Wedding First Dances and special songs for your first dance:

I wanted to write a little bit about some of my favorite First Dance Wedding songs that I have played over the past months which were selected by Bride and Grooms for their special wedding day. Now keep in mind, some of these have been selected over the past year or so meaning these are nothing new but I wanted to give you some of my favorites that in my eyes have captured the attention of all the guests at the weddings I have had the pleasure of attending.

Please note that I did not list these in any particular order of priority or preference…..

* Bless the Broken Road – Rascal Flats
* It’s your love – Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
* Sunday Morning – Maroon 5 (great song, this song was picked by many couples because it is more upbeat, meaning they didn’t want somethingtoo slow, they were right, just perfect.
* Just you and me by Rie Sinclair (used only once but loved it, this is actually from a Soap Opera, very nice pick!)
* Let’s stay together – Al Green (now I know it’s an old one but it does something to the crowd, everyone knows the song and it has this classy, upbeat feel that really gets everyone happy).
* You and Me – Lifehouse

Although, I said, that I would not give you the top wedding song choices, I will (in my opinion) give you my favorite two which are… Bless the broken road by Rascal Flats and Let’s Stay Together by Al Green. These win my top two picks!

I will also be compiling a very extensive list of the Top Wedding Songs of 2007 and 2006. It fascinates me with the song picks that Bride and Grooms choose for their wedding day because 99% of the time it really does fit who they are and you really enjoy watching them spend that special moment on the dance floor which they whole heartedly deserve after months and possibly years of planning. If you are looking for some more popular wedding songs, please keep visiting us and bookmark our blog, we are getting ready to add some extensive wedding play lists that you will find very valuable to your wedding planning song play list.

However, in the meantime - yes there are many great websites that have song lists but the one thing I frequently see that I would like to change and be different is that they ALL (well 95% of them) have the same cookie cutter, boiler plate list that someone copied and pasted from another website and that drives me crazy! What I am doing is hand picking songs that I have seen work with actually clients who have taken the time to hand pick their songs and many even took dance lessons to perform their first dance. That doesn’t mean you need to take wedding dance lessons too but I just wanted to drive the point home on how special these picks were.

The best wedding first dance music advice I can give to you future Bride and Grooms TO BE is take some time and listen to songs in their entirety. Check the lyrics as I said in a previous post and find the song that is right for you both. Find something that fits you and who you are to each other. See I do I have a sensitive side to me! Amazon.com has many sound clips by the way in which you can listen too. I highly recommend them.

Good luck whatever you choose! More to come… DJ Dave out...

 

 

IPOD Weddings - you get what you don't pay for...

As you may know there has been alot of talk online within the Bridal forums about using an IPOD for a Wedding reception or even the Ceremony. In all honesty, being in the DJ industry, I feel no threat to my business because it is only a matter of time that those couples who try this will be passing the word around that if they had a chance to do it again, they would have hired a DJ.

You need to look at it this way, you spend thousands of dollars on food, the venue, the photographer, flowers, etc. etc. - why would you want to go cheap on music entertainment. Keep in mind that a DJ has done weddings for many years and knows alot about the timing of the music, the proper announcements at the right time, music volume, music selection, professional sound system, wiring, backup sound system and much more. Also, there is alot of coordination that goes on with the other vendors in which your DJ will work with throughout your wedding day. Some couples feel that DJ's just play music but all in all, there is much more involved that helps keep the flow of the timeline that you have both planned running smooth.

If you have ever heard of a Bride/Groom that had an IPOD wedding with success, there is one of two reasons why it went well.

A. They are fibbing and all in all, it didn't really go that well. Although, going well versus an exciting event are on two different sides of the spectrum.

B. One in a million chances.

I remember reading a post/article from Peter Merry, a professional Wedding Disc Jockey in California and also the previous President of the American DJ association. He wrote a story that I will find online and ask him if I can post but there was a section that said and not in these exact words but, "Imagine a beautiful tent at a wedding. The beautiful candles, the white linens, excellent weather, etc. etc. but right in the middle of the tent dancefloor, there is one pole that is holding up the tent. This pole has surfing stickers all stuck to it. Clearly this does not match your event and what you have worked so hard to plan with everything else you have spent so much money on. This pole is your entertainment in which you went cheap.......... for my article, the cheap would be your IPOD entertainment, clearly will tell you guests that you just didn't take it all the way to where it needs to be.

I know that if you are a future Bride or Groom reading this post that you may be saying, no this is going to work for me and blah blah blah but I am telling you not to protect my industry but to protect your wedding that in all honesty, all the things that I have seen over my 18 years of experience that there is just no substitution for a professional DJ. If you are still going with an IPOD, that is fine, just promise me to visit our blog when your wedding is over so you can tell other Bride and Grooms to read this article and don't go with an IPOD for their wedding.

Have a great Wedding day and thank you for visiting our blog. Please be sure to ask us any question by emailing us directly above this page OR to post a comment below each article, we answer every question!

DJ Dave

 

 

Wedding Songs and Music Lyrics in your Wedding Song Selection list

Over the past couple years, we have been seeing a lot of Bride and Grooms picking & choosing unique Wedding Songs. Our customers have also been asking us to give Wedding song idea suggestions and also information on Weddings song lyrics since if they are dancing their first dance or the parent dances that the lyrics are appropriate for their wedding song selections.
If you are looking for a good website that I find the majority of the wedding song lyrics, you can try: http://www.lyrics.com/ - they have limited advertising pop-ups which is good because nothing is worse than that. Now being a DJ and also a consultant to Bride and Grooms, I sometimes in extreme cases may mention song lyrics but try to stay out of the business of telling couples what too choose since it is really their day. However, if I know something is just not right with a wedding song choice in their song lists, I will bring it up in a professional manner.

My advice to you is that for the most part, you already have an idea what the songs are about that you have selected. The good news is that most songs can sometimes be generic across the board meaning they can mean a lover or a loved one (family member) so it can be used across different dance types. There were times in the past (along time ago, prior to consulting couples) where I have not consulted with the client and the Bride danced with her dad to a song (they selected) and one section of the song was definitely embarrassing for the two on the dance floor. It actually turned out ok because they were laughing. Although, this can sometimes be reflected on the DJ since some guests may think the DJ picks the songs for the couples.

One habit I have picked up when songs may not be appropriate for an event, even after consulting the client is during my grand introductions, I may announce “Folks, we are going to have a great time this evening – our music has been hand picked by our Bride and our Groom”. Now this can do two things, it could help the dancing when certain song selections are played to help the crowd respond that would not normally work since they may feel drawn to the dance floor to not offend the couple OR give the DJ a better name IF the dance floor empties out that the songs were picked by the couple and not the DJ’s fault.

Again, these are extreme cases and the goal of the DJ service is to consult and this would only be done if songs selected were out of the ordinary and consultation was given.

So, what’s the point of this posting – check your song lyrics carefully and choose songs that are appropriate for the dance.

 

 

Music – Music – Music, what do I pick, I’m overwhelmed!

First off, congratulations on your engagement!If you hired a professional dj for your special wedding day, then you should relax and not feel overwhelmed. The best way to pick your music is to choose 5 of your favorite songs and also list the Do Not Play list. Along side of this, you would also want to add in your special songs that must be played for (ie: First Dance, Parents Dances, Cake, Last Dance, etc.).

The DJ’s goal is to get everyone on the dance floor and this can be done by reading your crowd and timing. Since you will have different age groups attending your wedding, you definitely do not want to lock your dj into a specific playlist. Stringent playlist can be difficult to work from if song selections have not been used with crowds in the past that the DJ has experienced. Also, you may be choosing songs or genres that may not fit your guests age group.

When you hire a DJ, you are not only hiring a Wedding Disc Jockey and Master of Ceremonies for your wedding day but also a consultant. They specialize in Wedding entertainment and they do it well. Keep in mind that you have high hopes and dreams for your special day and that you have every right to be concerned, since this is a once in a lifetime event! You have had those nightmare dreams of people not dancing and music being played that cleared your dance floor and I have too prior to my wedding day back in 1999.You want to be honest and open about your music selection and concerns with your DJ, it is a partnership and working relationship. Keep in mind that no crowd is 100% predictable, meaning that musical sets that have ALWAYS worked at prior wedding events may not work on your wedding day. Why, you ask? It can be for many reasons, maybe it is a day event or a Sunday or even that your crowd does not have the enthusiasm that you would prefer. This can sometimes reflect on the Disc Jockey but in many cases, it is not the DJ. We go into every event we work with the goal of getting a dance floor packed. Even when guests don’t dance, we will do whatever it takes (tastefully of course) to play the right music or just amount of crowd interaction to get them dancing. With that said, as long as we leave the event knowing we did everything it took, we know that it was not us and just the crowd which again is not always a bad thing. Some people may feel that if no one dances the entire time that it is failure. That may not be the case since your guests may have preferred catching up with old family or having great conversation.

Many people ask me, what types of questions should I ask my DJ? I always tell friends and family that you want to be open and honest. Let them know your music ideas and fears upfront. Tell them the age group of your guests and what you think they may like to hear. Tell your DJ that you want to be sure that your do not play list is taken seriously. Any Professional DJ will work with you on this to make certain you are comfortable.Good luck! More to come…