You're trying to throw a crazy fun party and the thought of your wedding DJ pouring musical ice water on your packed dance floor to play the slow song Aunt Suzy's requested is making you angry. I'm with you. 27.4 years is the average age of someone on their wedding day. For most couples in this age range, slow songs were never really that popular. The last time you were excited for a slow song was at a Junior High School dance with your first crush.
But why are you even stressing out about having your wedding DJ playing songs you don't want to hear. Well it boils down to one thing...
Expectations
I'm sure no one has made any suggestions about how you should plan your wedding... HA! Let's be real, everyone from your grandma to your mailman has made a suggestion on how you should plan every detail.
Unfortunately, many of these suggestions become expectations. This includes requesting songs they feel NEED to be played for it to be a proper wedding... Whatever that means. Whether the expectations are coming from someone who is financially supporting the wedding or an overbearing mother-in-law, you want to keep these people happy or you will never hear the end of it.
I'm going to share three of my favorite ways to give your most challenging guests what they want, all without killing the vibe during your dance party.
Before you officially open your dance floor, ask your DJ to play some of the slower songs certain family members have been nagging you about. You can have them played while you're making your post dinner rounds. This way you won't feel like you missed out on the party. Going this route can actually be a good way to warm up the dance floor.
The truth is, your older guests get bored first. Probably because they've been to more weddings than years we've been alive. Make them happy and they will remember having a good time. Don't and you risk ruining Thanksgiving dinner when grandma starts complaining about how terrible your wedding DJ was. You can almost never go wrong with some Frank Sinatra or by set the mood with a personal favorite, Al Green's Let's Stay Together.
Facts: Your wedding day is the longest day of your life. If you asked for a high energy dance floor, the best wedding DJ will give it to you. Sometimes you get the whole dance floor going so crazy that they need a quick break to grab a drink. I suggest a vodka and soda with a coffee chaser.
This is a good place to insert a slow song. Not just any slow song though. Keep it upbeat, sexy or contemporary. The goal here is to not ostracize your younger guests. At this point in the night, many of your older guests will have called it quits and playing anything too dated will come off as boring. A couple of go to's for me are Ray LaMontagne's You Are the Best Thing, which is barely a slow song, but encourages a similar dancing style. Or you can keep it sexy with Marvin Gaye's Lets Get It On. As far as something contemporary, Ed Sheeran's catalog, especially Thinking Out Loud and & Perfect tend to do the trick.
How many wedding's do you think end with the crowd chanting "ONE MORE SONG, ONE MORE SONG!"? In my experience it's pretty close to 100%. I suggest planning for this with your DJ and picking a slower song to help bring everyone's heart rate down as we get ready to end this portion of the night. Otherwise you risk encouraging your crowd to beg for more, resulting in missed shuttle's and angry venues.
This doesn't mean the last song can't be fun. A song that comes to mind is Bad Company's Feel Like Making Love, because you know, you want everyone to end their night on a high note.
If you have any questions about how we can help you have the best night of your life or if you're just looking for the best wedding DJ in Albany NY you can hit us up by filling this form out!