Top 5 tips on choosing music for your wedding day

Choosing Wedding Music

It can be really overwhelming if you feel like you don’t have a place to start, or the list is just far too long. Hopefully, you’ll use your talented professionals to help walk through this process (hint: your planner will recommend someone great, we also have a list of groups we love) but it can still be… a lot.

It’s one of those things that you might not realize how involved it can be until you begin to think about it.  Your wedding day is going to have a whole lot of music involved. If you’re not a music person, to begin with, or you’re someone who’s obsessed with music, either way, it can become pretty overwhelming. 

Here are a few tips for choosing your wedding music that hopefully will help you as your continue the wedding plan and make the thousands of decisions that need to be made on a regular basis. 

 

    1. Decide how important music is going to be in your day. I have met couples who place a huge emphasis on music and I have met couples who literally were picking songs moments before they went out to dance. I would not recommend the latter but I have definitely seen it done.  If you decide that music is going to be a huge part of your day I would highly recommend looking into a great wedding band. Nothing can keep the party going like really talented musicians, and live music both at your reception and your ceremony can I add a feel to your wedding day that few other things can.

    2.  Take your time when you’re picking important songs.  This is not one of those decisions that you want to rush through, it’s a decision that you want to ponder as you’re planning and doing other things. When I was planning for my wedding vow renewal I spent months picking out the songs that I wanted to be played while I danced with my husband and my father.  They were incredibly important to me and I looked, and looked, and looked until I found a perfect fit. I still treasure those songs and they have such special memories attached to them for me. That’s one of the reasons great music makes a wedding, the moment you hear those first notes it will help transport you right back to where you were. Don’t rush that process.

    3. Think about your crowd.  When you’re choosing music for your reception it can be really tempting to just pick songs you like or worse yet let your DJ make a list of “popular” songs. You know your friends better than anyone else and you know the people who are going to be at your wedding. Is there a strong representation from an older generation? Make sure there are classics played in that Grandma and Grandpa are going to want to jump up and dance to. Do you have a young crowd that loves to dance? Play songs that get everybody moving. Are there a lot of couples and people who have been married a while there? Play songs that husbands and wives can not be afraid to get on the dance floor for, things they can just sway back and forth to, and remember how much fun it is to be on the dance floor together – keep the entry-level low. Spring the crazy songs on them a little later in the night. 😉

    4. Keep things mixed up.  People are moved emotionally by music. Just think about the last time you were misty-eyed watching a movie, it was probably the soundtrack that connected with your emotions more than anything. When you’re thinking about a playlist for your reception make sure that you’re thinking about the ebb and flow of what the party is going to be like.  Start out slow, mix some fun songs in there, even things out with a series of fast songs, and then take a break with a slow song or two. A skilled MC from a band or an excellent DJ can help you with this. It can be a lot to think about but so worth it when done well.

    5. Shout it out.  Know when to bring the big guns in.  Generally, there is going to be a genre or time of music that is going to be more familiar to a large group of your guests. At some point when the party is really going is when we start leaning into THOSE songs. It might be playing the Wobble or it might be Sweet Caroline but you want to know what’s going to get your friends up shouting lyrics and lean into that at the perfect time. Your wedding guests will leave feeling like they had the best time at your wedding. 

 

Hopefully, that is helpful for those never-ending music choices, but don’t ever hesitate to reach out for specifics. Song ideas, band/DJ recommendations or rocking dance moves… we are here to help. 😉 

 

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