It’s not often in life you get to throw a party and have complete control over the music that gets played, but at your wedding reception, you do have that option (and also during the ceremony to some degree). Of course, a wedding reception without music would be weird, so this does make another addition to the seemingly endless list of things to do if you are planning your wedding, but at least it is one you can have some fun with!
Here are some things to consider when choosing the music for your wedding reception:
Do You Want Live Music?
A live band can make your wedding entertainment impressive, and there are some professional wedding bands who base their entire repertoire and performance on what goes down well with wedding guests. This means they’ll just play covers and will choose hits that everybody knows. This is a nice option that will please most people, but can be a bit mainstream for some, especially if you and most of your friends have quite discerning musical taste. If that is the case and you don’t really want a very polished looking singer doing the hits of Robbie Williams and The Carpenters, then you can go for a live band whose focus isn’t wedding entertainment and who can play stuff that suits your personality more – you can even have fun with it and book a tribute band! Consider your options for live acts from local bands. Go to some gigs and if you see someone you like, talk to them after the set or contact them on social media to see if they are interested in playing a wedding.
DJ’s
If you don’t want to fork out for a live band, or want someone to keep the music going when the band isn’t on, then hiring a local DJ is the easiest thing to do – they’ll already have all the equipment and music you need. Professional wedding and party DJ’s are used to picking popular things to play to keep people dancing, but you can have as much input as you want into how they run the night, so if you are against cheesy party music and really don’t want videos on Facebook of you doing the Macarena in your wedding dress after too much champagne, then you can go as far as you want to guide the DJ, up to and including giving them a full list of songs you want played! Of course, you can also save money by having a friend do the DJ work for the night for ‘mate’s rates’ if you are a bride on a budget – this can be a good way to make easy wedding savings, if you know someone who’s up for the job!
Should You Cater to Everyone’s Taste or Just Your Own?
Wedding receptions tend to have people of all ages and different social groups, which is why safe, mainstream music tends to get played. However, you may feel like this doesn’t reflect you as a couple at all. Maybe you would rather have obscure old school hip hop, industrial death metal or cool indie music as the soundtrack to your big day. Whether or not to consider entertainment over personalization is a difficult question – but an easy compromise is to have some of the types of music you especially like mixed in with the mainstream hits.
The right music can make all the difference to your wedding reception, so take your time, check out some bands and DJs’ performances, and make the right choice! Also, be sure to book as far in advance as possible to avoid disappointment.
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