What is the best way to create playlists for our reception?

For all moments of your day where we're not playing live, we'll have background music playing (except for your ceremony and speeches of course!).

We use downloaded Spotify playlists to plug directly into our PA system, so you're more than welcome to provide your own Spotify playlist for us to use, or we have dozens of tried and true playlists ready to go for all parts of your day!

Consultation with the DJ who can provide playlists for each part of the reception is essential.

… from playing many years for large events and weddings: run sheets are fine; but things don't always go so smoothly. You need to allow for spontaneity and those little expected anomalies.

A good entertainer, with experience, should already know, ahead of time what the expectations are - favourite songs, first dance, etc..

… she/he should have one eye, always, on what’s going on and intuitively get a feel for how things are going and play songs at the appropriate time. 

When I play for a weddings, for example, after speeches are made and I start to see deserts coming out, I start to vibe up a bit and build up the intensity (not the volume) of the music to set a celebration mood. Sometimes verbal prompts are great:  “Hey every body! This is Maria’s favourite song”, etc.

It’s also good for entertainer to set up some sign language with the MC. 

So look for a raised eye brow from the MC and that might mean, ‘Not ready to party yet”, …Yes, it's good to write stuff down and have queues - verbal, sign, SMS, even. (there are APPs where you can communicate with MC live, for example)

... but flexibility is the name of the game to me. 

Wen I play bars and clubs I never use set lists. I always play to whoever is in front of me. I gave up on set lists years ago.

Many times I would go to a bar with my set lists. I would look at the room; look at my set lists and think, "You know, these songs are totally wrong for the people who are here".

I am grateful to have really great musicians in my band who can manage this kind of flexibility and not complain about it.

... of course these are generalisations. There have been times when a couple have a very specific way they want things to go and they also have time limitations from the venue. In such cases, I have happily complied and this can work well too. It's a question knowing expectations and earning their trust.

Hi Karen, this is a very personal thing to decide. It depends on your guests and you as a couple. What type of music you like but also how you wish your night to go. Having pre-made playlists can work well for certain people, if you know your guests will celebrate with you no matter what you will play it is a cheap way of having an awesome party. If your guests are a bit more tricky to get on to the dance floor you might need somebody to man the playlist and play songs according to the atmosphere. In the end, it is your wedding and having all the songs that you love is definitely a good way to start. There are great pre-made playlists on spotify you could use a starting point. Good luck for your upcoming wedding. Corinna

I am presuming you want to do this yourself and so some research would be a good idea.

Have a slow laid back set ready for earlier in the night and through dinner and then a dance set ready from the first dance.

This set will need older songs to new songs at a ratio of 2 to 1 and you will need to take into consideration the age of your audience.

You could have a look at playlists on streaming services for some ideas and make up your own based on what you see. I would not however recommend relying on a streaming service for the actual event as you may have troubles with being online and quality issues.

At the end of the day engaging in a good DJ or musician who has good quality playlists ready to go with good quality equipment might be an easier and cost effective way to go.

Hi Keren,

if you are doing this alone we'd suggest going through the songs you personally love and fit the style/personalities at your wedding. If you are stuck, doing a survey of your nearest and dearest for their input might help. It's something that can take months to get right and even then you won't necessarily get the flow right to suit the energy of the crowd at the right time. That's where the professionals really make your life easy- we've done it a million times and know what to perform, when and what will create the perfect vibe at any given moment (ceremony through to the last dance of the night!)

All the best organising your wedding, it's exciting but daunting but with the right help everything will go smooth on the day.

Hi Karen. I would certainly consult with your DJ or Band in relation to this. Obviously you want the music to reflect your musical tastes but it is also important to allow your entertainer some 'license' where this is concerned, after all this is what they do for a living. Consider the age group and demographic at your wedding but also consider the occasion. For example, the songs you like to hear at your favourite night club might be great to listen to but not necessarily ideal at your wedding where you may have grandparents, uncles aunts, children.

Whatever you decide, my advice is always to meet with the person who will be doing your wedding and discuss your views and ideas then ask for their opinion. Satisfy yourself that you are happy with their level of expertise and experience. Check that they pay their PPCA license, their equipment is tested and tagged, their public liability insurance is paid up and ask for contact numbers from their recent past clients. If they meet all of these criteria you are off to a good start.

Good luck with the planning!

Hi Karen,

Firstly congrats on your Engagment!

Creating a playlist to suit your guests can be tricky, and in my response I am referring to the Dance portion of the night.

We like to have A few playlists ready to go depending on the demographic of guests. We usually categorise this into;

1) Pop New 2) Jazz/Rockand roll 3) RnB 4)Rock Modern 5) Wedding Favs

We usually start with something older because this appeals to all ages groups, whereas playing something current will probably alienate the older guests straight up, and then after a few songs you generally play to the group that is dancing.

If you can hire a professional Band or DJ, leave it up to them because that's our Job, to keep that dancefloor jam packed :)

Good luck and I hope your Wedding is awesome, Kind regards, Milika and Bryden Duo

Hi Keren,

Creating a playlist to suit your guests can be tricky, and in my response I am referring to the Dance portion of the night.

In our Band we like to have 5 or 6 playlists ready to go depending on the demographic of guests. We usually categorise this into;

1) Pop New 2) Pop Retro 3) RnB 4)Rock Modern 5) Rock Retro

We usually start with something old because this appeals to all ages groups, whereas playing something current will probably alienate the older guests straight up, and then after a few songs you generally play to the group that is dancing.

If you can hire a professional Band or DJ, leave it up to them because that's our Job, to keep that dancefloor jam packed :)

Good luck and I hope your Wedding is awesome, from Vibe Wedding Band

Hi Keren, First, congrats on your engagement! Great stuff! Definitely pick the songs for those key moments i.e. - walking down the aisle, signing the marriage cert, first dance, other than that, I would advise looking through the bands song list and give a handful of songs you'd love to hear and a handful you really don't want played if you see them on the list. The beauty of an experienced band or DJ is knowing what song to play and when to play it. If you pull the reins too tight and pick every song, we don't get to do what we do best... read the crowd. You have nephews to Nannas at weddings so the range has to be wide and varied. We have stuck to a stringent playlist on a couple of occasions and the groom was the only person dancing while other guests just kept requesting other classics that we couldn't play. I hope this helps you out a little and best of luck on your day! Adam