You’ve heard it at a thousand ceremonies. The acoustic guitar starts picking those gentle, rolling chords, and suddenly everyone in the pews starts reaching for a tissue. It is the quintessential 1970s folk anthem. But if you ask the average guest who wrote the wedding song, you’ll usually get a blank stare or a guess about some anonymous monk from the middle ages.
Actually, the story is way more interesting than that. It involves a folk legend, a messy divorce, a literal "divine" intervention, and a massive amount of royalty money that the songwriter refused to keep.
The Man Behind the Melody: Noel Paul Stookey
The short answer is Noel Paul Stookey. You probably know him better as the "Paul" from the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.
In 1969, Stookey’s bandmate, Peter Yarrow, was getting ready to marry Mary Beth Armistead. Peter asked Noel to write something for the occasion. No pressure, right? Just write a song that captures the entire spiritual essence of human union for one of the most famous musicians on the planet. Stookey was recently "born again" as a Christian, and he was feeling a massive amount of pressure to deliver something that wasn't just "pop" but felt deeply meaningful.
He sat down with his guitar. He prayed. He waited.
Then, it just... happened. Stookey has famously said in interviews that the song felt like it was being dictated to him. He was just the scribe. He finished the lyrics and the melody in a single sitting, and when he played it back, he realized it was far better than anything he could have manufactured on his own.
Why the Credits Are So Confusing
If you look at an old record sleeve or a digital track listing, you might see "Traditional" or "Public Domain" or even just "Anonymous." This isn't because the author is unknown. It was a choice.
Stookey felt so strongly that the song "There Is Love" (its official title) was a gift from God that he didn't feel right claiming the publishing rights. Imagine that. In an industry where people sue each other over three-note basslines, this guy had a massive hit and tried to give away the credit.
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He eventually set up the Public Domain Foundation.
Every single cent earned from the royalties of "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" goes to charity. We are talking about millions and millions of dollars over the last five decades. It has funded social justice programs, relief efforts, and music education. So, while Stookey is the guy who put pen to paper, the "legal" owner of the song is effectively the public good.
The Sound of 1971
Peter, Paul and Mary actually broke up shortly after the song was written. Stookey released it on his solo album, Paul And, in 1971.
It hit number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. That might not sound like a "megahit" compared to Taylor Swift numbers, but for a folk song about the spiritual nature of marriage, it was a juggernaut. It stayed on the Adult Contemporary charts for months.
The production is incredibly sparse. It’s just Noel’s voice and his 12-string guitar. There are no drums. No soaring string sections. Just that raw, honest folk sound that defined the era. It felt authentic. People latched onto that. It wasn't a corporate jingle written in a boardroom to sell diamonds; it was a friend writing for a friend's wedding.
Breaking Down the Lyrics: More Than Just Romance
Most people focus on the "well a man shall leave his mother" part, which is straight out of the Book of Genesis. But Stookey’s lyrics are actually quite complex for a wedding tune.
He touches on the idea that love isn't just an emotion between two people. He frames it as a third entity. "Whenever two or more are gathered in His name, there is love." He’s quoting Matthew 18:20, but he’s doing it in a way that fits the counter-culture, "Summer of Love" vibe of the late 60s.
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Interestingly, many people get the lyrics wrong when they perform it. They’ll swap out "His name" for "my name" or "love's name" to make it more secular. Stookey has always been pretty chill about that. He wrote it for a specific moment, but he understands that once a song becomes a cultural staple, it belongs to the people singing it in their backyard or a drafty church.
Common Misconceptions About the Author
- Is it a hymn? Sort of. It’s a contemporary folk song with religious themes, but it wasn't written for a hymnal.
- Did Peter Yarrow write it? No, but he was the inspiration. It was his wedding gift.
- Is it related to the "Wedding March"? Not at all. Mendelssohn wrote the orchestral march; Stookey wrote the folk ballad.
The Song's Second Life in Pop Culture
While Stookey’s version is the definitive one, the song has been covered by everyone from Petula Clark to Captain & Tennille. Mary Travers (the "Mary" of the trio) even recorded her own version.
In the 1990s and 2000s, it saw a bit of a dip in popularity as couples started moving toward more modern tracks like "A Thousand Years" or "All of Me." But lately, there’s been a massive resurgence. The "cottagecore" and "vintage folk" wedding trends have brought Stookey’s 12-string guitar sound back into the mainstream. Gen Z couples are looking for something that feels "grounded" and "analog," and nothing fits that bill better than a song from 1971 written by a guy who gave all the money away.
The Technicality of the 12-String Guitar
If you’re a musician trying to cover this, you have to understand the guitar work. Stookey used a 12-string guitar, which gives the song that shimmering, choral effect.
If you play it on a standard 6-string, it sounds a bit thin. The 12-string creates natural "chorusing" because the pairs of strings are never perfectly in tune with each other. It creates a wall of sound that supports a solo voice without needing an orchestra. This is part of why it became so popular for live weddings; you only needed one guy with a guitar to make the room feel full.
Understanding the Legacy
Stookey is still around. He’s in his late 80s now and still performs. He often talks about how the song has a life of its own. He’s just the caretaker.
It’s rare to find a piece of intellectual property in the modern world that hasn't been exploited for every nickel. The fact that the "Wedding Song" continues to fund charitable work through the Public Domain Foundation is a testament to Stookey's original intent. He wanted the song to be a gift. And fifty years later, it still is.
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When you hear it at the next wedding you attend, remember that it wasn't a product of a record label's marketing department. It was a nervous guy in a room, trying to figure out what to say to his best friend on the biggest day of his life.
How to Use "The Wedding Song" Today
If you are planning a ceremony and want to include this classic, here is how to keep it from feeling like a 1974 time capsule.
Go for the Soloist
Don't use a backing track. The beauty of Stookey’s writing is the intimacy. Hire a live guitarist who can handle a 12-string or a fingerstyle arrangement on a high-quality acoustic.
Check the Lyrics
Decide if you want the original religious phrasing or the slightly modified secular versions. Both are widely accepted, but it’s worth reading the lyrics through to ensure they align with your own views on "unity."
Placement Matters
It works best as a "Processional" (the walk down the aisle) or during a "Unity Candle" lighting. It’s a bit too slow for a "Recessional" (the walk back up the aisle), which usually needs more "high energy" vibes.
Explore the Covers
If Stookey’s folk style feels too dated, listen to the version by The Lettermen or even Bradley Joseph. They offer different textures while keeping the core melody that makes people so emotional.
The reality is that who wrote the wedding song matters less to the bride and groom than how the song makes them feel. But knowing the "why" behind the "who"—that it was written as an act of friendship and given to the world as an act of charity—makes those three minutes at the altar feel a whole lot more meaningful.
Next time that 12-string guitar starts humming, you’ll know you’re listening to a piece of history that’s still doing good in the world, one royalty check at a time. No corporate greed, no ego, just a simple melody about love being the glue that holds everything together. That's a pretty good legacy for a song written in a single afternoon.