We just watched this movie on netflix “Naked” where Marlon Wayans plays a groom reliving his wedding day over and over. One of my favorite lines was “The first dance is the centerpiece to a reception”. TRUE STORY! With your first dance comes not just the actual dancing part but also finding the right song and choosing music for all the other formal dances for your big night. Maybe you already know your first dance song. Maybe like me- you thought you did. Or maybe you hadn’t even thought about it. Either way there are more dances than just the first dance to think about and I have some tips to help you find yours.
1.Find the most popular songs
Our DJ, 1024 Productions has a super cool client portal where we can input all our choices. Along with an easy place to enter our selections they have compiled databases for the top 50 First Dances, Father-Daughter Dance, Mother-Son Dance, etc. This makes it super easy to search through for ideas on the perfect songs and rates them from 1-50 giving you an idea of what is the most popular at the time. This database updates every 6 months so you will be in the know!
2.Talk to your family and friends
Maybe you will find your dad loves a particular song or artist, or maybe they hate them so you want to avoid them. Talk to your family and friends for suggestions on songs. Some can share information from wedding they have been to recently or maybe share the songs that remind them of you.
3.Search by genre
Maybe you are into a particular type of music. The client portal from 1024 not only has lists for the top 50 but also compiles the music by genres as well. Finding songs that fit a style you want is really simple to do!
4.Search by decade
What about music by decade? Did you know my 1 year old is really into 80’s and 90’s hip hop? Well now you do. I have to make sure to throw in some of her favorites on our must play list. Luckily, 1024 Productions can also sort music by the hits of each decade! THANK YOU!
So now the question is…what events in your wedding require choosing a song?
- First Dance
- Father-Daughter Dance
- Mother-Son Dance
- Garter toss
- Wedding Party dances
- bouquet toss
- money dance
- cake cutting
- introductions
- ceremony
You can have as many or as few of those events in your wedding as you wish. Each will require you to choose a song you feel best fits the event and your style as a couple. If you need any additional questions or want some song suggestions reach out! I would love to hear what your favorite songs and your wedding songs were in the comments below.
These are all such great tips. I dont even remember how we picked the songs for our wedding! haha
we have a list going so far.
These are such great tips! And things that you don’t think about until you’re put on the spot! Super great to have a resource before that happens. <3
so many details i had no idea even took place!
We had so much fun choosing the songs for our wedding playlist! We thought about the songs we enjoyed hearing at other peoples’ weddings, the ones that made us smile when we heard them on the radio, and ones that we knew would be crowd favorites!
i love your guidelines!!!
This is great for someone who wants to uphold all of those traditions. The idea of it stressed me out (haha!) so we decided to forget tradition and everyone just started dancing during the ‘first dance’. We chose ‘Pomp and Pride’ by Toots and the Maytals – a very unique first dance sog which was exactly what we wanted. It was amazing and then there was no pressure on us having to dance perfectly, I couldn’t have had it any better.
that sounds like so much fun. so funny for us we have never been traditional and figure our wedding can be the one thing lol
I never thought about what all needs a song! Good to file away for when my girls get married!
i know isnt it crazy! so many details!
This is a fantastic list to reference! I forgot to have a song during our cake cutting. That would have been awesome!
i honestly had no idea that was a thing lol
These are great suggestions. I’m helping my girlfriend plan her wedding so I will be sure to keep these ideas in mind when we think of songs!
Great suggestions! I have had friends ask guests on their RSVP card to request a song, too!
that is such a fun idea to get everyone involved!
I spent WEEKS putting together my song list and then our DJ just threw out the list and decided to play whatever he wanted. WORST DJ EVER lol
NOOOO! that is horrible! so sorry!!!!
What a great post! I wish I would have had this info when we got married. There is nothing like dancing to great music at a wedding!
i plan to dance all night lol
As a certified wedding planner, I can’t say enough how important it is to have an amazing DJ – and it sounds like yours knows what they’re doing!! I love the idea of their database ranking songs.
isnt it so cool? I love it too
We just had our 29th anniversary. Our wedding song was “Let’s Stay Together.” It still sounds good!
it is definitely still a great song
Great tips! I had such a hard time picking our songs, this would have helped!
glad you find these helpful!
I love your song selection!