The 100 Best Wedding Songs from the Past 100 Years

See how love songs have evolved from 1918 to today—get inspiration for your own wedding music.

dance floor columns stone
Photo: Vicki Grafton Photography

What love song was popular the year your parents got married? Your grandparents? What about the year(s) you and your fiancé were born? We scoured playback.fm and Billboard's Top 100 Song Charts from 1918 to 2018, selecting one romantic melody per year. The result? A master wedding playlist full of golden oldies, classics in the making, and yes, a few that fell in between. Ahead, 100 love songs that would be perfect for just about any aspect of your big day-from your wedding processional to your first dance.

2018: "Us," by James Bay

2017: "Shape of You," by Ed Sheeran

2016: "Like I'm Gonna Lose You," Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend

2015: "Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran

2014: "All of Me," John Legend

2013: "Mirrors," Justin Timberlake

2012: "Home," Phillip Phillips

2011: "A Thousand Years," Christina Perri

2010: "Just the Way You Are," Bruno Mars

2009: "Lucky," Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz

2008: "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz

2007: "No One," Alicia Keys

2006: "Chasing Cars," Snow Patrol

2005: "You're Beautiful," James Blunt

2004: "If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys

2003: "Crazy in Love," Beyonce featuring JAY Z

2002: "Moment Like This," Kelly Clarkson

2001: "Fallin'," Alicia Keys

2000: "Breathe," Faith Hill

1999: "Kiss Me," Sixpence None the Richer

1998: "Truly Madly Deeply," Savage Garden

1997: "Something About the Way You Look Tonight," Elton John

1996: "Because You Loved Me," Celine Dion

1995: "Fantasy," Mariah Carey

1994: "I Swear," All-4-One

1993: "Have I Told You Lately," Rod Stewart

shanice & stephen wedding first dance
Elizabeth Austin Photography

1992: "Save the Best for Last," Vanessa Williams

1991: "Everything I Do, I Do it For You," Bryan Adams

1990: "Nothing Compares 2 U," Sinead O'Connor

1989: "Eternal Flame," The Bangles

1988: "A Groovy Kind of Love," Phil Collins

1987: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," Whitney Houston

1986: "Take My Breath Away," Berlin

1985: "Say You Say Me," Lionel Richie

1984: "Time After Time," Cyndi Lauper

1983: "Islands in the Stream," Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers

1982: "I Will Always Love You," Dolly Parton

1981: "Endless Love," Diana Ross, Lionel Richie

1980: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Queen

1979: "September," Earth, Wind and Fire

1978: "Wonderful Tonight," Eric Clapton

1977: "You Light Up My Life," Debbie Boone

1976: "Silly Love Songs," Wings

1975: "You're the First, the Last, My Everything," Barry White

1974: "Annie's Song," John Denver

1973: "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," Stevie Wonder

1972: "Let's Stay Together," Al Green

1971: "Your Song," Elton John

1970: "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel

1969: "Something," The Beatles

1968: "Love is All Around," The Troggs

1967: "All You Need is Love," The Beatles

Court & Kelsey's first dance
Kay Kroshus

1966: "When a Man Loves a Woman," Percy Sledge

1965: "Unchained Melody," The Righteous Brothers

1964: "I Want to Hold Your Hand," The Beatles

1963: "Hey Paula," Paul and Paula

1962: "Can't Help Falling in Love," Elvis Presley

1961: "Stand By Me," Ben E King

1960: "Wonderful World," Sam Cooke

1959: "I Only Have Eyes for You," The Flamingos

1958: "All I Have to Do is Dream," The Everly Brothers

1957: "You Send Me," Sam Cooke

1956: "Love Me Tender," Elvis Presley

1955: "Only You (And You Alone)," The Platters

1954: "Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)," The Crew-Cuts

1953: "That's Amore," Dean Martin

1952: "You Belong to Me," Jo Stafford

1951: "Unforgettable," Nat King Cole

1950: "Sentimental Me," The Ames Brothers

1949: "A Little Bird Told Me," Evelyn Knight & The Stardusters

1948: "It's Magic," Doris Day

1947: "Near You," Francis Craig

1946: "To Each His Own," The Ink Spots

1945: "Till the End of Time," Perry Como

1944: "I'll Be Seeing You," Bing Crosby

1943: "I've Heard That Song Before," Harry James, Helen Forrest

1942: "Happy in Love," Glenn Miller

wedding reception dance bride glamours gown
Melissa Gayle

1941: "You and I," Glenn Miller

1940: "In the Mood," Glenn Miller

1939: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," Judy Garland

1938: "Heart and Soul," Bea Wein, Larry Clinton

1937: "Sweet Leilani," Bing Crosby

1936: "The Way You Look Tonight," Fred Astaire

1935: "Cheek to Cheek," Fred Astaire

1934: "The Very Thought of You," Ray Noble Orchestra

1933: "Love is the Sweetest Thing," Al Bowlly, Ray Noble Orchestra

1932: "Night and Day," Fred Astaire and Leo Reisman

1931: "Dream a Little Dream of Me," Wayne King

1930: "Three Little Words," Duke Ellington

1929: "When You're Smiling," Louis Armstrong

1928: "I Wanna Be Loved By You," Helen Kane

1927: "My Blue Heaven," Gene Austin

1926: "Always," George Olsen Orchestra

1925: "Yes Sir, That's My Baby," Blossom Seeley

1924: "It Had to Be You," Isham Jones and Orchestra

1923: "I Love You," Paul Whiteman

1922: "Song of Love," Lucy Isabelle Marsh, Royal Dadmun

1921: "Sweet Lady," Frank Crumit

1920: "When My Baby Smiles at Me," Ted Lewis and Orchestra

1919: "When You Look in the Heart of a Rose," John McCormack

1918: "Till We Meet Again," Henry Burr and Albert Campbell

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