Reception songs that DON'T work

I have to send my final forms to my DJ this week so I'm hoping people have input here! Haha I'm terrible at music.

My friend played mostly hard rock songs at her reception. I also like that music, but would not play it all night or even for a bit because it's not something most people will dance to. I also have been to some that play lots of country and most people didn't dance (though maybe regional). I think your best bet it top songs from different eras and your dj should have given you a list of popular songs. Stick to the popular ones and maybe add one or two of personal ones if they aren't on there IMO.ETA: cocktail hour is a great place to play the music you love if it's not great dancing music, maybe play those handful of songs there and pick one or two for reception.

Have you thought of asking people for suggestions of what they will dance to? That's what we did.

We're planning on having a mix of rock, jazz, and some modern pop to play.

For rock, we're not too anything too "loud"; I guess that would be the term! We'll probably do some classic rock and some modern psyche rock/metal.

We love jazz, especially if it's darker/creepier instrumentals.

We'll do some pop songs as well, but probably later on into the night. Not to mention let our guests put in some requests!

On our RSVP cards, we asked for song requests that will "get you dancing, fast or slow". We have been making a list of songs we like as we wait for our RSVP cards. Right now our list has some of classics from the 50's and 60's. We are trying to make a sure we have a range of music for people.

Following. I have also thought of asking guests for suggestions.

Honestly, I told my DJ that I wanted a dance party, generally what kind of music we liked and then let him handle it. I gave him a list of 5 must play songs and 5 do not play songs and that was it. He did a fantastic job and we got compliments on his choices. A professional will be able to read the crowd and change the music accordingly.

It pains me to say this but wedding songs are wedding songs for a reason. Example: That stupid "shout" song gets everyone 50+ dancing.

I'm tempted to play music I like, but ultimately I want people to dance and like the music. I have been to weddings where the music didn't work at all and no one danced (one played classic rock... how do you dance to that?!) Add a handful of songs YOU like or put the music you like on before dancing. Let your dj handle the rest.

Thanks, everybody! I'd completely forgotten about that idea to include a card with the invitations asking guests for their song suggestions. That was one of those ideas that seemed like a MUST HAVE back before I was actually engaged. Then it totally slipped my mind. So I'll definitely pursue the "ask guests" route.

I think we've got a good DJ, so hopefully he'll stop us from playing anything too crazy and keep a close eye on everybody. Still something I worried about.

I also like the idea of playing weirder, personal songs during cocktail hour. That way I'll still hear them on my wedding day, but won't have to worry if people are dancing or side-eyeing each other across the dinner table! Haha

At my sister's wedding. The DJ was asked to play techno. The moment the techno started 3/4s of the guests left the dance floor and never came back (because he played techno the rest of the night). My sis did not request the techno....but she did not try to stop it! My uncles (who flew many hours to get to the wedding) sat around the rest of the night looking bored!

The weddings I've been to that I didn't like the music is where it was all one genre or decade. I was bored to tears when all the music was hard rock or rap, and older guests left early. I put together a spreadsheet of songs by decade that we liked- ones that were bolded were "have to play" and all others were "would like to play, or something similar". My DJ did an excellent job mixing different tastes and sprinkling them through out the night so no one felt left out for a long period of time on the dance floor. (LI brides: Tommys Tunes was my favorite vendor!)

You definitely need to play more modern music I feel. I guess if you know your crowd that gives you more room to work.

Our friends had a mix of pop and country and the country killed the mood every single time. The dance floor emptied out. It was horrible. The crowd would just get going then bam, everyone left.

Our only do not play is kanye west. we are playing a lot of country at ours its more of know your crowd type . Our guests know how to dance to it and 70% requested country songs when asked . Dance halls, line dance and two step are big in our crowd so im not worried about people leaving the dance floor when copper head road comes on. We gave the DJ free reign for most song choices .

I've read that DJs know what they're doing, so you don't really need to do this. I'd keep it very basic and say "no line dancing" or something of that nature if you feel really strongly about it. You may want to give the DJ a few songs as recommendations if you really want to hear certain songs, but I wouldn't go crazy.

I attended a wedding that was mainly country music and it killed the dancing. Non-country songs would come on occasionally, and people would start to consider dancing, a few would trickle onto the dance floor, and then another country song would come on and empty the dance floor again. Don't do it!

Don't play any version of Baby Got Back. Never will I understand why people scream and shake their ass to this stupid song.

My SIL sang "Good Bye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks at hers and my brother's wedding. It was Wierd.

I went to a same-sex wedding of two women last summer where the couple had "If You Wanna Be Happy" on their wedding iTunes playlist. Maybe the song was an inside joke but on the surface, it didn't seem like the greatest choice.

A lot of people (including some on WW) use "Bittersweet Symphony." Yes, it uses strings (the riff was proven in court to have been ripped off from the Rolling Stones), but the lyrics aren't exactly motivational.

"Tonight's the Night" by Rod Stewart! !!!!! Ahahaaaa!!!!!! No shit!!! Ahah awkward!!!!

If I have to hear "Don't Stop Believing" or "Sweet Child O' Mine" at a wedding one more time I will flip a table.