Poster Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson is one of the pop artists whose music has been arranged for string quartet
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String quartets play wedding songs: Would you walk down the aisle to these pop melodies?

String quartets — and other chamber groups — are often hired to play at weddings (whether they love it or hate it).

There are plenty of selections from the classical repertoire appropriate to fill a ceremony, but many couples also like to include chamber arrangements of pop songs.

Here are nine popular songs as performed by string quartet (or, in one case, a string trio). What do you think: could one of these be the first song of the rest of your life?


"Blackbird," originally performed by the Beatles

This song from the White Album won a poll of The Current listeners when they were asked to pick the best Paul McCartney compositions.


"Human Nature," originally performed by Michael Jackson

My own brother and his fiancee are two of the many people who decided to walk down the aisle to a string arrangement of this 1982 classic after seeing it featured in the televised wedding of Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici from The Bachelor. There, it was performed by the two cellists who perform as — wait for it — 2CELLOS. Here, it's performed by the Stringspace String Quartet.


"Bitter Sweet Symphony," originally performed by the Verve

This 1997 hit, built on a loop from an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time," has become a popular choice for weddings — and it's just as well to go with an instrumental arrangement, given lyrics like "it's a bittersweet symphony, this life...you're a slave to money then you die."


"The Look of Love," originally performed by Dusty Springfield

Given that this Bacharach-David composition made its debut in a James Bond spoof (the 1967 Casino Royale, with Peter Sellers and Woody Allen), it's an apt soundtrack to sipping Martinis in evening wear.


"Greatest Day," originally performed by Take That

If British boy bands are your thing, this sweet 2008 song could make the set list for your big day. Footie fans take note: this was the official song of England's 2014 World Cup team.


"Unchained Melody," originally performed by the Righteous Brothers

You can have this one played at your nuptials, or save it for that couples' pottery workshop you got as a wedding present.


"Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop," originally performed by Landon Pigg

This 2007 song by singer-songwriter Landon Pigg has become a dark-horse wedding favorite with the help of DeBeers, which featured the song in a commercial.


"Hallelujah," originally performed by Leonard Cohen

Cohen's dark, strange lyrics for this song have resonated with audiences at events from weddings to funerals; here, the SC String Quartet strips the 1984 classic down to its indelible melody.


"All You Need is Love," originally performed by the Beatles

There couldn't be a more appropriate message for a wedding day, and thousands of couples have used this John Lennon song (credited to Lennon-McCartney) to lift their hearts.

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