Choosing your Wedding music:

 how many songs will you need?

We see it far too often, couples who continuously put off making music choices. Some couples put it off because they feel it’s a quick “to do” and others because they don’t have a song and are struggling to make a decision. Whatever the case may be, we want to make it clear: There’s a lot more to wedding music then just choosing your first dance song! So let’s go through how many songs you will need to get through your wedding day!

Getting ready tunes

Have your bridal party put together some of your favourite music to play while you’re getting ready. It will calm your nerves and remind you of all the good times you’ve had with this amazing group of people!

Ceremony music

It all begins with the ceremony. We recommend having background music playing 30 minutes before your ceremony is scheduled to start. It sets a nice ambiance for guests as they mingle before taking their seats. Check with your DJ, most we’ve worked with have a prelude playlist in place.  What you need to focus on is the music choices for the ceremony:

  1. Parents entrance, Groomsmen and Groom
  2. Bridesmaids
  3. Bride
  4. Signing of the registry
  5. Recessional song

 

Cocktail hour

Most people keep this portion of the day low key and relaxed and use DJ set lists. But if you’re having a live band or musician play during cocktail hour make sure to get their set list and pass it along to your DJ. This will ensure that there is no cross over in songs and it’s fresh tunes all night long.

Reception

KIEX WEDDING_KRISTEN+BLAIR BLOG_157

photo by Kiex fotography

Keeping the music flowing from ceremony, cocktail hour to reception can be left up to the DJ once again. Allow his expertise to choose the music for dinner hour while you provide song choices for the following:

  1. Wedding party grand entrance
  2. Bride and Groom’s grand entrance
  3. First dance
  4. Father Daughter dance
  5. Mother Son dance
  6. Wedding Party dance
  7. Cake cutting
  8. Garter toss
  9. Bouquet toss
  10. Last song of the night!

We also recommend handing your DJ a must play song list for the party portion of the night. This will ensure you get some of your (and your guests’) all time favourites added to the mix.

Now that you have a better idea of how many songs you might need, we recommend you start your research by checking out our wedding music guide on Pinterest! Do yourself a favour and don’t wait until the last minute. Choose music that speaks to you and allow yourself the time to browse the many choices out there. For more planning tips and advice check out our stationery checklist here.

Save

Save