A best friend turned lover is one of the most desired love stories of all time. How do we know? Love songs across every genre affectionately detail what it feels like to fall in love with a best friend.
If you’re lucky enough to relate to one of these love songs, you’re probably already trying to brainstorm a wedding song. Find a list of the best songs about marrying your best friend below.
Top Songs About Marrying Your Best Friend
“My Best Friend” – Tim McGraw
This sweet ballad illustrates what life is like when you find a best friend and lover in one. Award-winning songwriter Aimee Mayo and Bill Luther wrote the song for McGraw’s 1999 album, “A Place in the Sun.”
Shortly after the love song’s release, it rose to the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and remained there for two weeks.
Today, the song is a first-dance classic. Countless newlyweds commemorate marrying their best friend by swaying to the lyrics at their wedding.
“You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This” – Toby Keith
When it comes to songs about being in love with your best friend, country music pulls on the heartstrings.
Written and recorded by country star Toby Keith, this song details the moment two friends realize they’re in love.
The equally popular music video features an innocent spark between a young man and an older woman that eventually deepens. In true Keith fashion, the video ends humorously when the young man realizes it was all an unrequited daydream.
“Lucky” – Jason Mraz ft. Colbie Caillat
A worldwide hit and grammy-winning collaboration, “Lucky” is sung from the perspective of two lovers/best friends filled with gratitude for one another. It details the unique feeling of being in love with your best friend.
The adorned single was released on Mraz’s “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” album in 2008. A few months later, it charted on Billboards’ American and Canadian top 100 charts, Mexico Ingles Airplay chart, France Digital Song Sales chart, and numerous others.
Today, “Lucky” is reserved for lighthearted or sentimental wedding moments.
“More Than Friends” – Jason Mraz ft. Meghan Trainor
People admire Mraz and his wife, Christina Carano, because he releases such endearing love songs about being in love with your best friend. This lighthearted and carefree pop duet represents a transparent conversation between two friends desiring more from one another.
The sweet collaboration was a last-minute addition to Mraz’s fifth top-ten album “Know” but quickly became a beloved summer hit.
Mraz, Trainor, Andrew Wells, and Jonathan Green worked together to create the acoustic love song before releasing it in October 2018. Shortly after, filmmaker Darren Doane directed a fun, upbeat video that fits the storyline perfectly.
“Best Part” – Daniel Caesar ft. H.E.R.
A calming ballad about the comfort of love, “Best Part” is one of the most touching songs about falling in love with your best friend R&B has to offer.
Cesar released the song on his “Freudian” album in 2017, but it did not gain attention until 2019 when the duo won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance with the song.
Even President Obama found the charming duet relatable as he and Michelle included it on their notorious 2019 Summer Spotify Playlist. If that doesn’t scream wedding material, we don’t know what does.
“Home” – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Who do you feel more at home with, your best friend or lover? If you’re lucky, your best friend is your lover!
“Home” is an upbeat indie tune about just that! Throughout the song, a boyfriend and girlfriend—Jane and Alexander, admit that their greatest desire is to be alongside one another, all while joyously whistling!
The well-known song was released in 2010 on the band’s “Up from Below” album and has nearly become a classic as countless movies, television shows, and commercials feature it.
“Do You Wanna Know A Secret?” – The Beatles
In this classic, George Harrison shares the rush he feels from a surprising crush, making it one of the most relatable rock songs about falling in love with your best friend. The song is also unique as it’s one of the few ballads Harrison flaunts his vocals.
The Beatles released “Do You Wanna Know A Secret?” on their 1963 album, “Please Please Me.” The song climbed to Billboard’s number two spot a year later.
Harrison’s playful melody is the ideal addition to lighthearted moments shared by a bride and groom on their wedding day.
Best Friend – 50 Cent ft. Olivia
There are even rap songs about being in love with your best friend. 50 Cent released this early 2000s classic as the third single from his “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” album. One year later, he and R&B singer Olivia released the remix, securing top spots on multiple Billboard charts.
The remixed song consists of two close friends imagining how life would be if they were more. Many lovers reminisce on the early days of their relationship to 50 Cent and Olivia’s lyrics.
The passion-filled hip-hop hit is fun to dance to or play in the background as you mingle with friends.
“Can’t Fight This Feeling” – REO Speedwagon
This all-too-relatable classic rock song dominated the 80s. The lyrics detail the immense longing yet fear someone who falls in love with their best friend feels.
Written and sung by REO Speedwagon member Kevin Cronin, the beloved ballad held Billboard’s number one spot for three weeks straight in March of 1985.
Sweetened by piano and intensified by the bass, the soothing yet fun beat is an excellent choice for the end of any party, but especially a wedding.
“I’ve Been Thinking About You” – Mariah Carey
“I’ve Been Thinking About You” is pure gold amongst pop songs about marrying your best friend. The upbeat tune consists of a woman confessing the moment she realizes she’s caught feelings for a close friend.
Carey released the passion-filled pop song on her Billboard number one album, “Music Box.” Like most of the songs on this album, it makes you want to get up and move.
Billboard describes it as bringing “the 90s dance heat.” If you’re looking for some fun tunes to add to your wedding playlist, don’t forget about this one!
“Paper Rings” – Taylor Swift
In this upbeat track from Lover, Swift sings about all the reasons that her partner is now the best friend that she’s been waiting her whole life for. She loves him so much that their wedding wouldn’t need to be fancy. “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings,” she sings.
She reflects back on their relationship, from the night that they met to the hours they spent painting his brother’s bedroom together, to the outdoor pool they jumped in together.
Swift worked on this song with producer Jack Antonoff, her frequent collaborator. The two tried to make the song sound like a ‘throwback’ musically and avoided any elements that they felt were too modern.
“You’re My Best Friend” – Queen
This Queen song is often used a best friend anthem, but did you know that the track was actually inspired by a marriage? Bassist John Deacon wrote the track about his wife, with lyrics about how happy he was at home with her and how, despite how long they’d been together, she was still his “sunshine”. Freddie Mercury sings Deacon’s words about how grateful he is to come to home to someone who always helps him to see the good in the world.
“I Will Spend My Whole Life Loving You” – Imaginary Future ft Kina Grannis
In this tender acoustic guitar-driven track, the duo describe a wedding day on an August afternoon. Two people stand at the alter facing each other, bowled over by how comparatively short their lives are and yet happy to spend the entire thing loving each other. Imaginary Future is the project of singer-songwriter Jesse Epstein, and Kina Grannis is his real-life wife.
“Home” – Bruno Major
This tender track from Major sings about having loved his best friend since they were 21. The two of them have travelled all over together, but wherever they are together feels like home to Major. The two of them have everything they need within their walls, and he’s happy to stay beside his wife drinking and laughing and dancing for his entire life. Even though he knows he’s made mistakes, he also knows that their relationship is stronger for having overcome conflict.
“Already Mine” – Us The Duo
Even the greatest love stories have bumps in the road. Married couple Us The Duo sing about the occasionally tough parts of marrying your best friend, and the periods in your relationship where you start to feel disconnected from each other. “I already have you, but I wanna know you again,” they sing.
Although the relationship is on shaky ground and the two have started to feel more like friends than lovers, they’ll never stop trying to reignite the flame. “I’ll never stop trying to fall back in love with what’s already mine,” they sing. They miss each other, and they’re both committed to making their relationship better than it’s ever been.
“Collide” – Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran lists a bunch of experiences he’s had with his wife in this upbeat song – they’ve slept on the beach together, found an Irish bar in central Rome, shared a toothbrush and navigated loss and grief together.
Their relationship has kept the two of them steady through a lot, and Sheeran expresses how glad he is that he married his best friend.
Sheeran wrote ‘Collide’ when he started feeling that his album was a bit “morose”. He wanted to compose a joyful celebration of his marriage and an expression of gratitude for his wife, Cherry. The song was heavily inspired by Sheeran and Cherry’s first dance wedding song, Ben Kweller’s ‘Thirteen’.
“A Thousand Years” – Christina Perri
A popular wedding song all over the world, Perri’s ‘A Thousand Years’ describes a long-lasting relationship in which the two parties are totally committed to each other for the rest of time. “I have loved you for a thousand years, I’ll love you for a thousand more,” sings Perri.
‘A Thousand Years’ was written for the Twilight film Breaking Dawn Part One. Perri was a huge Twilight fan, and was consequently thrilled to be able to have a song on the soundtrack. After attending an early screening of the film, she went “straight home” and wrote the song in the hopes that it would get chosen for the film – and it did.
“Marry Me” – Train
Train’s ‘Marry Me’ is about as direct as it gets. Pat Monahan describes a relationship between two people who are completely in love with each other and ready to take the next step. “Together could never be close enough for me, but I feel like I am close enough to you,” he sings.
The origins of this song may surprise you. Monahan didn’t actually write this song about a girl he was in a long term relationship with, but a pretty girl he saw in a café and had never spoken to before. He described the track as a fantasy, a way to skip all of the initial steps of dating and a leap of faith into marriage.
“Say You Will” – Hearts & Colours
Hearts & Colours fantasise about marrying their best friend in this tender love song. They promise to love their partner for their entire life until their hair is grey and describe the scene of their wedding with great emotion. The Swedish indie folk duo wrote the track for their debut EP, Prologue.
“the angel of 8th ave” – Gang of Youths
This upbeat track from Australian rockers Gang of Youths describes lead singer David Le’aupepe’s move to London with his wife, and how his marriage helped him to navigate the death of his father and living on an unfamiliar side of the globe. He sings his wife’s praises, and expresses a wish to be “lover of the year” for her.
“Marry You” – Bruno Mars
Mars is having a little too much fun out with his best friend and girlfriend, and decides that maybe tonight is the night to get hitched. “Who cares if we’re trashed, got a pocket full of cash we can blow,” he sings. The impulsive move feels right to him, and he’s not afraid to jump in with both feet.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re into country, indie, rock, or rap, there’s at least one song about marrying your best friend that you’ll love. We hope this list has helped you find a few relatable tunes you and your best friend can enjoy together!
Caitlin Devlin is a music, entertainment and lifestyle writer based in London. When she’s not creating playlists for Repeat Replay, she’s reviewing gigs and interviewing artists for Ticketmaster UK and thinking about what her Spotify Wrapped will look like this year.