Nothing stirs the heart like music. Here, how to choose the songs that will underscore the most important day of your life.

Shakespeare wrote, "If music be the food of love, play on," and nowhere is that sentiment better realized than at a wedding. From the moment the first guest takes her seat until the last person leaves the dance floor, music fills the day. When chosen thoughtfully, it can set the rhythm for the event, enhancing emotion during the ceremony and inspiring jubilant celebration at the reception.

Have you always pictured yourself walking down the aisle to the elegant sound of a string quartet, or imagined your friends and relatives twirling around the dance floor to an eighteen-piece orchestra? Or is a lively reggae band, or your favorite records spun by a deejay, more your style? The great thing about a wedding is you can select one type of music or a combination -- just as long as it reflects the atmosphere you'd like to create, as well as your own personal style.

When she married Bill Hockmuth in 2002, Catherine MacRae wanted music that was true to her Texas roots. "We hired a three-person mariachi band to play during the cocktail hour," she says. She also asked her deejay to play some country-western songs at the reception. "My father and I danced to 'Amarillo by Morning' by George Strait. It was a wonderful love song to Texas," Catherine says.

Not sure where to begin? Think about the songs or genres that have been important in your life, says Gale Curtis, a consultant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, who helps people choose music for their wedding ceremony. "I always ask couples what their passions are," says Curtis. For example, is there a song your father used to sing to you when you were little? What type of music was played in your house while you were growing up? Do you and your fiance have a special song? "Then we use the answers to these questions as starting points to create a program," Curtis says. If you're stuck, you might ask your bandleader or deejay for suggestions. Elizabeth Gardner of Riverside, Illinois, relied on her church's organist for her ceremony. "The only directive we gave him was not to do the cliched wedding marches," she says. "He played pieces for us in advance to veto if we wanted to, but we didn't. His choices made me feel like royalty."

At their September wedding in Virginia, Shannon Goodson and Nathan Carter, above, kicked off the evening with a two-step to Willie Nelson's "A Song For You"; the rest of the reception was filled with more classic country and southern rock 'n' roll. While you don't have to make a playlist for every minute of the wedding, you will want to choose some songs to punctuate significant parts, from the bride's entrance to the first dance. It helps to think of the day, not as a single event, but as several little ones. Here is a typical breakdown.