Cocktail hour / dinner playlists (DJ input wanted!)

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We will give our DJ a must play list and a do not play list. Beyond those short lists we'll let him use his best judgement and rely on him to read the crowd. He did give us a HUGE packet of top song ideas as well as a long sheet of questions as to types of music we like and the general feel and mood we want to each segment of our day. I might advise against making the entire playlist and just tell your DJ you want upbeat country and to be sure to play these 2 or 3 songs that are your favorite.

I'm doing my own playlist, but generally cocktail/dinner hour music is more mellow and slow rather than upbeat and party rockin' so people can relax and enjoy their meal, so I would trust your DJ on this, but let him know that you and your FH like country music a lot!

A must shoot list for photographer is frowned upon?? Mine ASKED for one.

We gave our dj free rein. We gave him the vibe we wanted and some songs/artists we liked. It worked out really well. I can't imagine how long it would have taken to pick every single song for the whole reception. Exhausting.

Amanda, you've got the right idea, just don't give in to the temptation to create a lengthy must-play. I generally recommend no more than 10-15, at the most. If you'll just tell your DJ that you guys love country and ask him to focus on that for the dinner hour, I'm sure he'll be happy to do it for you. One more thing, and keep in mind I'm a big country fan as well, country music just does NOT work on the dance floor. I spent 14 years as a musician on The Grand Ole Opry, have backed numerous stars, and spent countless hours playing country in bars and nightclubs. That said, I typically will only play 1 country out of maybe 8 or 10 songs. Go with what works.

Good luck with it and great attitude.

We have constructed all of the music for the entire night. Dinner, dancing, etc. We created and timed out this list and gave it to our DJ. FH and I are avid record collectors and HUGE music buffs - we know exactly what we want and don't want played. Our DJ has been super awesome about it. In fact, she is very excited about the songs we have chosen because she said that it's very indicative of us, they aren't all typical wedding music, but they are all fun songs that people like to move to. She's happy she isn't playing run of the mill for a change.

My advice is that if there is something you want to hear - TELL YOUR DJ. Even if it's a list of 50 songs - tell them. You are paying them for their services, and if you care that much about the music, I say there is nothing wrong with having a heavy hand in the playlist. Be open to their suggestions, but stand your ground for the things you really want.

Thanks everyone! @Rick, I was kind of thinking the same thing about country not really working on the dance floor. There's only one country song that absolutely must get played while we're dancing - and that's Family Tradition, because its uhh, a family tradition at all our family weddings. Haha!

Family tradition is a great song! I agree with Rick on the overplay of country. Personally, I love two-stepping. There are a couple of great line dancing songs, but I know your DJ will get a "feel" for your crowd.

As far as the photographer goes, your DJ knows that special dances and moments are important to capture. He will work with your photographer so that he/she/they will be ready.

On a side-note, Geoge Jones will truly be misssed. One of the great country artists who gave so much to us all.

Have a blast Amanda!

Amanda, it's not that country never works on the dance floor. It's just that I regularly have clients who tell me "We love country music!" then can't understand why it kills their dance floor. The occasional country thing can work wonders, especially if timed right. I'm a big believer in keeping them guessing what's next and often times I'll place some like "Family Tradition" or "Rocky Top", right in the middle of a hip-hop segment. Even the non-country folks will most often throw their hands in the air, scream out in delight, then start clogging with the best of them. Sounds like you're on your way to a fantastic event and congratulations.

My only concern with your idea is that, by playing "upbeat, well-known songs" the music will become a distraction rather than an enhancement to your cocktail hour. I have seen it quite often as I walk around checking sound levels, that someone is talking about something really deep, then a really well-known song comes up and the speaker says "OMYGOD, I Love this song... what was I saying?"

Although I give newlyweds choices to play during cocktail hour, we typically end up being asked to play mostly instrumentals so the vocals don't compete or interfere with conversation.

Fh and I put a playlist together for cocktail hour and dinner, just because we like all kinds of music and didn't want to stick to one genre.. Country, pop, r&b, Spanish etc.. We are Hispanic so we had to put some Spanish in there lol. We chose more mellow easy listening music and saved the upbeat ones for the dance floor.

@Val- Have you considered any Fado music? It's so beautiful!

@ Tom., no I don't think I'm familiar with it unless I heard it and didn't know what it was.

I used to work wedding receptions in the very late 80s and early 90s and Kenny G was the go-to cocktail dinner hour music of choice LOL

My point is - instrumental :-)

We created a mellow (ipod) playlist for the cocktail hour for the reasons others have said. We picked our favorite jazz standards and some classic R&B (all love songs). But then we ended up having a surprise mariachi band for cocktail hour. It was very loud (but fun)! Lol, so much for our super planned playlist

At his request, we gave our DJ a list of songs/artists we like in order to get a feel for our music taste. We only had a couple "must plays" and one no play (any country, lol- he doesn't do line or chicken dances anyway). We trusted him to do his thing. He was great! He played music we liked, but also catered to the crowd.

@Val, it's very passionate Portuguese folk music. It would be very awesome during cocktail/dinner time. You can Youtube it. Here are some examples,-

Would love to know what you think. Although many songs are of a tragic nature, songs apprpriate for a wedding are also available.

Relatively new artist,-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Tw6tsekR0

Most Popular living artist-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7BwU0MVEwo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ElLSBx9Jo8

And gentleman that combines traditional and new,-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aceOUoyiQiE

Okay good to know about the cocktail hour suggestions! I guess I'll just talk to my DJ and see what he recommends. I'm sure he has a go-to list. What do I know? I'm glad I asked about this because I hadn't even thought about not wanting too much distraction during cocktail hour.

@trisha I've read that in general, photographers prefer not be be given long elaborate shot lists. I'm sure some like to have them for special out of the ordinary photos, but I would hope every wedding photographers knows to get a shot of the first dance. That sort of thing.

We met with our DJ yesterday, we gave him a must play list of songs. Some of the songs on our list are not dance ones so he said he'll play them during dinner & the cocktail time. We tried to give him a good idea of who we were & what we liked, in 32 days we will find out...lol best of luck to you!!!

Mine did too lol she just wanted to have an idea of what I would want in my pictures. I think perhaps, they mean is frowned upon to tell the photographer where you want your pictures taken and how...I believe that's what limits creativity, not who's in the picture