymn being the most rousing and jubilant to celebrate the newlywed couple. That said, if you are keen to add more into the service, see whether you can persuade the organist or chapel's director of music – they're often happy to facilitate!
Best wedding hymns
Jerusalem
With their incendiary references to spears, arrows and chariots of fire, William Blake’s Jerusalem lyrics might not seem like typical wedding fare. But who can resist that tune? Along with his celebrated 1902 anthem I was Glad, it’s probably the most stirring thing Hubert Parry ever composed. Which is why this hymn - well-known from the Last Night of the Proms and widely considered to be the UK’s unofficial national anthem - is one of the most popular choices for a wedding.
Abide with Me
Written by the Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis, Abide with Me was sung for the first time at his funeral. But the words, which implore God to remain present with the speaker through all the trials of life, are just as well-suited to weddings. In fact, it has been heard at two royal weddings, including that of Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Philip in 1947. Although Lyte did write his own tune for the lyrics, the version we tend to sing was composed by William Henry Monk in 1861.
All Things Bright and Beautiful
It’s easy to poke fun at this hymn, which many of us remember singing at school. First published in 1848 in Mrs Cecil Alexander's Hymns for Little Children, All Things Bright and Beautiful is very much focused on the small things in life - the ‘tiny wings’; the ‘little flowers - and yes, you might call that saccharine. But small does not mean insignificant, and there is a lot to appreciate in the hymn’s sense of optimism and wonder - qualities for which it has been harnessed many times as part of wedding ceremonies.
Amazing Grace
The text for Amazing Grace was written in 1779 by the English poet and cleric, John Newton, a former slave trader who found faith after a violent storm at sea. Since then this hymn has since made a particular mark on the world of folk music, not least as an iconic black spiritual. But its message - focusing on God’s grace and the fact that He is with us at all times - is universally uplifting, making it a sure fire choice of hymn for weddings.
Be Thou My Vision
With its words based on an Irish text that is often attributed to the 6th century Saint Dallán Forgail, Be Thou My Vision is one of the oldest hymns on our list of wedding hymns. But it wasn’t until 1919 - when it was paired with the beautiful Irish folk tune ‘Slane’ - that its popularity soared. Nowadays, it’s a solid go-to for weddings, serving as a heartening reminder of God’s ever-presence.
Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
Written by William Williams, a leader of the 18th century Methodist revival in Wales, this rousing hymn Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer has established itself as something of an alternative Welsh National Anthem - often belted out at rugby matches. Bringing reassurance with its reminder of a God who provides for those in need and brings us safely to heaven at the end of our lives, it is regularly used in funerals, not least that of Princess Diana in 1997. But it has also been sung at many a wedding, including that of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. We named both of these as among the best classical music featured in royal weddings.
Lord of the Dance
It’s hard to find a sunnier, more lively melody than that of this hymn - with good reason: it was written by Joseph Brackett, a member of the Shaker Community, for whom religious worship was inseparable from dance and movement. For all its vivacity, however, the hymn - then known as ‘Simple Gifts’ - remained little known outside Shaker communities until it caught the attention of the 20th century American composer Aaron Copland. He incorporated its melody into the score of his 1944 ballet Appalachian Spring, significantly raising its stock in the process. Since then it has done sterling work on both sides of the pond, though it is most familiar in the UK from ‘Lord of the Dance’, a popular hymn choice for wedding ceremonies.
Love Divine All Loves Excelling
Reminding us that we able to love one another because Christ loved us first, Love Divine All Loves Excelling is a perfect hymn for a wedding. The text - written by Charles Wesley in 1747 - has been amended several times by those in disagreement with its Perfectionist philosophy that one could be completely cleansed of sin in this life. The melody, similarly, tends to vary, though the one with which most of us are familiar comes from the 19th century English composer and organist Sir John Stainer.
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
With its rousing melody, and equally rousing message, encouraging us to give our lives to God, Praise My Soul the King of Heaven is just the kind of hymn to sing heartily at a wedding. John Goss, who composed it in 1868, was one of the UK’s most respected organists, working at St Paul’s Cathedral and as a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. But it was this tune that secured his legacy, with The Musical Times in 1869 calling "at once the most beautiful and dignified hymn tune which has lately come under our notice”.
The Lord's My Shepherd
The tune of the hymn The Lord's My Shepherd could so easily have slipped into obscurity, attributed as it is to Jessie Seymour Irvine - the daughter of an Aberdeenshire minister - who allegedly wrote it as an exercise for her composition class. Instead, it became one of the most famous British hymn melodies ever, sung at the Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten in 1947, and then again at the State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Meanwhile, the text - a paraphrase of Psalm 23 - tells us that good is always with us, making it an eminently suitable choice for weddings.
You can find lyrics to famous hymns here
