After choosing the band or DJ for your wedding, the next step is guiding them on your musical preferences. While making sure you hear the music you personally love at your wedding is obviously important, there is a bit of an art to keeping guests engaged in the way you prefer. That said, here’s a few tips to help you as you start guiding your entertainment
DECIDE WHAT TYPE OF EVENT YOU WANT TO HAVE // Do you want a dance party or a dinner party? Or maybe a nice mix of both where guests are engaged in dinner while dining and are ready to go when it’s time to dance? Determining your vision for the event not only guides the flow of the evening but also guides the band on the type of energy to bring to the table during certain segments of the evening. For instance, if your vision is to have more of a dinner focused event with lots of conversation, you may ask for lighter background music. If you want to be sure the dance floor is packed, you may want to start the higher energy music the second the guests enter the reception.
CREATE A DO NOT PLAY LIST // Depending on how much time and energy you want to spend on curating your playlist, we recommend prioritizing your list by first creating a do not play list. This can be as specific as asking the band to not play the song you and your ex boyfriend considered significant way back when to requesting they avoid a complete genre. CREATE A MUST PLAY LIST // Second on the list of prioritization would be creating a must have last list. This should include significant songs for you and your soon-to-be, favorite songs that you absolutely have to dance to and any guidance on genres you want to highlight throughout the evening.
CREATE A NICE TO PLAY LIST // Lastly, if you have time, a nice to play list can offer a third tier of guidance to get the sound and energy a bit closer to your overall vision.
AVOID GOING TO OBSCURE // While having great musical taste and knowing every new artist there is, can be great knowledge to show off at a house party filled with guests your age, this same approach during a wedding can be a flop. Remember you’re typically hosting an event with a lot of diversity in age and musical tastes. Unless you don’t care about having a great dance party, it’s best to stick with music that you like, but also music that guests will know and be excited to dance to.
GIVE THE BAND OR DJ FLEXIBILITY // You may think your guests are going to dance to Latin music all night long and want to plan accordingly, but if on the night of the wedding, that plan isn’t getting the guest response needed, make sure the band knows they can change genres as needed to keep the energy alive.