Wedding Music Ideas Made Simple

When considering wedding music ideas you really need to think about the musical tastes of not only yourself and your other half but also your guests.

After all, the last thing you want is for the dance floor to be empty because your guests don’t like the music. So consider the age group of the majority of your guests, are they under the age of 30, 30-50 or over 50? Then try to tailor your music choice to appeal to the majority.

Most weddings will have a mixed age group so it makes sense to have a mix of music. If not, you run the risk of alienating one or more age groups. If that happens you can end up with an empty dance floor and trust me there’s nothing will kill the atmosphere at your wedding quicker!

When coming up with your wedding music ideas you will need to establish how you’re going to play your music choices:

1. DIY Wedding Music - your cheapest option will normally be the DIY route where you load your music choice onto your MP3 player and then play it through a P.A. system (don’t forget to allow for the hire of the P.A. system). With this method you’ll have to choose each song for your wedding music mix and the order in which they should be played.
   
   If you’re prepared to put the time in you’ll be able to create your perfect wedding compilation, which will remind you of your wedding day for years to come.
   
   
2. A wedding D.J. – this option usually costs a bit more but they’ll do the leg work for you by researching all the music and compiling it for you. You can give them a list of your essential songs and they’ll play them for you when you want or when they feel they’re appropriate. It’s less hassle but you will lose a little control in that you don’t get to choose all the songs.
   
   Some of you may say that’s a good thing, others may not! Either way the DJ brings experience of what songs work at weddings and which don’t. They’ll also interact with your guests and react to what’s happening in order to maintain a good atmosphere.
   
   For example, if you’ve planned to have three Rat Pack songs in a row and after the first one the dance floor is empty, a DJ can put something else on. With a pre-arranged song list on an iPod, you’d physically have to run up and skip forward a few songs.
   
   
3. A wedding band – this tends to be the most expensive option. Although many bands will have their own playlists which will restrict your options a little, a live band does create a fantastic atmosphere. Plus if you have a must play song, many bands will be prepared to learn it if they don’t already know it (provided you give them enough notice).

So as you can see, you have several choices. With the DIY option, you can choose all your music personally but you’ll have more work to do, while at the other end of the scale with a live band you lose a lot of the control but gain atmosphere. Only you know what choice is right for your big day and it’ll ultimately come down to personal taste and budget.

You could even choose to mix and match from the above list by having your MP3 player for the first two hours, followed by a wedding DJ or a wedding band to finish the night.

Where to get your music:

If you are going down the DIY wedding music route there are two main ways of obtaining your music. Most of you will want to download it from a reputable website, such as Amazon or iTunes, due to the flexibility of being able to download individual tracks. But don’t dismiss the second option which is compilation albums.

You can get a lot of tried and tested wedding songs on one album for less than the cost of downloading the individual tracks.

I’ve added a few links below to let you see what’s available on Amazon in the form of wedding compilations.

Music Mix:

As I’ve said above, you need to try and choose music that will appeal to as many of your guests as possible in order to try and keep them on the dance floor! That usually means choosing some classic wedding songs that are guaranteed to fill the dance floor along with some fun wedding songs and some that will appeal across the generations e.g. Frank Sinatra.

Try not to play the different style or genres of music in groups. In other words don’t play five Take That songs together – spread them out a bit. It’s really important to try and get your play list to flow well. I’d suggest getting a really good floor filler every five songs or so to try and entice guests back from the bar!

As you come up with a few wedding music ideas you’ll find that others will pop into your head as you go along. Keep a pen and paper handy to jot down tunes that pop into your head. If you’re making your own playlist, play it through a few times to make sure it flows well. And don’t forget - have fun choosing your tunes!

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