The Best Indie Love Songs for Every Part of Your Wedding Day

Looking for indie love songs to include in your wedding day playlist? When it comes to the best wedding songs, some tracks have become timeless classics that everyone expects to hear. There's a good chance that, at any wedding, you'll have the opportunity to dance to one of Ed Sheeran's popular love songs or enjoy your dessert with Whitney Houston belting in the background. And as much as we love the most popular wedding songs of all time, there's something special about playing a few lesser-known hits that have sentimental meaning to you and your S.O. If you're looking to set your big day apart, you might consider adding a few indie love songs to your wedding playlist.

Music has the power to set the tone for every moment of your celebration, from your processional down the aisle to your reception entrance as newlyweds. Picking the right music to accompany these special moments is a key part of making your wedding feel intentionally personalized and unique. So, to help you craft a memorable music lineup, we've rounded up the best indie love songs for your wedding. You'll find sweet hits from artists like Bon Iver, Arctic Monkeys, Maggie Rogers and many more, along with our favorite lyrics. Once you've narrowed down your picks, ask your wedding DJ or band about your requests so they can queue all of your favorite indie wedding songs throughout your big day.

Types of Indie Love Songs in this Story: Ceremony | First Dance | Wedding Reception

Bonus: Listen to our picks with The Knot's Indie Love Songs playlist on Spotify.

Indie Love Songs for Your Wedding Ceremony

Photo: Feather & Twine Photography

Most couples opt to have music playing before the ceremony begins, which is the perfect opportunity to introduce your guests to a few of your favorite indie love songs. But beyond that, you can also talk to your wedding DJ about playing a special tune when you walk down the aisle, as well as when you and your S.O. recess as newlyweds. Below, find the best indie love songs that'll make your ceremony one to remember.

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1. "Love You For a Long Time," Maggie Rogers

Lyrics you'll love: "And in the morning when you pick me up/And all the world is quiet, 'cept the mourning dove/I feel it in my body, know it in my mind/Oh I, I'm gonna love you for a long time"

2. "Fade Into You," Mazzy Star

Lyrics you'll love: "A stranger's light comes on slowly/A stranger's heart is out of home/You put your hands into your head/And then its smiles cover your heart"

3. "One Day Like This," Elbow

Lyrics you'll love: "'Cause holy cow, I love your eyes/And only now I see the light"

4. "Mess is Mine," Vance Joy

Lyrics you'll love: "You're the reason that I feel so strong/The reason that I'm hanging on/You know you gave me all that time/Did I give enough of mine"

5. "True Love Waits," Radiohead

Lyrics you'll love: "And true love waits/In haunted attics/And true love lives/On lollipops and crisps/Just don't leave"

6. "Sweet Disposition," The Temper Trap

Lyrics you'll love: "Stay there/'Cause I'll be coming over/And while our blood's still young/It's so young, it runs/Won't stop 'til it's over/Won't stop to surrender"

7. "You and I," Ingrid Michaelson

Lyrics you'll love: "Let's get rich and build our house on a mountain/Making everybody look like ants/From way up there, you and I, you and I"

8. "Walking on a Dream," Empire of the Sun

Lyrics you'll love: "Is it real now?/Two people become one/I can feel it/Two people become one"

9. "Sea of Love," Cat Power

Lyrics you'll love: "Come with me my love/To the sea/The sea of love/I want to tell you/How much I love you"

10. "Bloom," The Paper Kites

Lyrics you'll love: "When the evening pulls the sun down/And the day is almost through/Oh, the whole world it is sleeping/But my world is you"

11. "Baby I'm Yours," Arctic Monkeys

Lyrics you'll love: "Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)/And I'll be yours (yours) until the sun no longer shines/Yours (yours) until the poets run out of rhyme/In other words, until the end of time"

12. "I Must Be in Love," Aaron Taos

Lyrics you'll love: "It's you, that I've/Been searching for my whole damn life/No lie/Where the hell did you come from and why/Did it take so damn long?/Pinch me if I'm alive"

13. "I Love You Always Forever," Boyhood.

Lyrics you'll love: "Say it, say it again/I love you always forever/Near and far closer together/Everywhere I will be with you/Everything I will do for you"

Indie First Dance Songs

Photo: Emily Millay Photography

The first dance is one of the most anticipated moments of the wedding reception. To give your spin on the dance floor a personal touch, talk to a wedding band about using one of these romantic indie first dance songs. Thanks to their standout lyrics, these underrated hits will emulate your love and fill the room with an undeniable sense of joy and happiness.

14. "Can't Help Falling In Love," Ingrid Michaelson

Lyrics you'll love: "Like a river flows surely to the sea/Darling so it goes/Some things are meant to be/So take my hand, and take my whole life too/Cause I can't help falling in love with you"

15. "Falling Slowly," Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová

Lyrics you'll love: "Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice/You've made it now/Falling slowly, sing your melody/I'll sing it loud"

16. "Real Love," Regina Spektor

Lyrics you'll love: "From this moment on I'll know/Exactly where my life will go/Seems that all I really was doing/Was waiting for love"

17. "I Would Do Anything For You," Foster The People

Lyrics you'll love: "Give it up for you/I would give it up for you/I would give it up for you/I'd do anything for you"

18. "First Day of My Life," Bright Eyes

Lyrics you'll love: "Yours was the first face that I saw/I think I was blind before I met you/And I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been/But I know where I want to go"

19. "There is a Light That Never Goes Out," The Smiths

Lyrics you'll love: "Take me out tonight/Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care/I don't care, I don't care/Driving in your car/I never, never want to go home"

20. "Toothpaste Kisses," The Maccabees

Lyrics you'll love: "Lay with me, I'll lay with you/We'll do the things that lovers do/Put the stars in our eyes"

21. "I Love How You Love Me," Carmen Obscura

Lyrics you'll love: "I love how your heart beats whenever I hold you/I love how you think of me without being told to/I love the way your touch is always heavenly/But darling most of all I love how you love me"

22. "I Wanna Be Yours," Arctic Monkeys

Lyrics you'll love: "Secrets I have held in my heart/Are harder to hide than I thought/Maybe I just wanna be yours/I wanna be yours"

23. "Truly Madly Deeply," Yoke Lore

Lyrics you'll love: "I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need/I'll love you more with every breath/Truly, madly, deeply do/I will be strong, I will be faithful"

24. "XO," John Mayer

Lyrics you'll love: "Your heart is glowing/And I'm crashing into you/Baby, kiss me kiss me/Before they turn the lights out"

25. "True Love," Coldplay

Lyrics you'll love: "Remember once upon a time, when I was yours and you were blind/The fire would sparkle in your eyes and mine"

26. "Let's Fall in Love For The Night," Finneas

Lyrics you'll love: "Let's fall in love for the night/And forget in the mornin'/Play me a song that you like/You can bet I'll know every line"

27. "Love You to Pieces," Jeremy Messersmith

Lyrics you'll love: "So ready or not I'm gonna love you to pieces/The only way that I know how/I've gotta hunch that you're just what I needed/And I'm gonna love you 'til you burst"

Indie Wedding Reception Songs

Photo: Kiyah C Photography

Keep your guests on the dance floor by weaving a few fun indie love songs into your wedding reception playlist. As they leave your wedding, guests will be seriously impressed by your impeccable taste in music.

28. "Maps," Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Lyrics you'll love: "Wait, they don't love you like I love you/Wait, they don't love you like I love you/Maps/Wait, they don't love you like I love you"

29. "Home," Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Lyrics you'll love: "That's true, laugh until we think we'll die/Barefoot on a summer night/Never could be sweeter than with you (hey)"

30. "Tongue Tied," Grouplove

Lyrics you'll love: "Take me to your best friend's house/I loved you then and I love you now/Don't take me tongue tied/Don't wave no goodbye"

31. "No One's Gonna Love You," Band of Horses

Lyrics you'll love: "… But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do/No one's gonna love you more than I do"

32. "Do You Realize??" The Flaming Lips

Lyrics you'll love: "Do you realize/That you have the most beautiful face?/Do you realize/We're floating in space?/Do you realize/That happiness makes you cry?"

33. "We Fell in Love in October," Girl in Red

Lyrics you'll love: "You look so pretty and I love this view/Don't bother looking down/We're not going that way/At least I know, I am here to say"

34. "Sleep on the Floor," The Lumineers

Lyrics you'll love: "If the sun don't shine on me today/And if the subways flood and bridges break/Will you lay yourself down and dig your grave/Or will you rail against your dying day"

35. "Cosmic Love," Florence + The Machine

Lyrics you'll love: "I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map/And knew that somehow I could find my way back/Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too/So I stayed in the darkness with you"

36. "Flightless Bird, American Mouth," Iron & Wine

Lyrics you'll love: "Have I found you?/Flightless bird, jealous, weeping"

37. "Wake Up," Arcade Fire

Lyrics you'll love: "We're just a million little gods causin' rainstorms, turnin' every good thing to rust./I guess we'll just have to adjust!..."

38. "I Will Follow You into the Dark," Death Cab for Cutie

Lyrics you'll love: "If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks/Then I'll follow you into the dark"

39. "The Girl," City and Colour

Lyrics you'll love: "While I'm off chasing my own dreams/Sailing around the world/Please, know that I'm yours to keep/My beautiful girl"

40. "Holocene," Bon Iver

Lyrics you'll love: "That night you played me Lip Parade/Not the needle, nor the thread, the lost decree/Saying nothing, that's enough for me"