Weddingbee Blog

This week Scratch Weddings DJ Stef Nava is sharing a cocktail hour playlist. Tres bien!

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From DJ Stef Nava:

The key to creating the perfect soundtrack to set the atmosphere for cocktail hour is choosing feel-good songs with a relaxed and mellow vibe; songs that set the mood and allow for mingling and conversations among guests. This is the time to play songs that you love and that are special to the two of you, but aren’t danceable material.

My personal favorite music to play at this time are from the legendary crooners, such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. You can never go wrong with classic songs like “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Unforgettable.” Motown artists, doo-wop groups, and soul singers from the ’50s and ’60s are also a crowd favorite (Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, The Four Seasons, Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, etc.).

If you’re a rock lover, there are plenty of great jams to get the night started from bands like Coldplay, U2, Radiohead, Florence and the Machine, Arcade Fire, etc.

If jazz is your thing, classics from Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Ronnie Foster, Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Vaughn, and Billie Holiday are also great choices.

If you’re a fan of soul/funk, Chaka Khan, The Brand New Heavies, Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Green, Roy Ayers, and Curtis Mayfield are great artists to throw into the mix.

Here’s a sample “cocktail hour” playlist from all different genres:

► “Here Comes The Sun” – The Beatles
► “Just My Imagination” – The Temptations
► “I Second That Emotion” – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
► “Luck Be A Lady” – Frank Sinatra
► “Yellow” – Coldplay
► “It’s Love” – Jill Scott
► “Kiss Is on My List” – Hall & Oates
► “Peg” – Steely Dan
► “Outstanding” – The Gap Band
► “That’s Where It’s At” – Sam Cooke
► “L-O-V-E” – Nat King Cole
► “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” – Dean Martin
► “Is This Love” – Bob Marley
► “By Your Side” – Sade
► “Alright” – Jamiroquai
► “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)” – Stevie Wonder
► “Sweetest Thing” – U2
► “Your Song” – Elton John
► “Wonderful Tonight” – Eric Clapton
► “Lowdown” – Boz Scaggs
► “Rock With You” – Michael Jackson
► “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” – Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
► “The Very Thought Of You” – Billie Holiday
► “Lost Without You” – Robin Thicke
► “That’s How Strong My Love Is” – Otis Redding
► “What a Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers
► “I Know You, I Live You” – Chaka Khan
► “You’re All I Need to Get By” – Marvin Gaye
► “Better Together” – Jack Johnson
► “Cruisin’” – D’ Angelo
► “You Are the Best Thing” – Ray Lamontagne
► “That’s the Way of the World” – Earth, Wind & Fire

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Scratch Weddings is the leading provider of highly skilled, experienced, and affordable marquee-level DJ talent for weddings. Their DJs love to perform at weddings and have collaborated with major recording artists such as Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, and Michael Jackson. You can also find them spinning at high-profile corporate events, music festivals, and the nation’s most respected clubs and lounges. Scratch Weddings offers each couple their choice of DJ, based on their personal style, taste, and musical interests. Additionally, couples have online access to DJ bios, photos, videos, and music mixes at their website.

Scratch Weddings is available 24-7 for all your wedding music questions! Follow and tweet them at @scratchweddings and be sure to like Scratch on Facebook for more great music ideas and mixes.

Stay tuned next week here at Weddingbee for more awesome music ideas for your wedding! And Scratch is taking requests! Let us know here in the comments what you want suggestions for (’80s music? most romantic first-dance songs? music that will keep guests on their feet?) and they’ll make it happen in the upcoming weeks, just for you!