Your wedding reception will likely have music playing before, during, and after many of the key moments, so you want to keep in mind everything that could affect how well the music plays out both for you and your partner and for the wedding guests. As Victoria BC Wedding DJ’s, we ensure you don’t have to worry about any of these issues below. But with that in mind, here are the top 10 wedding music mistakes to avoid if you don’t plan on hiring Wedding DJ’s for your special day.
#1: Not meeting with your DJ ahead of time
You don’t have get to know them extensively, but you should find out enough about your DJ to feel confident that they can help to make your night fun in a way that works for you. There’s only so much you can learn through phone calls and emails–meeting with your DJ will give you a better idea of their expertise and whether they’ll interact well with your crowd.
#2: Choosing just one type of music to be played
You may never grow tired of electronic music, and maybe your friends are into it too. But you’re likely going to alienate some guests, especially those from different generations, if you only choose one genre. Luckily, there are endless songs to choose from, and if you’re not familiar with older music your DJ can offer some suggestions that you’ll like, as they’ll ask the right questions to figure out your tastes.
#3: Similarly, choosing only obscure music
Of course you may have a few special songs that are important to you and your partner’s relationship, which you should definitely include in your playlist. But having only obscure songs that just you two and a few others will be familiar with is a bad idea. The vast majority of your music should be familiar to the vast majority of your guests–you want them to get out and dance to songs you all love, after all.
#4: Ignoring or not finding out about municipality and venue noise restrictions
No one wants their reception to get shut down early. Find out now how late you can keep it going, so the event can end as planned and you won’t be stuck with any additional costs.
#5: Leaving out a “do not play” list
This is your special night, and you don’t want an innocent wedding guest requesting a song to your DJ that brings back bad memories. This is one part of your wedding that you can control to a great extent, so take advantage of this.
#6: Letting your special dance songs go on too long
We know that mother-son and father-daughter dances are important to many couples and their families. Sometimes, though, the songs chosen can run on too long for every other guests’ tastes and boredom settles in. Do pick the songs that you love for these dances, but consider shortening them so those guests with dancing feet can get back to it.
#7: Not confirming which DJ at the business you’ve hired is working the event
Many event planning businesses are very busy, so the DJ that is confirmed over the phone may not be the one you’re expecting–and your whole event may play out differently than discussed. To prevent this from happening, ask them upfront and find out what they’ll do if your planned DJ is unable to make it at the last minute.
#8: Small dance floors
Maybe you’re not expecting every guest to want to get up and dance, or you’re wanting to pay less on a smaller reception venue so you can place more attention somewhere else. Whatever reason you have for considering a dance floor that won’t fit everyone, keep in mind that a small space is going to allow more accidents to happen and it’ll discourage your more timid guests from dancing, even though they may have liked to.
#9: Not organizing the reception so guests will still have the energy to dance
Everyone loves a great wedding dinner, and an hour beforehand to mingle with others is well liked, too. A problem arises when cocktail hour goes long and dinner is a two-hour affair. Keep everything well managed, so everyone will actually want to dance at the end of it all.
#10: Taking up too much space in the playlist, leaving limited time for guest requests
Wedding guest song requests are a great part of any wedding (as long as you take our advice and provide a “do not play” list, that is). But in order to allow this to go smoothly, you need to limit how many songs you ask the DJ to play. For a four-hour reception, 60 songs is about the limit that can be played. We suggest giving your DJ 25 must-play songs, so you guests can get their requests in, too.