Weddingbee Blog

…I wanna dance with my baybay…

(Does this win the prize for clunkiest blog title ever? I think it just might.)

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So I know that I’ve posted about our music over and over and over, but here we go again. See, all over the wedding blogosphere and in all of the forums, I’ve been seeing people telling nightmare stories about iPod wedding receptions. How the flow didn’t work and nobody danced. How songs with inappropriate lyrics would pop up on shuffle and the bride would have to run off of the dance floor to advance the iPod.

Well, of course stuff like that will happen if you don’t prepare. But as long as you’re well prepared, things should be fine. I’ve thrown a ton of parties, had my iPod running for all of them, and have gotten compliments on the music at each and every one. So here are my tips for being an awesome iPod deejay.

1. Know Your Audience. It’s harder to deejay a wedding than a regular old party because, well, your great aunts and five-year-old nephew aren’t usually at a house party, right? Still, it’s not too hard to find some dance music that will appeal to almost everyone. I find that classic Motown and ’80s music are popular with people of all ages. If your guests are into current pop, by all means throw in some Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake. If you want to throw in some lesser-known indie dance music, well, there may even be a time or place for that. But remember, your wedding is not necessarily the time for “The Thong Song” or “Milkshake.” Well, unless your older relatives are cool with that. Some might be. (For example, mine would be.)
2. Make an iTunes Playlist called “Reception.” Or really, call it whatever you like. Go through your iTunes library and add any single song that you think will work for your reception. Add as much as you want. You can refine later.
3. Refine the list. See, I told you. Anyway, here is where you go through the list and take out what might not work. Keep in mind the length of your reception. If it’s five hours long, you’ll want to have five hours of music—maybe a little bit more in case things run over. iTunes will tell you at the bottom of the screen how many hours long your playlist is. It’s very helpful.
4. Make it Flow, Part I. Now that you have five-plus hours worth of music, it is crucial to organize it so that it flows correctly. If you just put your list on shuffle, then songs will pop up randomly, and there will be no cohesion or structure to the music. Most deejays play songs in “sets,” where similar songs are played in a row. That way, if you like to booty-shake to disco, you can dance to five disco songs in a row, then head off to grab a drink at the bar while the music shifts to classics like Tony Bennett and Sinatra. Grandma and Grandpa can dance to the standards and then clear off the dance floor when the deejay starts up a Prince/Madonna/Michael Jackson block. Get it?
5. Make it Flow, Part II. You want to start the party out with a song that’ll get everyone out on the dance floor. There are a handful of songs that I use to get everyone out of their chairs. One is “Don’t Stop Till you Get Enough” by Michael Jackson. Another is “Hey-Ya“ by Outkast. Another is “Into the Groove” by Madonna. It’s best to start with a major crowd pleaser like one of the above. Get everyone dancing for a while, then maybe bring it down with a few slow songs. Bring the energy back up, bring it back down. Near the end of the night, work everyone into a frenzy with some kick-ass dancing tunes before one or two slow songs to end the night. Works every time.
6. Technical Stuff. I prefer using my laptop to my iPod. Why? Because iTunes has some cross-fade functionality that you can use on your laptop that you can’t use on your iPod. The less white noise, the better. It’s easy to hook your laptop up to a soundsystem. But, and this is very important, bring the same playlist on your iPod as backup! That way, if your laptop craps out, you’ve got the same playlist ready to go on your iPod.

Are you considering an iPod reception? Do you have any tips to add?