Put yourself in my shoes - An Aretha song is playing (or Pitbull), and the whole room is jumping - a hundred of your wedding guests on the dance floor, shaking it, having the most fun of their lives at your Celebration. Then you gaze into my booth and see me scrambling! My mission - to find the next great song that will keep this particular crowd hopping. Wow, what a responsibility - with one flop I can kill the party!
Try it one day with your friends - try to play the music that will keep them dancing! What would you choose next? Here's what I think about...
1) Song Recognition - crowds will dance to songs they know. If there's a choice between an unknown song with great rhythm and less danceable song that everyone knows, always choose the recognizable song! I play lots of weddings where brides request Margaritaville, Happy, or Bon Jovi (Living on a Prayer). None are dance artists, but all have recognizable anthems, and crowds love to join in on anthems! Try playing "Don't Stop Believing" and you'll see what I mean!
2) Stay within genre - If everyone's dancing to the 50's Rock and Roll, keep it going - Little Richard, Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis - keep building until you burn those dancers out!
3) When they burn out, go slow - When you sense the crowd is tired throw on 2 or 3 love songs. It gives them a chance to sit and rest, gives the Older crowd an opportunity to share the floor (and the wedding), and allows you to cue up a new genre of music for the next set.
4) Change Music Genres - Remember, a wedding is a Celebration for all your guests - from kids to grandparents. Wouldn't it be a shame if the DJ shows up and plays Hip-Hop all night? Always try to play a great mix from 50's to Top 40 throughout the party. That way your aunts can shake it to Dancing Queen, your grandma can groove to Sinatra and your friends can get down to Bruno Mars. Also, try to save the current Top 40 Club hits until later (unless nobody's dancing). Your younger friends have more stamina than your grandmothers (maybe!).
5) Use the Bride/Groom's Song List, and take Requests all night - I love this one - what better way to know what music will work? The happy couple invites their friends, friends know what friends like! Friends jam to tunes together inside the car! A song list is GOLD to me - you would never know that the bride's friends love Cheap Trick or Zeppelin, and you would never ordinarily play them. But what a great memory if the headbangers get a quick chance to Mosh Out to Nirvana!
Most DJ's show up and play the same music they use at Every Wedding, no matter your taste. The disk contains Twist and Shout, Old Time Rock and Roll, maybe another 50's song, Respect, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Cha-Cha/Electric Slide, Dancing Queen, maybe the Cupid Shuffle. HOW BORING! Then they'll play their current Top 40 Disc to end the night. He has the opportunity to Blow You Away, and create a great memory for your loved ones, and he's content to just get by (on your $1500 ticket!). He should KNOW and have thousands of songs at his fingertips, and he must make quick decisions!
6) Crowd Energy - This is a variable you cannot put your finger on, but it's very important. Play the next song - did you get a deafening Whoop from the girls? You hit pay dirt for one more song! Go with the same rhythm and genre again! You will always get immediate feedback from the crowd energy. Play different rhythms - feel the reaction. If you're in tune with the crowd it will be a great party. Get their rhythm.
7) So this is most important - Make sure the DJ gets to know you. Make sure he sits with you just before the wedding, and begs you for the music YOU LOVE! Make sure he takes requests all night (last Saturday I took 34 requests during the dancing, and got most of the songs on! We even went overtime, since no one would stop dancing!). If the DANCERS are telling you what to play - what they'll dance to - why would a DJ stick to his boring Wedding Disc? Get to know him - IT'S YOUR WEDDING!
