You’re engaged. Congratu-frickin-lations! It’s time to plan the party of all parties by choosing your top wedding songs.
Once your wedding planning is underway, you’ll need to start collating songs to form the soundtrack for your day.
Before you start your song list, have a think about the vibe you’re going for. Upbeat? Classic 80’s? Rock n Roll? Something else completely?
Your wedding guests will likely range from 9 to 99 and it can be tricky to balance all the music tastes of your wedding guests. Songs that get some of your guests onto the dancefloor, might send others running to their seats.
But don’t fear, because we’ve got you. This article explores how to find wedding songs that you both love and adore.
Here’s our top wedding song tips to get find music that gets that dancefloor pumping and the good times rolling.
Hey Lovers Top Wedding Songs Tips
Wedding playlist ideas
One of the best things you can do in the lead up to your wedding, is to chill out with your lover, pulling together tunes that are super special to you both.
Remember, you’re looking for songs that make you feel awesome. Not songs that remind you of past lovers, painful break ups and difficult moments in your lives.
Find upbeat music you can dance to all night long.
And just a heads up – you are going to need lots of inspiration. The average wedding reception lasts for 5 hours. That means you’ll need at least 100 songs in your wedding song playlist.
Of course, you are likely to have gaps in music playing for speeches, but it’s better to have too many songs than too few, unless you are happy for your playlist to play from the start again.
Ask your wedding day musicians or DJ
Turn to your wedding day musicians for guidance and advice. These guys KNOW what gets peeps on that dancefloor. And they also know the songs that will have your guests fleeing the dancefloor in no time.
Sure, you don’t have to play the latest Top 20 songs on your wedding day, but wedding day musicians are experts in advising on songs across the decades that are timeless dancefloor fillers.
Ask your guests
When you send out your wedding invites, many couples choose to include a spot on their RSVP cards for guests to list their favourite song(s).
These song titles are awesome inspiration for your wedding day playlist. But just quietly, if guests list artists or songs you can’t stand, don’t be afraid to leave them off your list. It’s your day after all!
Hit up Pinterest
Don’t roll your eyes. We know that you may well be sick of Pinterest by now, having spent hours drooling over wedding styling, décor and the rest. But, hear us out. There is plenty of wedding song goodness in amongst those Pinterest board.
Using your favourite search engine, type in something like “ Top Wedding Songs “ to find inspiration for eons. You will be inundated with ideas and are sure to stumble across songs you can add to your list.
Again, remember to make the celebration your own. But don’t start from scratch if you like the look of some of the wedding day music songs suggestions.
Think outside the box
Got a favourite movie that you both could watch over and over again? Chances are, that movie has an epic song playlist.
Travelled somewhere overseas as a couple that was super special? See if you can find some music from that country. It will take you back to the place you fell in love.
Music inspiration comes from all sorts of places and memories. Perhaps keep a notebook handy or use an apps note in your phone to list down songs as you hear and think of them throughout your wedding planning. That will give you a head start when you are pulling your final wedding song list together.
Ready to finalise your wedding song list and music choices for your wedding day. Check out our wedding day planning printables on Etsy. We’ve got a pack you can instantly download and print that’s perfect for planning your wedding day music.
The pack even includes a template to record the songs you LOATHE which is perfect to hand to your DJ, musicians, band or playlist maestro.
Key Wedding Songs you need to source
There are quite a few moments in your day that are punctuated beautifully with music.
Here are some of those moments where you’ll want to play your favourite songs on your wedding day:
- Songs for before your ceremony
- Songs for during your ceremony
- Songs for your registry signing
- Songs for when you leave the ceremony space
- Cocktail hour songs
- Songs to back up your grand entrance into your wedding reception
- First dance song (if you’re having one)
- Family dance songs (if you’re having any)
- Songs for the dancefloor
- Last song of the night
- A song to play whilst you are saying goodbye to family and friends
Providing your favourite wedding songs to musicians, DJs and bands
Once you have pulled your wedding song list together, get a copy to your wedding planner and any musicians who are playing on your big day.
Unless you are a total control freak (that’s not a judgement – I get it!), it’s best to just hand over the list and have your musicians or DJ decide when to play each song.
If you are pulling together a playlist which you will play through a Bluetooth speaker or similar, I would recommend you do put this list together song by song. It’s a big job for your music maestro (which is likely to be one of your wedding guests) to pull this wedding song music list together for you.
Having a “don’t play” list
It might sound crazy, but I highly recommend having a “don’t play” list as well as a list of songs you want to hear. This is because some songs can trigger unpleasant memories or are the totally wrong fit for your wedding guests.
Send this list to your musicians or DJ ahead of your wedding day via email or similar. Giving your “don’t play” music list to them on the day is too late as they won’t have time to replan their song play list.
Other music you might need
Got a videographer capturing your day? Your videographer will likely want you to provide them with songs to play over the videography compilation of your wedding day. This could be from your list of songs you want to hear at your wedding reception or instead, you might choose completely different songs instead.
Party like it’s 1999
Yep, music is a very important, powerful and memorable element of your wedding day.
Music can make or break your wedding party vibe. So, take the time to really think it through. Plan well by listing all of your favourite songs (and “don’t play” list), including the artist.
Happy planning – this is one aspect of wedding planning that is a whole lotta fun.