As with your other services, if the DJ is a professional with a good bit of wedding experience, you should be able to give him an idea of the type of music you want (usually a mixture of all), any requests you have for the special dances, and any other favorite titles that you want to hear during the reception. Then go ahead and enjoy your day, knowing that your DJ has the situation under control.

If your DJ is a professional, absolutely the worst thing you can do is give him a list of 100 songs you want to hear.

First off, your reception won’t last that long. A max. of only 20 songs can be played in an hour. Usually the number is even smaller than that. At a 5 hour reception, only about 31⁄2 hours of music will actually be played overall.

Secondly, until almost the midway point of your reception, your attention will be completely focused upon taking pictures, the garter / bouquet toss, cutting the cake, etc.

Third, your DJ must have flexibility to follow the crowd and the types of music they respond to. Sure, you love Axl Rose, but believe me, your guests in general do not want to hear every song he ever recorded (if any at all). An experienced and professional DJ will know what titles most crowds respond to at weddings.
But, by all means, don’t hesitate to give your professional DJ 15 – 20 favorite titles to be sprinkled in during your reception, along with the songs you want for the special dances. But, after that, enjoy the reception, and leave the job of pleasing your crowd to him.

Many DJ’s and services make available a list of music they have to offer. You can use it to customize the music to your own taste. An experienced DJ or service will evaluate your list and give you any suggestions if needed. Most of the time the client will select music that will fit the age group attending the function. So at least theoretically, everyone attending will be satisfied. But unless you have a background in reading crowds and motivating them with music, you have to decide whether you want to “force-feed” your guests with 3 or 4 hours of only your favorite songs, or give your DJ the flexibility to please the crowd in general.

Believe me, if your list of music is wrong for your crowd, your DJ is caught in the middle. And it ain’t a pretty sight!

DJ’s are continuously researching what the most popular songs are for receptions so you may rest at ease during one of the biggest days of your life!

by Dave Murphy
https://www.indispensabledjs.com