Giving the dj a playlist?

My DJ let us plan our whole playlist and then depending on the mood the evening was going he played certain songs at certain times that he felt appropriate - but all the songs were ones we had decided upon and it was GREAT. I recommend creating your own playlist if you can.

I'd like to think a DJ would do whatever you want, you're the one paying them. If they get sassy, find somebody else. It's your night and your guests and you know what they/you would like best.

Good advice! We haven't officially hired anybody yet. We've got one on the line though.
We were going to have a list with about 6hours worth and they can play what they think works for the 4 hours.

I think it’s great to provide a guideline or list of songs that you like, essentially a playlist. It’s up to you to allow them some free range to play songs they feel will keep the guests dancing, when it’s time for slow songs, etc. I have a list of 30+ songs (along with a do not play list!) that I’ll give to my DJ, but will encourage him to use his discretion on playing other music to ensure our guests are happy. Your DJ should know how to read a crowd and how to amp it up. Definitely agree with giving a list of what you like, and allow him to go from there!

View Quoted Comment My biggest hesitancy with DJs is their timing lol. Both the weddings I've been to recently the DJ was awful. One didn't have a lot of people on the dance floor so he played a slow song. When people got up to dance, halfway through the song he cut to a more party song. It was ridiculous! They only played 1.5 slow songs for guests to dance to all night.
The other wedding they didn't play a single show dance song until almost 10pm.
I imagine as an older crowd, they would appreciate more slow dancing than line dancing Haha

I sent a list of songs we absolutely needed to hear during dinner and dancing times at our reception, and he was more than willing to accommodate our requests! The last phone call we had with him the week of the wedding he actually said he didn’t have some of the songs we asked for, and he purchased them right then and there on the phone with us so we knew he had them. Talk to the DJs before you hire someone. Ask them if they are open to this. I feel a lot of times now DJs allow couples to give them a list of play and do-not-play songs for the night. Ours then filled in the blanks according to the mood of the room and we couldn’t have been more happy with them!

There’s nothing wrong with providing your DJ 💿 with a playlist. I’d highly recommend doing that.

Most DJs would love a playlist to work from. Ours had a full online planning option where you could add a certain number of "must play" songs, a certain number of "would like to hear" songs and a certain number of "do not play" songs as well. From there he was able to see what we like and build his playlist from there. Of course, not letting them pick any of the music on their own will have them going "Well why did you hire me?" lol - but giving them a guideline to work from is never a bad idea!

View Quoted Comment Haha but on the other hand...easy money for them!

My FH is a dj and loves when people give him playlists as long as they understand the job they hired him to do. At the end of the day, you hired that person to do a job and they need the freedom to do it. A good DJ will create a balance for you between the songs you want to hear and the songs the room wants to hear; this isn’t an easy thing to do! I’d recommend giving your dj a plylist and trusting that person to create the right mix of music. Just reiterate with them that you’d love to hear these songs but that it doesn’t matter where in the night that happens. It gets tough, from a DJ perspective, to meld and mix songs together on a playlist when they just really don’t flow. As long as you allow your dj to use personal discretion and show their talents, a playlist is great!