Last week, Jerad and I set aside time for a wedding planning dinner date (how do people find time for all of the planning while still working and carrying on other responsibilities?). Jerad’s recent task that he’s been able to check off of our to-do list has been getting the DJ booked for our reception. My first “real” job in high school was working for a caterer (doing primarily weddings), so I’ve seen many variations of the “wedding DJ” – some hot, some not-so-much… Needless to say, I’ve been a little apprehensive about how we were going to be able to find the right person to take on the job.
Luckily for us, the search was a fairly quick one! Over the summer, I was privileged to attend a super-fun wedding reception with a friend whose husband was out of town (so I got to be her +1 for the event). I was impressed by the DJ right off the bat as he was greeting guests at the door of the reception venue. As the evening progressed, he did an awesome job of keeping everything flowing on-schedule and interacting with the guests. I didn’t hesitate to get his business card, and Jerad has since been able to get details in place with Complete Music.
During our dinner date last week, we started going over the “wedding reception planner” paperwork. It’s a great tool to get you thinking about what you’re expecting out of your DJ – out going vs. laid back, whether or not you want guests to be able to make requests, if you want to include icebreakers, etc. As a result, over the course of the past week, I’ve been thinking about options for first dance songs, as well as my do-not-play list. In my defense, that list is pretty short, so I don’t think I’m a complete Debbie Downer here:
- “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang
- “Love Shack” by the B-52s
- “YMCA” by the Village People
- “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd – I’m pretty impartial to this particular song, but this is Jerad’s contribution to the list.
- “Who Let the Dogs Out” by the Baha Men
- “Chicken Dance” – This is on my list mainly because I’ve just never “gotten” it. Even as a kid, I had no desire to flap my arms around.
Maybe I’ve missed the mark here, but I’d be okay with never hearing these songs again at another wedding reception (or quite possibly ever, for that matter). I guess the up-side for including these on your playlist is that most (if not all) of your guests will probably know them.
I think it’ll definitely be a tough pick for our first dance. My taste here certainly leans more toward the “classics”:
- “At Last” by Etta James – Beyonce has a pretty good cover of it, too!
- “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley
- “Chances Are” by Johnny Mathis
- “Love is All Around” by The Troggs – Another Contribution of Jerad’s. J
- “The Best is Yet To Come” by Frank Sinatra
What are your must-have songs for the ultimate party? Are there any tunes that you just cannot wait to bust a move to on the dance floor? Or others that you’d rather not have played again, too? Let’s hear your thoughts!
136 days to go!
~Katie
