Choosing the Right Music for Your Wedding

In the last issue we talked about finding the perfect cake for your
special day! In this issue we are going to talk about choosing the right
music for your reception, no matter what your budget.

Traditionally the wedding reception is a party to celebrate the union of
two special people. These special celebrations include music for you
and your guests to enjoy and dance to.

When it comes to choosing the music for your reception you have a few
options depending on what your budget will allow.

Most people like to have a disc jockey at their reception. This way they
can have a large selection of music available guests of all ages. When
it comes to costs a disc jockey is probably less expensive than a band,
but they can be a bit pricey too. Keep in mind that a good DJ will also
act as an MC and will help keep the guests entertained and move the
reception along.

When looking for a DJ make sure you shop around extensively and as
we have discussed before, be sure to ask your friends, check with
local colleges and even your local radio station to see who they would
recommend for the job.

When picking out music, make sure you take the guests into
consideration. It you have people for all different age groups coming
you should try to include a little something for everyone. For instance
Great Grandpa George may not enjoy an all rap repertoire, while young
Sandy and little Harry won't be dancing to the big band music either.
So, make sure there’s a mix of both to please both young, old and in
between.

Here is a quick tip that will help encourage your guests to dance.
Assign each table a song, when that song plays that table should get up
to dance. You can even offer a prize to the liveliest table at the end of
the night. This will make them really want to kick up their heels and have
fun on the floor!

If your heart is set on live music, look for bands that have day jobs
and "jam" for fun. Don't rule out high school bands. Consider the time of
your reception. For instance if your reception begins at 1:00pm and
are serving food and having cake chances are you won't need the band
to start playing until 2:00 or 3:00. You can play nice mood music in the
background on the CD player until the start.

Be sure to interview several bands and find out where they are playing
so that you can see them perform live before you make your final
decision.

If you are on a very tight budget there is no reason why you can't make
your own mix CD’s and if you know of someone who has an awesome
stereo system, see if they would be willing to loan it to you for the day
and have people volunteer to man it to make sure you don’t have any
silent times.

The good part about  is that if you take some time, you can put
it together so that it plays straight through and no one will have to switch
discs. You can mix it up with an equal balance of fast and slow songs
and add in all your favorites as well.

Another fun option for music is to have a karaoke set up. You can
maximize on the talents of some of your guests and laugh with the not
so talented others.  Some people really come to life with karaoke,
so why not take advantage of that!

If you don’t own a karaoke machine or know someone who does, look
into renting one. You can download karaoke songs (music without the
lyrics) online to make your own karaoke CD’s then go to lyrics.com to
get the words and arrange the songs lyric's in a simple 3 ring binder for
your guests to refer to.

Remember your choice of music can help set the tone for your
reception and can make your day one to remember. No matter which
option you go with make sure that you take enough time to choose
songs that are memorable, touch the hearts of your guests and make
them want to dance the night away.

Make sure you look for your next issue soon. We will be talking about
some fun twists on the traditional guest book.


Cindy Lieber
Accredited Event Designer
OC Brides Event Coordination
www.weddingplanneroc.com
Cindy@ocbrides.com
(714) 970-6380


P.S.  I'm always looking for new ideas for music.  Are you doing
something unique that I haven't listed here?  I would love
to hear it.