You are planning the first dance, and you want a song that sounds like the two of you, not a default. Below are real, well-loved songs that work beautifully at LGBTQ+ weddings, plus one more option: a song written only about your story. At Songbond, that custom song is $39.90 and usually arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
Listen: "I Get to Keep You"
What makes a song land at a same-sex wedding
The songs that work best use "you" and "I" instead of "he" or "she," so nothing has to be reworded to fit your love. That one detail is why so many couples reach for soul standards and singer-songwriter ballads: the pronouns already make room for everyone. Beyond that, look for a lyric that matches how you actually feel in the room, and a tempo slow enough to hold each other through. The song you pick is the soundtrack to the moment both families finally see you as married.
8 wedding and first dance songs loved at LGBTQ+ weddings
These are real, widely played songs. We left off anything we could not verify. A quick way to read the list: song, who it is for, and why.
- "At Last" — Etta James (1960). For the couple who waited. Etta's relieved voice and the all-"you" lyric make it a timeless, genderless first dance.
- "Stand By Me" — Ben E. King (1961). For the steady ones. A soul classic about devotion through anything, with no gendered words to step around.
- "First Day of My Life" — Bright Eyes (2005). For the romantics. The video featured same-sex couples and earned special recognition at the 2006 GLAAD Media Awards.
- "Make You Feel My Love" — Adele / Bob Dylan (1997). For the all-in promise. Dylan's song, covered by more than 450 artists, is a plainspoken vow that fits any couple.
- "1950" — King Princess (2018). For honoring queer love. Written by an openly queer artist as a tribute to "The Price of Salt," the novel behind the film "Carol."
- "Tenerife Sea" — Ed Sheeran (2014). For the soft, slow sway. Built entirely on "you," it reads as one person telling the other they are enough.
- "Sweet Creature" — Harry Styles (2017). For the home-is-a-person feeling. The lyric "you bring me home" keeps it tender and deliberately open.
- "Love Is Love" — Boy George (2000). For the joyful statement. A simple, generous message many couples want at the heart of the day.
If none of these is quite your story, that is normal. A famous song can come close, but it was written about someone else.
The lyrics
The floor clears out, the lights go low,
and it's only you, only you, here we go.
You steal my hoodie every winter,
you say "drive safe" like it's a vow.
There's a coffee ring you left on my novel —
I never wiped it off, and look at us now.
They told us once this might not be allowed,
in so many quiet, ordinary ways.
But the hall is rented, the cake is cut,
and I'm holding you in front of their gaze.
Both our families in the folding chairs,
and the only thing I can think is —
I get to keep you.
After all the never, all the no —
I get to say it out loud,
hold you slow, let the whole room know.
After everything, my love,
I get to keep you.
By the second song the shoes come off,
you laugh that laugh that wrecks me clean.
We cooked so bad in our first apartment,
burned the rice and called it cuisine.
There were years I rehearsed this in secret,
not sure the world would let it be true —
now there's rice in my pocket for luck again,
and a ring, and a forever, and you.
Both our families in the folding chairs,
and the only thing I can think is —
I get to keep you.
After all the never, all the no —
I get to say it out loud,
hold you slow, let the whole room know.
After everything, my love,
I get to keep you.
And somewhere there's two people, decades back,
who danced behind a curtain, hid the ring —
so when I dip you under all these lights,
I'm dancing for them too, my everything.
We're out here in the open. We made it.
Hear the whole room start to sing —
I get to keep you.
After all the never, all the no —
I get to say it out loud,
hold you slow, let the whole room know.
After everything, my love,
I get to keep you.
The floor's still ours, the night's still young.
I get to keep you. We've only begun.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a song right for a same-sex first dance?
The best ones use "you" and "I" instead of he or she, so the words fit your relationship without edits. Pick a song that matches how you actually feel together, not just a famous title. Tempo matters too: slow enough to hold each other, steady enough to move.
Can we get a song written about our own story?
Yes. Songbond writes an original song from the details you share, like how you met and what you call each other, for $39.90. It is usually delivered in 24 to 48 hours with unlimited revisions, so the first dance is about the two of you and no one else.
Are these songs okay to play if we are not out to everyone?
Yes. Every song here is widely played at weddings of all kinds, so none of them announce anything on their own. A gender-neutral lyric simply lets the song be about you and your partner, quietly and completely.
A song that is only yours
"I Get to Keep You" started as one couple's first dance: a same-sex wedding, both families in the folding chairs, the line "after all the never, all the no, I get to keep you." If you want a song built from your own details instead of a borrowed one, you can order a custom song from Songbond for $39.90, usually delivered in 24 to 48 hours with unlimited revisions.
From the same series: Coming out songs and songs about gender transition.
