Coming up with wedding music for your special day doesn’t have to be so complicated. There are a few principles you can follow to ensure your guests have a great time. Simple ideas such as having variety in your wedding music or being familiar with your guests’ tastes in music can help compile an exciting playlist that’ll keep them dancing throughout the night.
The average number of guests at a wedding ranges from 133-143 people. That’s a lot of different tastes to account for. Thus, it is important to have a nice variety of music. This includes different genres of music, different moods, and music from different time periods.
The last suggestion is to take the older guests into consideration. After all, older guests are most likely to leave the wedding first. To remedy this, it is recommended to play earlier songs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s while mixing in some more recent songs, too. Then, the last hour of the wedding can be filled with modern music. Old classics that appeal to most generations include “Teddy Bear” (Elvis), “You Can’t Hurry Love” (Supremes), and “Great Balls of Fire” (Jerry Lee Lewis).
Rather than having your DJ or wedding band guess which songs will entertain your guests, however, it is likely that you know what sort of tastes your guests will have better than anyone. If you’re not too familiar with some of them, you can ask each guest to name one song they’d like to dance to on your reply card. This is perhaps the easiest way to find out exactly what kind of artists should be included in the playlist.
Another idea is to start the dancing right after the main course. Although it is tradition to dance after the wedding cake, it has become a recent trend to start the party a little earlier. In fact, some weddings start the dancing right after the bridge and groom are announced.
The best way to encourage others to dance is to ask your bridal party to dance and ask the guests to dance. This is because people generally find comfort in participating in activities the majority is part of. Be sure to use this to your advantage.
Finally, here are a couple of songs from each era that your wedding band could play for your guests. Modern songs include “Crazy in Love” (Beyonce) and “The Way Your Move” (Outkast). 80s includes “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” (Michael Jackson) and “Blister in the Sun” (Violent Femmes). 70s includes “Miss You” (The Rolling Stones) and “Good Times” (Chic). 60s includes “Let’s Stay Together” (Al Green) and “Twist & Shout” (Beatles). 50s include “The Twist” (Chubby Checker) and “Only You” (Platters). 40s includes “It Had to Be You” and “The Way You Look Tonight” (both by Frank Sinatra).
