How to Make a Wedding Playlist

Whether you are DIYing your wedding music or just wondering what you’ll need to have prepared for the wedding DJ you hired, welcome to DJ Staci’s definitive guide on how to make a wedding playlist!

 

HOW TO MAKE A WEDDING PLAYLIST: CEREMONY

Generally, your wedding DJ will start playing ambient music a 5-15 minutes before your ceremony begins as your guests are being seated. Remember this is music that you & your fiance won’t hear (so save your fave sentimental must-hear songs for later). I recommend either giving your wedding DJ a genre (i.e. symphony music or country love songs) or a group/artist or two (i.e. the Piano Guys & Pianissimo Brothers). This music will set the mood for the ceremony (and possibly even the entire event), so if you are looking for traditional/formal, think Beethoven and Bach. If you are thinking upbeat/laid-back, maybe Motown or instrumental covers by groups like the Vitamin String Quartet. If you plan to submit a ceremony prelude playlist to your wedding DJ, make sure it has at least 8-10 songs on it (unless your crowd tends to run late…then you might want to pick up to 15-20 songs).

 

 

HOW TO MAKE A WEDDING PLAYLIST: COCKTAIL HOUR & DINNER MUSIC

Again, you and your new spouse are not really going to hear the Cocktail Hour music, so make it about either creating the vibe you want (classy & sophisticated or casual & fun) or make it about showcasing you & your partner’s musical tastes for your guests (for those who want to show off their eclectic indie playlists, for example). Dinner music is a great place to squeeze in your sentimental courtship songs or other faves that are not really “danceable.” If you plan to submit a full playlist for either Cocktails or Dinner, each list should be 20-25 songs (so roughly 45 total). If you need some Cocktail Hour & Dinner music inspiration, check out DJ Staci’s wide variety of English/Spanish, country, mainstream, formal/informal, and other creative playlists. Again, you can also just give your wedding DJ a few artists you like or a genre(s).

 

 

HOW TO MAKE A WEDDING PLAYLIST: DANCING

One of the hardest things about creating a wedding playlist that is truly effective is understanding that the average wedding dance party only has 35-50 songs (i.e. 2-3 hours of music). Sooooooooooooo many brides & grooms submit these 3 page long dance playlists that are basically useless. This is how I recommend you create your wedding dance music playlist:

• 1 hour of dancing – 5 must-play songs max
• 2 hours of dancing – 7-10 must-play songs max
• 3 hours of dancing – 10-12 must-play songs max
• 4 hours of dancing – 12-15 must-play songs max

Before you start putting songs on the list, think about the goal of your wedding dance party…is it to get as many people dancing and having fun as possible, or is it to, again, showcase you & your new spouse’s musical tastes? Do you plan to dance? Does your partner? Does your crowd enjoy dancing? All of this should be taken into consideration. If the newlyweds and their crowd love dancing, the focus should be maximizing the dance floor energy. If the newlyweds don’t plan on dancing and are having a small, day-time wedding, the focus should be more on playing a very curated, “bespoke” playlist that the couple loves and will provide the perfect backdrop for conversation rather than dancing.

 

 

COMMON WEDDING PLAYLIST MISTAKES

I frequently see couples who want a roof-raisin’ dance party but then fill their playlist with sappy ballads or off-the-wall indie songs that people can’t (don’t) dance to. If you want your DJ to make a chocolate cake, you can’t give him/her the ingredients for a salad and expect a sweet, sinful dessert to be the result. (FYI: 1-2 slow songs an hour is ideal…although none is fine too).

Another common wedding playlist mistake is listing a bunch of songs your wedding DJ is most likely going to play anyway…such as “Uptown Funk.” The point of the playlist is to get your favorite danceable music played at your wedding–music your DJ may overlook. Here are a few good examples of songs that are great for dancing and popular enough that people will enjoy them but unpopular enough that your DJ probably won’t play them unless you specifically request them:

• “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” Eve & Gwen Stefani
• “Buttons,” Pussycat Dolls
• “Rhythm Is a Dancer,” Snap!
• “Pon de Replay,” Rihanna

 

 

FINAL WEDDING PLAYLIST TIPS

In addition to submitting a “must play” list to your wedding DJ, also let him/her know genres of music in general that you want to hear and don’t want to hear (such as: “nothing older than 1970” or “2-3 disco songs”).

Your “do not play” list is as important as your “must play” list, so don’t overlook it. To create a “do not play” list, I suggest looking through DJ Intelligence’s annual list of most requested wedding songs to see what you are likely to hear from your wedding DJ and go from there.

Discuss with your wedding DJ if music should be PG-13 all night or if some R-rated music is OK later on.

How do you want your wedding DJ to handle requests? Use his/her discretion…or play them all…or ignore them all? Sometimes I have clients that tell me I’m allowed to play any request I want–except anything requested by the Groom’s mom or weird cousin Al or whoever else in their crowd has a rep for requesting the “Wicked Theme” at weddings.

My final and most valuable tip is to give your wedding DJ a “play if you can” list. These are not must-play dance songs but rather a list of you-approved music the DJ can rely on when he/she is looking, for example, for the perfect 90s song to transition out of that oldies block or something at 110 BPM (beats per minute), etc.

Have you made your wedding playlist yet? Share your feedback or questions below!

 

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