When you picture the DJ at your wedding, you’re probably picturing the dance floor.
And you should. Running a great dance floor is an important part of the job. Your DJ needs to read the room, recognize what’s working, know when to change direction, and make good musical decisions in real time.
But here’s something I’ve learned from actually doing weddings:
The dance floor is only a small portion of the day.
At a seven- or eight-hour wedding, open dancing might account for only two or three hours. For most of the day, your DJ is still working — just in ways that don’t necessarily look like DJing.
And when you’re choosing your wedding DJ, those other hours are worth thinking about, too.
What Happens Before the Dance Floor?
There’s the ceremony.
Can everyone hear the officiant? Is the processional music ready? Does it start at the right moment? Is there a sound system where you actually need one?
Then there’s cocktail hour and dinner.
This is an area I’ve particularly enjoyed because of my background in radio and music programming. I don’t think of background music as something to throw on and forget about. I’m thinking about what fits the moment.
At a recent wedding, I programmed cocktail music that moved through familiar pop, rock and adult contemporary — the Beatles, Hall & Oates, Shania Twain, Whitney Houston, Santana and others. Dinner went in a completely different direction because the couple wanted instrumental jazz, including John Coltrane.
Neither playlist was designed to fill a dance floor.
They weren’t supposed to be.
They were designed for what was happening at that particular point in the wedding.
Meanwhile, someone still needs to handle introductions, special dances, speeches, cake cutting and whatever else is on the timeline.
I’m deliberately a low-key emcee. I don’t want to spend your wedding talking over it. But I’ve learned that good emceeing isn’t necessarily about how much you say.
It’s about knowing what needs to happen next and saying something when you need to.
Then the Job Changes
Once open dancing begins, the job becomes much more reactive.
I can prepare your ceremony music. I can build cocktail and dinner playlists. I can have names and announcements written down.
I can also prepare extensively for the dance floor.
But I can’t completely predict it.
A playlist can be prepared. A dance floor can’t.
At a recent wedding, I went in with a pretty good idea of the couple’s musical tastes and plenty of possible directions for the night.
Then I played “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” and the room came alive.
That’s information.
As the night continued, I discovered that late-’90s and early-2000s alternative, rock and pop-punk connected particularly well with this crowd.
More information.
The lesson isn’t that Backstreet Boys is a magic wedding song. The next crowd might respond to something completely different.
The job is recognizing what’s happening in this room, with these people, tonight — and knowing what to play next.
That’s why I prepare a lot without trying to script the entire night. I want enough possibilities in front of me that when the crowd shows me where it wants to go, I can look at what I’ve prepared and think:
That’s the one.
Think About the Whole Wedding
When you’re choosing a DJ, absolutely ask yourself what you want the dance floor to feel like.
Talk about the music you love. Talk about what you don’t want to hear. Find someone whose approach to DJing fits the kind of celebration you want.
But don’t forget to ask about the other five hours.
Who is providing ceremony sound? Who is handling the microphone? What will guests hear during cocktail hour and dinner? Who is making the announcements? How will all of those pieces fit together?
Because your DJ’s job doesn’t begin when the dance floor opens.
A great dance floor matters. But your wedding started hours before anyone stepped onto it. Those hours deserve just as much care.