Choosing Your Beach Wedding Music
Selecting your beach wedding music for your
reception is something you don't want to put off until the last minute. A successful wedding reception is the
result of a team effort between the DJ and the bride and groom. Here are some tips to help you make your reception
something your guests will talk about for years to come.
  
1. Think in terms of a train that gains speed. It starts out slowly but quickly gains momentum. Your reception
should build in terms of volume and pace of the music.
2. Select all your "must do" songs as early as possible. This would include entrance music, first dance, father
daughter and groom mother dance. The wedding party dance is optional and many brides are choosing to include all
the wedding party in their dance festivities.
3. First Hour (Cocktail Hour). Select music that sets the tone for the reception. We recommend that the first hour
include, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, and perhaps some big band like Glenn Miller.
Keep the music upbeat so that people don't fall asleep during the cocktail hour while waiting for dinner.
4. Second Hour (Dinner). Continue in the Frank Sinatra jazz mode, but then change to perhaps Jimmy Buffet, Bob
Marley and John Mayer. Your younger guests will love this and your older guests will be pleased that you played
classy jazz tunes before picking up the tempo. If you are doing your first dances after dinner, you will definitely
want to kick into high gear or dance music immediately following these dances.
5. Third Hour (Dance Music). 80's music, disco and classic rock 'n roll works well during this hour but since to
keep in step with the whole beach them try some reggae or tradional Hawaiin music. You'll want to play something
that everyone can dance to.
6. Fourth Hour (Dance Music). Continue same music and reserve the last hour for group songs like YMCA, conga lines
(if you want one). Also this is the time to use top 40 or hip hop songs. We don't recommend playing hip-hop too
early, because it can discourage some of the older crowd from dancing.
7. Let the music do the talking. Advise you DJ that you want "less talk and more music." It works on the radio and
it definitely works at wedding receptions. People want to hear good music and not a gabby DJ.
8. Submit your beach wedding music list no later that 30 days before the reception. Ask the DJ to let you
know what "must do " songs (like for the first dance) he has in his library and those he does not have on hand.
Those selections that are not available can be brought by the bride and groom if it is in their library. (If it is
your favorite, most likely you'll have it.) While most DJ's have several thousand songs, they don't always have
everything requested.
9. Be neat. When submitting your music, keep your list be as neat as possible. Sometimes brides will make changes
and use arrows to determine a change in songs. If the list is confusing or the DJ has to work at reading your
writing, you could end up with the wrong song, at the wrong time. No need for this to happen, if you are neat and
tidy with your music submissions. Also be sure that your beach wedding music titles are accurate.
If you give the DJ a wrong title, it ultimately will not be the song you wanted to hear.
10. Enjoy your wedding reception. A good DJ will have everything written out in an hour by hour format. He or she
will prompt you for certain things to happen. It's their job to keep track of these things, so you don't have to
worry about what happens and when at your wedding reception.
Written by SoundWavz Entertainment
Article courtesy of Outer Banks Wedding Guild
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