You know you need to have some kind of entertainment for the evening.
You also know that there are two or more significant people/groups whose preferences are at odds
with each other. This may be anything from the crucial fact that the bride loves disco and modern dance but the groom
loves reggae and classic rock to the fact that the CEO loves rock’n’roll, country and Motown whilst the bulk
of the staff are under 30 and prefer modern pop, dance and hip-hop/r’n’b. In these situations it seems like
the only way you’ll get everyone in agreement is to organise entertainment that no one will enjoy!
If you have a reasonable budget then having two types of entertainment is one solution. Maybe a band or dance caller
for part of the evening and a DJ for the other. I am quite used to working with bands/callers and understand the
difference between playing music that is complementary to their repertoire and contrasting to their repertoire –
I can also achieve a combination of the two.
When I play complementary music, it is similar to your other entertainment’s music, but songs not
in their repertoire, so the two aspects of the entertainment (The DJ and the band) are cohesive – this is for
instances where the assembled guests have similar tastes. For the instances outlined above where significantly
different tastes are in evidence it makes more sense for me to provide contrasting music, so the band plays
classic pop and rock and the DJ plays modern pop and dance, for example. Usually I will do something between these
two extremes.
Where your budget can’t stretch to two forms of entertainment it can be far easier (for you and your DJ) and
more conducive to a good time to have a theme – 70s nights and 80s nights are great for groups with diverse ages
and because the music is dictated by the theme you avoid clashes over requests.
A DJ option is to come up with a play list that combines both conflicting preferences and a number of songs
that combine both sides to some degree, so in the case of the bride who likes disco and dance and the groom who loves
reggae and classic rock there would be songs in these styles and several cross-over disco/rock songs (of which there
are many), and some good DJ mixes of classic rock, along with some unexpected cover versions.
If you find yourself having difficulty pleasing everybody with regards to the entertainment for your function please
email me and we can discuss potential solutions.
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Solutions to the wedding music blues:
For some people the idea of having ‘the usual music’ at their wedding sets their teeth on edge. If a
particular type of music is a big part of your lives then it should rightly be a part of the biggest day in your life.
How big a part of your biggest day is up to you but amongst the factors to weigh-up should be the possible effect on
your guests. If your preferred music is ‘in your face’ or a bit obscure an entire evening of it may end
up being a very short evening, but using your music for important events during the ceremony or reception and then
only occasionally during the dance can be very effective, and in this way you get your favourite music used during
memorable moments in the day yet even guests who don’t like ‘your music’ (be it “that
head-banging music” or “that DJ oonst-oonst music”) will come away having had a good time and
with fond memories of the day.
If you aren’t so keen on what you might normally expect to hear at a wedding there are ways of getting
around this. The solutions outlined earlier can all conceivably be used in the context of a wedding. In order
to work, any solution that requires Theming needs to be expected by the guests - it may be necessary to advise
the invitees that the music for the evening will have a theme… it’s entirely up to you whether you
want to extend that theme into fancy dress for the occasion, assuming that’s possible. Fancy dress, apart
from the beautiful white one I mean, is relatively unusual at a wedding – unusual, but not necessarily bad.
Some brides and grooms have the exact opposite problem – they simply don’t know what they want to have
played at their wedding, and therefore how to instruct the DJ. There are several solutions to this:
One is, again, to have a Theme, thus removing much of the difficulty of which songs to
use as you have immediately narrowed the list of available choices down considerably.
Another is to ask the invited guests to send in one request each with their RSVPs. You can then collate the list
of requests (including the name of the person requesting the song) as you collect the RSVPs and once you have the full
list you can go through and remove any you dislike (it is still your wedding, after all) and then use that as a DJ
request/dedication list for the night.
Or just a make a few important requests and leave the rest to your DJ.
If you need help implementing one of these solutions or coming up with the right solution to solve your particular
problem please Contact Me.
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...But I don't want to dance! Why do I need a DJ?:
DJing isn't just about dance music and dancing any more. DJing has always been about selecting the right song at
the right time but there's no reason why the right songs can't be cool and beautiful background music to give your
event more of a 'cocktail lounge' vibe. A lot of people are opting for "cocktails and a standing buffet" or "wine
and cheese" events - especially for venues where being able to take in the view and the ambiance is the whole point.
If you are more interested in an evening of loungey jazz and swing then check out my section on
Jazz. If you are more interested in modern chill-out styles then keep an eye out for my soon to
be added sections on 'chill-out'.
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