Wedding Songs List Philippines: 100+ Reception Songs by Slot
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Quick answer
A Filipino reception needs a song for each program moment, not one playlist: seating and dinner music, the grand entrance, parent dances, the first dance, cake cutting, the money dance, games and the send-off. Below are 100+ picks for those slots, mostly from Philippine sources, with 30 OPM titles.
Your reception program has about ten music moments, and each one needs its own song. Below is every slot in program order, 100+ songs sorted into those slots from Philippine wedding publications and musicians, a 30-title OPM bank, and a cue sheet to hand your DJ or band. Church music is a separate list: see our processional and recessional songs guide.
The music slots, in program order
Times and minutes are from our sample reception program timeline, not a rule. Your coordinator's order may differ.
| Sample start | Slot | Minutes | What the music does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 PM | Seating and welcome drinks | 15 | Background, conversation level |
| 6:35 PM | Entourage entrance | 10 | One upbeat track, looped |
| 6:45 PM | Couple's grand entrance | 5 | Your signature song |
| 6:50 PM | Parent dances | 10 | Father-daughter, mother-son |
| 7:00 PM | First dance | 5 | Ballad or upbeat |
| 7:05 PM | Cake cutting and toast | 10 | Short and light |
| 7:20 PM | Dinner | 45 | Background again |
| 8:30 PM | Money dance (optional) | 10 | A medley that keeps the line moving |
| 8:40 PM | Games, bouquet and garter toss (optional) | 15 | Cues for each game |
| 9:15 PM | Closing and open dancing | 15 | Party set, then a last song |
Entourage and grand entrance
Bride and Breakfast, a Philippine wedding blog, published 70 entrance song ideas from the 2000s across six genres, and tells couples "don't be afraid to pick a faster song for a more energetic entrance, or a slower one for a truly sentimental moment." A selection:
| Genre | Songs |
|---|---|
| Pop and R&B | Love on Top (Beyoncé); A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton); Love Story (Taylor Swift); Hey Ya! (OutKast) |
| Rock | Mr. Brightside (The Killers); Wonderwall (Oasis); A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay) |
| Rock, more | Home (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) |
| Indie and folk | Skinny Love (Bon Iver); Make You Feel My Love (Adele); Such Great Heights (The Postal Service) |
| Indie and folk, more | First Day of My Life (Bright Eyes) |
| Hip-hop | Best I Ever Had (Drake); Dilemma (Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland); Beautiful (Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell Williams and Charlie Wilson) |
| Country | Bless the Broken Road (Rascal Flatts); She's Everything (Brad Paisley); Forever and for Always (Shania Twain) |
| Dance | I Gotta Feeling (Black Eyed Peas); Party Rock Anthem (LMFAO); Timber (Pitbull, Kesha) |
For an OPM entrance, Nuptials.ph's bridal march list names Your Universe (Rico Blanco), Tagpuan (Moira Dela Torre), Panalangin (APO Hiking Society), Ride Home (Ben&Ben) and Bawat Daan (Ebe Dancel). If your parish refuses one for the church, the reception entrance is where it goes.
Parent dances
Nuptials.ph describes the flow: the couple's first dance, then the father-daughter dance, then the groom leads his mother, and "It's also possible for the father-daughter and mother-son dance to take place at the same time." It adds that the dance can go to a stepfather, uncle, principal sponsor or other father figure. Our sample timeline puts the parent dances before the first dance instead; either works if the DJ knows.
Picks from Bride and Breakfast's 24 father-daughter songs and Nuptials.ph's list:
| Source | Songs |
|---|---|
| Both | My Girl (The Temptations); My Little Girl (Tim McGraw); Father and Daughter (Paul Simon) |
| Bride and Breakfast | Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel); Landslide (Fleetwood Mac); Butterfly Kisses (Bob Carlisle) |
| Bride and Breakfast | Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole); The Way You Look Tonight (Tony Bennett) |
| Bride and Breakfast | Have I Told You Lately (Rod Stewart); Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton); Unforgettable (Nat King Cole) |
| Bride and Breakfast | My Wish (Rascal Flatts); Stand By Me (Ben E. King) |
| Nuptials.ph | Isn't She Lovely (Stevie Wonder); Always Be My Baby (Mariah Carey, or the David Cook version) |
Neither list has an OPM title or a mother-son list. Augustine Music, a Filipino musician group, includes Song for Mama and Sa Ugoy ng Duyan in its reception catalog, titles only, with no slot. Using either for the mother-son dance is our suggestion, not theirs.
First dance
Bride and Breakfast published both a romantic first dance list of "romantic alternatives" to the usual picks and 14 upbeat first dance songs for couples who skip "those slow and mellow dramatic ones." A selection from each:
| Mood | Songs |
|---|---|
| Slow | Rule the World (Take That); XO (John Mayer's cover of Beyoncé); Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) |
| Slow | Like I'm Gonna Lose You (Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend); One (Ed Sheeran); If It Kills Me (Jason Mraz) |
| Slow | More Than Anyone (Gavin DeGraw); Someone Like You (Paolo Nutini) |
| Upbeat | Shut Up and Dance (Walk the Moon); You Make My Dreams (Hall & Oates); ABC (Jackson 5) |
| Upbeat | Dancing in the Moonlight (Toploader); Geronimo (Sheppard); Dance With Me Tonight (Olly Murs) |
| Upbeat | Be My Yoko Ono (Barenaked Ladies) |
For a slow OPM first dance, Palagi by TJ Monterde was written for his wife KZ Tandingan. He released a wedding version together with the single on July 6, 2023, and a duet with her followed in August 2024.
Dinner and background music
Bride and Breakfast's 20 reception dinner songs deliberately skip "too many of the usuals":
| Songs | Songs, more |
|---|---|
| Fall (Ed Sheeran); Beautiful Mess (Jason Mraz); A Face to Call Home (John Mayer) | Everybody (Ingrid Michaelson); A Wink and a Smile (Harry Connick Jr.) |
| I'm Confessin' (Peggy Lee); Happy Madness (Stacey Kent); Boat Song (JJ Heller) |
Our advice: build one playlist of about an hour and use it for both seating and dinner, at conversation volume.
Money dance
Nuptials.ph's money dance guide says to "select a fun and upbeat song" with your DJ or band. Synergy Events, a Los Angeles DJ company that plays Filipino-American weddings, suggests a medley of three to five songs and groups its picks:
| Its group | Songs |
|---|---|
| Filipino favorites | Dahil Sa'Yo (Iñigo Pascual); Ikaw (Yeng Constantino); Pangako Sa'Yo (Daniel Padilla) |
| Fun and upbeat | Happy (Pharrell Williams); Can't Stop the Feeling (Justin Timberlake); Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars) |
| Classic and romantic | Can't Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley); Endless Love (Lionel Richie & Diana Ross) |
| Classic, more | Always and Forever (Luther Vandross) |
| Modern | Levitating (Dua Lipa); I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston) |
Our sample gives the money dance ten minutes; if the line is long, the medley runs longer, so tell the DJ who will signal the last song.
Cake, games and the send-off
We found no Philippine source naming songs for these moments, so this table is our suggestion. Three of them are in Augustine Music's reception catalog.
| Moment | Song | In Augustine's catalog? |
|---|---|---|
| Cake cutting | L-O-V-E (Nat King Cole); Marry You (Bruno Mars) | Yes, both |
| Cake cutting | Sugar, Sugar (The Archies) | No |
| Bouquet toss | Single Ladies (Beyoncé) | No |
| Last slow dance | At Last (Etta James) | Yes |
| Send-off | Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves) | No |
For the games themselves, our reception games list marks which of 20 games need music.
A 30-title OPM bank
These are OPM titles from Augustine Music's reception catalog, which lists titles almost always without an artist; we have only added capital letters. Many have more than one recording, so name the version you mean when you book. For six titles we checked the best-known recording:
| Title | Best-known recording | Checked against |
|---|---|---|
| Forevermore | Side A | Side A on Wikipedia |
| Kahit Kailan | South Border | South Border on Wikipedia |
| Ikaw Lamang | Silent Sanctuary (2007 single) | Silent Sanctuary on Wikipedia |
| Hawak Kamay | Yeng Constantino | Yeng Constantino on Wikipedia |
| Tadhana | Up Dharma Down | Up Dharma Down on Wikipedia |
| Tagpuan | Moira Dela Torre | Moira Dela Torre on Wikipedia |
The other 24, titles only:
| OPM titles | More | More |
|---|---|---|
| Alipin; Ang Daigdig Ko'y Ikaw; Bituing Walang Ningning; Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak | Dahil sa Iyo; Gaano Kita Kamahal; Habang May Buhay; Handog | Hindi Kita Malimot; Ikaw ang Pangarap |
| Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin; Kahit Isang Saglit; Kailangan Kita; Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw | Maging Sino Ka Man; Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin; Nagiisang Ikaw | Ngayon at Kailanman; Pangako |
| Sa Piling Mo; Sa Ugoy ng Duyan; Saan Ka Man Naroroon | Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas; Umagang Kay Ganda |
Music on the invitation is a separate choice
A digital invitation can play its own background music when a guest opens it, days before the reception. On Imbitasyon Ko this is part of the Standard (₱499) and Premium (₱999) plans, both one-time payments. You pick from eight built-in library tracks, such as Soft Piano, Romantic Strings, Gentle Guitar and Dreamy Lo-Fi, and can preview each one in the editor; there is no upload. The invitation tries to start the track once the guest opens the cover, and if the phone blocks autoplay, the guest taps the speaker button. See plans and pricing.
Your cue sheet
Put every slot in one document that your coordinator, host and DJ or band all see. Copy this:
MUSIC CUE SHEET: [Couple], [Venue], [Date]. Seating and dinner playlist: [link or name]. Entourage entrance: [song, artist]. Grand entrance: [song, artist]. Parent dances: [song, artist]. First dance: [song, artist, cut at minute _:__]. Cake cutting: [song, artist]. Money dance medley: [song 1], [song 2], [song 3]. Games and toss: [song per game]. Last dance: [song, artist]. Send-off: [song, artist]. Cues given by: [host name]. Music by: [DJ or band, contact number].
Our emcee script has the host's line for each of these cues. Pick one song per slot, confirm the version, and let the band or DJ fill the gaps.
Frequently asked questions
What songs are played at a Filipino wedding reception?
Each program moment gets its own song: the grand entrance, parent dances, first dance, cake cutting, dinner, the money dance and the send-off. Philippine lists mix international songs such as Love on Top and Shut Up and Dance with OPM titles such as Tadhana, Kahit Kailan and Hawak Kamay.
What is a good OPM song for a wedding?
Tagpuan by Moira Dela Torre, Your Universe by Rico Blanco, Panalangin by APO Hiking Society, Ride Home by Ben&Ben and Bawat Daan by Ebe Dancel are all on Nuptials.ph's OPM bridal march list. Palagi by TJ Monterde, which also has a wedding version, suits a slow first dance.
What song is played for the money dance?
Nuptials.ph suggests a fun and upbeat song for the money dance. A DJ company that plays Filipino-American weddings recommends a medley of three to five songs, and lists Dahil Sa'Yo, Ikaw and Pangako Sa'Yo among its Filipino favorites.
What songs are good for the father-daughter dance?
Bride and Breakfast and Nuptials.ph both list My Girl by The Temptations, My Little Girl by Tim McGraw and Father and Daughter by Paul Simon. Neither list includes an OPM title, so ask your band for an OPM version if you want one.
Which comes first, the first dance or the father-daughter dance?
Sources differ. Nuptials.ph describes the couple's first dance followed by the father-daughter dance, while our sample reception timeline puts the parent dances just before the first dance. Pick one order and give it to your DJ or band.
How many songs do I need for a wedding reception?
Plan one named song for each of about ten program moments, plus three to five songs for the money dance and a longer background playlist for seating and dinner, which covers about an hour in our sample timeline: 15 minutes of seating and 45 of dinner.