To make any party a success – and your wedding reception particularly – you need the right soundtrack. Play the wrong songs, and everyone stays glued to their seats or worse, leaves early. Serve up the right combination of tunes, and your party will last as long as you’ve got the hall – and even longer if they’ll let you. Here are some common reception entertainment options.

Hire a Professional DJ

Hiring a DJ is likely the most common option chosen by couples. A DJ is a trained entertainer who is well versed in music and crowds. He or she has a sparkling personality that can get guests out on the dance floor. DJs read the crowd to see what type of music fills the dance floor and what leaves it empty. A good DJ will assess the demographics of your crowd and make sure there is something for everyone. DJs also spend time talking with couples about their musical likes and dislikes, what songs they want to hear, and how they’d like their party to go.

Most professional DJs do more than spin tunes. They act as the emcee of the reception, making sure things move along and that guests are in the know about who’s who and what’s happening when.

Hints: When you meet with a DJ or a DJ company, make sure the person you meet with is the person who will be working your wedding. You need to see if your DJ’s personality matches yours and will fit in with the type of reception you’re picturing. Double check to make sure their library includes a variety of songs – you need to please Grandma as well as your college buddies. Also be sure the DJ has all of the songs you’d like played, especially those for the first dance, father-daughter dance, mother-son dance, and other honor dances.

Hire a Band

A live band is an impressive way to entertain the guests at your wedding. Even those who don’t dance will enjoy watching the band play. Bands come in all shapes, sizes, and styles, so it’s easy to find one playing the kind of music you want. Most play cover tunes, either exclusively or mixed in with original songs.

Hints: Hear the band(s) you’re interested in several times before hiring them; don’t hire a band based on a demo CD alone. You’ll need to hear how they sound live and what their onstage presence is like. Ask if specific songs you want are in their repertoire, including your first dance and other honor dances. If you want a certain version of a song for your first dance, ask if you can play recorded music for that part. Find out how many breaks they take, how long they are, and what they fill that silence with. Lastly, ask whether a member of the band will act as emcee or if you need to tap someone else to do it.

DIY DJ

If you think your budget doesn’t include enough for a band or a DJ, you might consider going the DIY route. You could hire a friend to run the music for you or set up a playlist on your iPod and just press play to get the party started. While these are definitely inexpensive options – you might not even have to pay your friend – there are drawbacks. The first is that you need a sound system, and if your reception site doesn’t have one you can plug into, you’ll need to borrow or rent one and learn how to use it. You’ll also lack the crowd-reading skills of a DJ or bandleader. If your favorite mix of tunes isn’t working for your audience, you’re going to be out of luck.

On the other hand, if you know dancing isn’t going to be big among your guests and you’re just looking for party music and background music, going DIY might be the right choice for you.

Hints: Ask a friend or relative to monitor the music for you during the reception so you don’t have to worry about it. If you’re renting or borrowing a sound system, take the time to learn how to use it and test it out in your reception space before your actual reception. (You don’t want any loud squawks and static on the big day.) Build extra songs into your playlist – that way, if you notice a certain style of music is really getting people out on the floor, you can add more of that music into your list.

Resources

Working with DJs: http://somdweddings.com/article_detail.php?id=313&rec=6

Song suggestions for your first dance: http://somdweddings.com/article_detail.php?id=57&rec=0

Song suggestions for other special dances: http://somdweddings.com/article_detail.php?id=243&rec=1