This week I have been preparing for a wedding this Saturday in Robbinsville, NJ. The couple, like many young couples, have differing tastes in music. This is not a problem for a professional Wedding DJ whom is not stuck in the mind-set that they need to play one style to be effective, actually my experience demonstrates much to the contrary.
This particular couple have very contrasting music that they enjoy. He is a fan of Country and Rock Music while she gets fired-up with some Dance, Pop and Hip Hop. As you can see, they do not compliment each other very well musically.
So what does a professional Wedding DJ do to make both of them happy and their friends and family? Glad you asked!
A bit of careful planning plus a knack for reading a crowd go a long way towards blending genres. The planning piece is making sure you have the music they want. I needed to scan through my 35,000 song library and see if all the songs they want I have plus the songs and artists that would mix well with them. Next I created an iTunes playlist so I have their stuff all ready without having to search through the database. I do not put any of the music in order except for the special songs like The First Dance, Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Bouquet and Garter Tosses, etc. A good Wedding DJ wants to have the freedom to allow the energy of the crowd dictate the order of the music for the most part, unless the client asks for it to be in a specific order. I also take the time to make sure each file opens and plays correctly, can’t do anything about it while live and the whole reception is waiting for you to crank-up a tune for The First Dance. Then it is too late. When that is all completed, I am ready for the gig and that leads us to the more critical piece of blending styles at a event.
Common sense tells us that the Dance and Hip Hop will mostly belong after the dinner and traditional dances since they are made for fun, party dancing. Also most of the songs in those genres do not make good background music at a wedding for enjoying dinner for guests of all ages. The reverse is true to a lesser extent of Country and Rock. A good portion of Popular Country Music works well during dinner, as many Rock Classics like the ones he picked; The Band, Journey, Pink Floyd and Bob Seger to list a few. Some of the Country selections like Lady Antebellem, Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith make great dinner music if you appreciate Country msuic, which I do, and so does the Groom which is more important.
After dinner and Bouquet and Garter Tosses, we can move into the dance stuff like Beyonce, Keri Hilson, Rihanna, Ciara and one of my favorites these days, Yolanda Be Cool and DCup. I do not want to forget that some of the Rock and Country stuff is also danceable and will mix that in when I play slow dance songs or immediately following a slow dance song.
Example:
After a set of fast dance songs from their list, I can mix in a slow song or two like Bob Seger “Like A Rock” and Kenny Chesney “Me and You”. To slowly bring things back to a more partying level, I can play Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” since it starts slow and picks it up throughout the song. Now we are ready to blend the dance stuff back in again but still need a good song to segue with like Usher “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love Again” This song begins with a medium tempo befoire getting things cookin’ by the first chorus. We are back in business and the dance floor is pakced with folks moving and grooving. I can play any fast dance songs without much effort at this point. If I wanted, I could dip back into the list and mix in Van Morrison “Brown Eyed Girl” or Guns N Roses “Paradise City” if I blended them properly. This will keep everybody happy.
Chances are that if The Bide or Groom like a certain genre, so will many of their friends and often family as well. I think it is critical as a Wedding DJ to not leave out large groups of people when selecting music because you don’t like it or think it is too hard to mix into the set you are playing. Think it through and use your common sense to make a great party even better!
