A Definitive Guide to the Best Rock Love Songs for Your Wedding Day

Need a little rock and roll on your wedding day? We don't blame you. Rock music is responsible for some of the most romantic songs of all time, so it only makes sense to include a few hits on your wedding playlist. As with all other song selections, your wedding music should reflect the styles you and your S.O. love most. Whether you prefer the classics or your tastes skew a bit more modern or alternative, we've narrowed down the best rock love songs to play on your wedding day. You'll find plenty of swoon-worthy ballads from rockers like Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart, as well as tunes from popular groups like REO Speedwagon, Guns 'N Roses, The Beatles and Paramore. (In other words, we have rock wedding songs for everyone in this comprehensive list.)

Whether you need song suggestions for the ceremony recessional, your first dance or the after-party, you'll find exactly what you need here. Once you've finalized your list of the best rock wedding songs, share your selections with your band or DJ to have them queued for all the right moments. And, if you're feeling indecisive, rest assured: You can't go wrong with any of these rock love songs for your wedding.

In this article:

• Classic Rock Love Songs for Your First Dance
• Best Rock Love Songs for Parent Dances
• Best Alternative Rock Love Songs

Classic Rock Love Songs for Your First Dance

Julia Elizabeth Photography

If you're looking to use one of the greatest love songs ever made for your first dance, consider a classic rock ballad. These emotional hits are instant crowd-pleasers, and each one will set the tone for the rest of your celebration. Take a peek at some of our favorite rock wedding songs for your first dance below. (Psst: We've also added our favorite lyrics you help you make the best selection.)

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"All I Want Is You," U2

Lyrics you'll love: "You say you'll give me/Eyes in a moon of blindness/A river in a time of dryness/A harbor in the tempest/But all the promises we make/From the cradle to the grave/When all I want is you"

"Can't Fight This Feeling," REO Speedwagon

Lyrics you'll love: "My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you/I've been running 'round in circles in my mind/And it always seems that I'm following you, girl/'Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find"

"Falling In Love Again," Robert Plant

Lyrics you'll love: "I'm thinking of no one but you every day/I'm thinking of no one but you/I think of you all the time/Oh darling please be mine/I'm falling in love again"

"First Time," Lifehouse

Lyrics you'll love: "I'm feeling alive all over again/As deep as the sky under my skin/Like being in love, she said, for the first time/Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right/Wherever I belong with you tonight/Like being in love to feel for the first time"

"Friday I'm In Love," The Cure

Lyrics you'll love: "I don't care if Monday's blue/Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too/Thursday, I don't care about you/It's Friday, I'm in love"

"Good Vibrations," The Beach Boys

Lyrics you'll love: "Close my eyes, she's somehow closer now/Softly smile, I know she must be kind/When I look in her eyes/She goes with me to a blossom world"

"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Aerosmith

Lyrics you'll love: "Don't want to close my eyes/I don't want to fall asleep/'Cause I'd miss you, babe/And I don't want to miss a thing"

"I Want to Know What Love Is," Foreigner

Lyrics you'll love: "Now this mountain, I must climb/Feels like the world upon my shoulders/But through the clouds, I see love shine/It keeps me warm as life grows colder"

"If You Want My Love," Cheap Trick

Lyrics you'll love: "You hold the secrets of love in this world/I'm hypnotized by your every word/A special face, a special voice/A special smile in my life"

"In Your Eyes," Peter Gabriel

Lyrics you'll love: "Oh, I see the light and the heat (in your eyes)/Oh, I wanna be that complete/I wanna touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes"

"(Just Like) Starting Over," John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Lyrics you'll love: "But when I see you darling/It's like we both are falling in love again/It'll be just like starting over/Starting over"

"Love Will Keep Us Alive," Eagles

Lyrics you'll love: "I was standing/All alone against the world outside/You were searching for a place to hide/Lost and lonely/Now you've given me the will to survive"

"Maybe I'm Amazed," Paul McCartney

Lyrics you'll love: "Baby, I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time/And maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you, maybe I'm amazed/At the way you pulled me out of time, you hung me on the line/Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you"

"No One Like You," Scorpions

Lyrics you'll love: "There's no one like you/I can't wait for the nights with you/I imagine the things we'll do/I just want to be loved by you"

"November Rain," Guns 'N Roses

Lyrics you'll love: "So if you want to love me/Then darlin' don't refrain/Or I'll just end up walkin'/In the cold November rain"

"Something," The Beatles

Lyrics you'll love: "Somewhere in her smile she knows/That I don't need no other lover/Something in her style that shows me/I don't want to leave her now/You know I believe and how"

"You Make Lovin' Fun," Fleetwood Mac

Lyrics you'll love: "Sweet wonderful you/You make me happy with the things you do/Oh, can it be so/This feeling follows me wherever I go"

"You Need Love," Styx

Lyrics you'll love: "Don't you worry/Ain't no need to hurry/All you really need/Is love"

"Your Song," Elton John

Lyrics you'll love: "And you can tell everybody/This is the song/It may be quite simple, but now that it's done/I hope you don't mind/I hope you don't mind/That I put down in the words/How wonderful life is while you're in the world"

"You're The Inspiration," Chicago

Lyrics you'll love: "You're the meaning in my life/You're the inspiration/You bring feeling to my life/You're the inspiration/Want to have you near me/I want to have you hear me saying/no one needs you more than I need you"

"Wild Horses," The Rolling Stones

Lyrics you'll love: "Wild horses/Couldn't drag me away/Wild, wild horses/We'll ride them some day"

"Without You," Harry Nilsson

Lyrics you'll love: "Can't live if living is without you/I can't live, I can't give anymore/I can't live if living is without you/I can't live, I can't give anymore"

"Whole Lotta Love," Led Zeppelin

Lyrics you'll love: "A-way down inside/A-honey you need it/I'm gonna give you my love/I'm gonna give you my love"

"Valentine's Day," David Bowie

Lyrics you'll love: "Valentine sees it all/He's got something to say/It's Valentine's day"

Best Rock Love Songs for Parent Dances

Andrielle Photography

After your first spin on the dance floor with your spouse, consider blocking off time for parent dances. While mother-and-son and father-and-daughter dances are the most common pairings, you and your spouse can share the floor with any parent figure on your wedding day. (It'll mean a lot to them to have a special moment with you too.) If you're on the hunt for the perfect classic rock mother-son or father-daughter wedding songs, look no further. We've rounded up plenty of tear-jerking options from songwriters like The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and many more.

"Child of Mine," Carole King

Lyrics you'll love: "Although you see the world different than me/Sometimes I can touch upon the wonders that you see/And all the new colors and pictures you've designed/Oh yes, sweet darling, so glad you are a child of mine"

"Forever Young," Rod Stewart

Lyrics you'll love: "Be courageous and be brave/And in my heart, you'll always stay/Forever young/Forever young"

"I'll Stand By You," The Pretenders

Lyrics you'll love: "Well I'm a lot like you/When you're standing at the crossroads/And don't know which path to choose/Let me come along/'Cause even if you're wrong/I'll stand by you"

"In My Life," The Beatles

Lyrics you'll love: "But of all these friends and lovers/There is no one compares with you/And these memories lose their meaning/When I think of love as something new"

"Landslide," Fleetwood Mac

Lyrics you'll love: "Well, I've been afraid of changin'/'Cause I've built my life around you/But time makes you bolder/Even children get older/And I'm getting older too"

"Sweet Child O' Mine," Guns 'N Roses

Lyrics you'll love: "She's got eyes of the bluest skies/As if they thought of rain/I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain/Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place/Where as a child I'd hide/And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by"

"Thank You For Loving Me," Bon Jovi

Lyrics you'll love: "You pick me up when I fall down/You ring the bell before they count me out/If I was drowning you would part the sea/And risk your own life to rescue me"

"Thank You Mom," Good Charlotte

Lyrics you'll love: "I'm sitting here, I'm thinking back/To a time when I was young, my memory is clear as day/I'm listening to the dishes clink/You were downstairs, you would sing songs of praise/And all the times we laughed with you/And all the times that you stayed true to us/Now we'll say/I said I thank you/I'll always thank you/More than you would know"

"When You Need Me," Bruce Springsteen

Lyrics you'll love: "When you need me call my name/'Cause without you my life just wouldn't be the same/If you want me come sunny skies or rain/When you need me just call my name"

"Wonderful Tonight," Eric Clapton

Lyrics you'll love: "I feel wonderful/Because I see the love light in your eyes/And the wonder of it all/Is that you just don't realize how much I love you"

Best Alternative Rock Love Songs

May Iosotaluno Photography

Not all rock and roll love songs are created equally. If you're looking for something a little more subdued for your wedding day, you might prefer a few alternative or soft rock hits instead. Check out our favorite alternative rock wedding songs for your playlist below.

"All I Need," AWOLNATION

Lyrics you'll love: "All I need, all/all I need/Is you/Smiling"

"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"

"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/Can I be close to you?"

"Everlong," Foo Fighters

Lyrics you'll love: "If everything could ever feel this real forever/If anything could ever be this good again/The only thing I'll ever ask of you/You've got to promise not to stop when I say when"

"First Day of My Life," Bright Eyes

Lyrics you'll love: "And you said/'This is the first day of my life/I'm glad I didn't die before I met you/But now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you/And I'd probably be happy'"

"Home," Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Lyrics you'll love: "Oh, home, let me come home/Home is wherever I'm with you/Oh, home, let me come home/Home is wherever I'm with you"

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

Lyrics you'll love: "You and me have seen everything to see/From Bangkok to Calgary/And the soles of your shoes are all worn down/The time for sleep is now/But it's nothing to cry about/'Cause we'll hold each other soon/In the blackest of rooms"

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

Lyrics you'll love: "Oo la love, I've fallen in love/And it's better this time than ever before/Oo la love, I've fallen in love/And it's better this time than I've ever known"

"Iris," Goo Goo Dolls

Lyrics you'll love: "And I'd give up forever to touch you/'Cause I know that you feel me somehow/You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be/And I don't want to go home right now"

"Oh, It Is Love," Hellogoodbye

Lyrics you'll love: "It is love from the first time I pressed my lips against yours/Thinking, 'Oh, is it love?'"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"Swing Life Away," Rise Against

Lyrics you'll love: "We live on front porches and swing life away/We get by just fine here on minimum wage/If love is a labor I'll slave till the end/I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand"

"The Only Exception," Paramore

Lyrics you'll love: "I've got a tight grip on reality/But I can't let go of what's in front of me here/I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up/Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream/You are the only exception"

"The Only One," The Black Keys

Lyrics you'll love: "I'm so wrapped up in a daze/Hoping this is just a phase/But when all is said and done/I know you are still the one/You're the only one/You're the only one/Cupid's bow it stung/Now you're the only one"

"The Reason," Hoobastank

Lyrics you'll love: "I've found a reason for me/To change who I used to be/A reason to start over new/And the reason is you"

"You and Me," Lifehouse

Lyrics you'll love: "'Cause it's you and me/And all of the people with nothing to do/Nothing to lose/And it's you and me/And all of the people/And I don't know why/I can't keep my eyes off of you"