I’m so excited to bring you some tips today regarding reception music for your Wedding Tips Wednesday. I asked Travis from Unique Events of Iowa to help me out and I love all the information he gave! (So much so that I’m breaking this into a 3-part mini series!) I think these tips will be very helpful for couples planning their receptions! The first topic we’re going to tackle is who to hire (DJ, a friend with an iPod, a band?) and how to make your reception fun.

Obviously, you’re a DJ, but let’s talk honestly about hiring a skilled DJ vs. having a friend hook up an iPod on shuffle. 

There are a lot of different directions we could go with this, but let’s start by saying that not every couple needs a skilled DJ. We are firm believers in the value we provide to our clients, but if you are having a very informal gathering that just requires some background music throughout, you can probably get by on renting a sound system and plugging an iPod in. 

If the event is more formal and needs someone there to oversee certain logistics, make professional announcements to guide the evening, and adjust music throughout the night to accommodate the changing atmosphere, then it would make sense to invest in a professional service like ours. Be aware that the role a particular DJ plays throughout your night varies by company. 

What about a live band? 

We tend to like DJ’s… 🙂 But honestly, we all love a good band too! The biggest differences are that as DJs we do not take breaks, we can play any genre of music, we can be your emcee, coordinator of sorts, etcetera throughout the night. Not to mention we almost always cost less. 

I think every couple wants their guests to have a good time and one of the visual ways of calculating that is if their dance floor is full. How can they make sure their reception is fun?

The most basic thing you can do to ensure your guests enjoy themselves is to not waste time. Guests hate sitting there bored and it’s not conducive to a party atmosphere. You are the hosts and as such you are responsible for keeping this event moving. 

Hire a professional to help execute the goings on of the evening so that you, and more importantly, your guests can enjoy themselves! Getting them on the dance floor is best done by being on the dance floor yourself! People want to be around you and if you are out there dancing, that is where they’ll be! How many weddings have you been to with a killer dance floor where the bride and/or groom weren’t out there dancing most of the time? Few to none, most likely.

Also, don’t restrict every genre of music you aren’t in love with. People dance to music they have a connection with and a lot of times that may not correspond to the same music you personally like. The decision you have is a) would you rather listen to music you personally like all night or b) see more people dance? Either answer is OK, but just know what you are getting into when you start limiting music variety. 

Thanks Travis! We’ll be back next Wednesday talking about first dances (and how to pick your first dance song)!