When putting together your idea wedding reception playlist you’re often trying to avoid songs that will make your conservative family members happy while also getting everyone dancing. This can be a real tight rope walk to balance those two goals! You certainly don’t want to bore your younger friends and family members but you have to make sure not to make certain people uncomfortable. We’ve got some advice on planning out your song choices and the music genres to go with to make sure you can make both groups happy!
Planning Wedding Music That Works for All Ages
Complete DJs always play clean versions of the music you want to hear, but that doesn’t always mean that certain suggestive themes won’t make grandma feel a bit uneasy. When it comes to making sure everyone gets their type of music played at a wedding, there are a lot of different options and ways you can make this happen! Here are the best options for making everyone happy with your wedding music:
Option 1: Old to New
The most traditional way to satisfy everyone’s music preference is to start with older music that your older relatives might want to hear then slowly move to more modern styles of music throughout the night. For example, we might start with songs like “Shout” by the Isley Brothers, “Twist” by Chubby Checker, and “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison then move through the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, all the way to modern dance songs. This is the most natural way to go through the reception playlist as the older guests will begin heading home first and you’re typically left with the younger people at the end. This will allow us to play your crazy party songs and not have to worry about who you might offend at 10 pm!
Option 2: Squeaky Clean
Another popular choice is to use clean music all night. The honest truth is that there are plenty of songs that are 100% clean but still modern and fun! For example, we can always get away with plenty of Bruno Mars and other top 40s artists that allow us to stay modern and get people dancing without throwing out any Lil’ John or Migos. This will get EVERYONE dancing without having to worry about lyrics or music selection, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that everyone has a chance to hear what they like without worrying about anyone getting uncomfortable.
Option 3: Mix It Up!
The most fun option, we think is mixing up a plethora of music genres and mixing things up all night! This is all about finding the right music for everyone and that doesn’t always necessarily mean it has to be appropriate for everyone but maybe just music that everyone likes. Your guests might have the most fun when we’re able to play music from the ’60s and 70 then mixes it right up and go to some Top 40s! Your guests might want to cycle between dancing and talking/hanging out at the reception. This allows your DJ to get creative and gives everyone a reason to stay on the dancefloor since a song they love might pop up and play at any moment.
Option 4: Stick With the Old
The fourth option is, similarly to the second option, a very safe no-fail choice! Going with strictly older music will allow for peace of mind knowing that the DJ will simply play older songs that don’t contain any suggest themes or explicit lyrics. There is a ton of old songs that are completely clean and this option will allow for your DJ to still have a wide selection of songs to pick from without having to worry about making anyone uncomfortable. Going old school is totally still fun for everybody and there are more than enough throwbacks to make sure everyone has a great time! From Elvis Presley to The Backstreet Boys, there are tons of songs that we can use to make sure everyone gets to hear what they want.
There are plenty of options available to you when attempting to stick with a clean playlist for your open dance. Our DJs will ensure that everyone is able to dance and enjoy the night comfortably. After all, it’s your big day so you should dance to whatever you want and if that means keeping things clean with the playlist we are always more than happy to accommodate!
Complete Weddings + Events Jacksonville
Complete in Jacksonville offers DJ, photography, videography, photo booth, and coordination. We love pairing our couples with the package that fits them the best! Let us get the perfect package together for your big day by visiting us here!