Now that Valentine's Day is in our rearview, the wedding planning and invites start to mount for DJs. Without fail, most brides and grooms have visions of the flowers, suits, guests and venues in mind already ( most since their earliest memory ), but not really music. Music, when all is said and done, is the central part of making memories of your reception and wedding happen. Long after folks have forgotten your piccata chicken choice and turquoise table linens, they'll remember your first song or that ABBA track Aunt Betty got her freak on to. So here's a wedding expert's tips on choosing the correct music for the DJ.
1. Be certain and specific with the DJ as to songs that you love, but also those you hate. Pay special attention to genres neither of you care for ( hip hop, country and non-vocal house come up a lot ). For songs you love, try to keep the danceable ones mainstream, and the ballads personal. You can't get too Top 40 for the wedding crowd, trust me. That said, I recommend staying within your own age group for dance choices. While your mother loves early Rolling Stones, most likely it will drive anyone under 50 off to the bar.
2. On the topic of slow dances, you might have your songs that you love, but a quick Google search on lyrics should be done before locking in the special moments. More times than not, popular love songs have underlying menace coated in romanticism. You don't want your attendees reading in anything other than light and love. What you hear as a romantic ballad might actually be written about a dirty side piece. Google it.
3. Make sure you find a DJ who gets you. Often venues will have their set DJs they strongly recommend you use, but often they're used to dealing with opposite-sex marriages and a very different musical history than the gay community. Gay playlists and straight playlists often only overlap less than 50%, so get together a list of what I call "Gay Bar Classics," those tracks you used to get down to at Roscoe's back in the day. If the DJ has those, you might be good. And don't be afraid to ask how many gay weddings they've done.
If nothing else, just make sure the DJ has at least 80 Madonna tracks in their libraryanything less than that, and you might as well elope.
DJ Moose is now booking weddings for 2015 and 2016. See ad on page 41 for details.
See related coverage at the link www.windycitymediagroup.com/gaynewsarticles.php .