Planning music with your wedding DJ

Music is a huge part of the night if you want to have the best wedding reception.  Here are some helpful tips when planning the music with your DJ for your wedding.

Think of your guests:  Allow guests to make requests either the night off or ahead of time.   If you involve your guests in the music planning the odds of having a packed dance floor goes up.  One way we’ve done it in the past is for guests to log in directly to our music library and make requests days, weeks or months in advance.   Guests love it.  Some brides and grooms have included a song choice on the invitations along with meal choice which is pretty clever.  Of course, you can leave it for the night off as well as long as your guests are involved it will be more fun!

Keep the must play list short:  When couples load up the must playlist with ALL of their favorite songs it is going to start to sound like their iPod and some of the guests may not enjoy 3 hours of country or 3 hours of hardcore rap.  It is important to have a must play list as it allows the DJ to play your favorites but just as important for that list to be short because it leaves room for guest requests and switching the music up if necessary.  Traditional wedding receptions have about 3-4 hours dancing time (60-80 songs) so our recommendation is to pick about 10-20 must plays and let your DJ do the rest.

Don’t OVER PLAN: This is going to sound a little like the last tip but it is worth mentioning not to over plan.  Like we mentioned above you will hear 60-80 songs during your reception and if you list 60-80-100 songs on your planner then the DJ will be stuck and unable to use his expertise to get people dancing.  Over planning is also stressful if we are being honest because it is a lot of work to pick out 4 hours worth of music.

Know your crowd: Are most of your guests family? friends? a mix of both?  Well, then you are likely to have a very mixed crowd.  Having a good mix of older and more contemporary music is so important for any great wedding reception.  Think of this tip when putting together the MUST PLAY list.  People are likely to dance to what they recognize so keep it familiar and keep it fun. Use the previous tips and music will be great on your wedding day! Having a wedding in Buffalo, NY? Contact us for more info on our wedding DJ packages