Creating the right mix of music for your wedding reception.

Planning your wedding involves many details. You'll buy your wedding dress, your wedding rings, chose the venue, the menu, the flowers, your vendors, pick a date, and invite your guests. All of these tasks take a lot of time, and a lot of thought. You and your fiance want your wedding day to be one that you and your guests will always remember for the right reason, because it was perfect.

Picking the right mix of music mix is one of the most important parts of planning your wedding day. It involves everyone at your reception, from your youngest to oldest guests, not just you and your wedding party. So, how do you choose the right mix? Does your musical taste involve only your high school and college years, and mainly rock, rap, and hip hop? You may need a little help. My suggestion, ask for some input from your family, friends, and other invited guests. This will help you create a mix of music that will get everyone involved on the dance floor.

A common wedding myth is that you play music for your older guests earlier, and play music your younger guests later in the reception. Why not mix-it-up with an "All Age Mix". Are there songs that you really want to play at your wedding that may not be danceable? Cocktail hour and dinner time may be the perfect time. Mix up your current slower and medium tempo favorites with a few older pop classics and standards.

When the dance floor opens opens keep the all age mix going. Give your DJ or band the flexibility to mix up your musical selections. When I'm performing at an event I'm not only watching to see who's dancing, I'm watching to see who is not dancing as well. That tells me when it's time to mix it up.

A good dance set may start off with one or two swing or rock era songs, then some Motown classics, followed by a couple of hip hop favorites. I tie all of my sets together with a slow song or ballad, and then back to the mix. The selections are always based on the list that I get from my clients. The more musical input you give your music vendor, the better the all age mix will be.

Remember, if you invite people of all ages, try and pick music for all ages. Too much of any one kind of music may not get everyone involved on the dance floor. Have fun picking your music, and everyone will have fun on the dance floor. Pick a variety of music for everyone on your guest list.

In a future post I'll discuss your "Do Not Play List" and weather or not to allow requests from your guests.

For help in picking the music for your event try this website.

Please feel free to add suggestions for "An all age music mix".