Your wedding and reception will have approximately 8 hours of music. When you break it down, there is usually 3 to 4 hours of background music before the party starts. Rather than occupy that time with filler tunes, this is a great place to show some personality! Give your wedding a signature music stamp that will be remembered as unique. Here is a suggested wedding day playlist that 90% of our weddings follow.
30 Minutes Pre-Ceremony
As your guests arrive, this is a great spot for string quartet versions of music you like (Vitamin String Quartet, Piano Guys, or Brooklyn Duo)
30-Minute Ceremony
This is where you will need a processional song, register signing music, and a recessional song after you are pronounced married, and everyone claps and cheers for you! We suggest classier and elegant songs for the processional, something lovely and sweet for register, and then something really fun to celebrate at the end.
90-Minute Cocktail Reception
A great place to show some personality during your wedding day playlist is during your cocktail hour. We like to suggest some medium-tempo Motown, indie singer-songwriter, or mellow covers of top 40 songs. We have also found a more recent crowd favourtie to be some Tropical House music. There are no speeches or interruptions during this time, so you can use the music to set a positive tone.
2 to 3 Hour Dinner Time
This is the perfect time to play some much that will be personal to you and your families. Think of some classics for the older guests like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Ella Fitzgerald. Another option is to go more contemporary, with some Jack Johnson; songs that are not dance-floor favourites, but will still have the guests singing along and tapping their toes. Dinner is also a great place to fit in some cultural or ethnic music if you want to give a nod to those international guests. By doing this, you’ll also keep Nonna happy without giving up your party choices. Remember that dinner music will stop and start depending on your schedule for spotlight dances and speeches, more on that in the Blog on wedding flow.
Dance Floor Open
This is where we earn our money as professional wedding DJs. If the job was done right, energy has been building through the earlier part of the day and now you are ready to celebrate! In a perfect world, you have 4 hours of dancing. The reality is if there are any delays, they all compound to reduce your time for dancing. It is normal to have the dancing start between 9:30 and 10:00 pm most nights.
Some parties are energetic and the floor is full of both young and old from the very first song. More realistically, you can expect a bit of a dip in the first part of your party. During this time, washroom or smoke breaks happen, and people at the bar will all play a factor right at the start. This is a great time during your wedding day playlist for a set of cultural dancing if needed. 2 or 3 Italian tunes, golden oldies, or cross-generational favorites (think Michael Jackson or Abba) will be perfect during this time.
When you hire a professional wedding DJ, you’ll have some favourites that you want them to play. Once the party has loosened up, your DJ will work in those favourites you requested, take other requests, and use judgment to keep the party going. At Maximum music, we do this every week and understand what songs work well together, and when to change the genre or tempo. Every song will be chosen based on the reaction we are getting in real-time.
1:00 am
Finish with your guests wanting more, having danced hard, and fully enjoyed themselves. Older guests will have danced in the 1st hour, enjoyed the cocktail and dinner song choices. Meanwhile, you and your friends will finish up drinks at 1:00 am having relived all the glory days.
With over 30 years of experience let our team at Maximum Music work with you to design a wedding and reception playlist that will be stress-free and tick all your boxes. We ensure you’ll please that diverse and eclectic group of guests that are your family and friends.
