A List of Playlists!

So… we’re stuck in lockdown, or you and your partner have got an evening off together and you’ve sat down to get some ‘Wedmin’ done…

…How about your Wedding Music?

You obviously know you need to choose a song for your first dance, and a song to walk down the aisle to… but what else? 

I’ve put together a full list of all the parts of your wedding day that require music of some kind… whether that be background music, or the ‘important’ songs. 

I’ve also made a note about whether you should put together a playlist for each part or whether it could be live music instead… the choice is yours! Your supplier should be able to help you with certain areas of this… if you’ve booked a DJ for the Evening you could even ask them to put together a full playlist for you so that you can cover every aspect of the day (some do offer this service, so it’s definitely worth an ask!) 

If you have a Wedding Coordinator or Master of Ceremonies at your venue they will more than likely control the music for you (pressing play and pause and perfectly blending the music down when you reach the end of your aisle)… but if you don’t have someone at your venue to do this for you (e.g. Marquee weddings) this is a good job to put one of the Groomsmen in charge of (…If you trust them that is!).

If you’re already worried about how long this blog post looks (as you didn’t realise there was so much to cover)… DON’T PANIC! Most of these playlists have already been created for you by someone else on Spotify! Just start a free trial for your Wedding and follow the ones you like!

So, for your Wedding Day, you will need: 

Pre-Ceremony:

• A ‘Getting ready with your Bridesmaids’ Playlist – something to get your girls up in the morning and excited for your wedding day… (these playlists usually feature a lot of Beyonce!).  
• Pre-Ceremony – at least 30 Mins of music for your guests when they’re waiting for you to arrive at your service. (You could put together a Playlist or this could be Live music depending on if you have booked a singer/musician for the ceremony).

Ceremony: 

• Processional – This is your ‘walking down the aisle’ song – You just need 1 song for this unless you wish to have a separate song for Bridesmaids to walk down to first? (Most people just use the 1 song but if you want to be totally extra (which I LOVE)…. go for it!). This can make your aisle song more special as your partner will know exactly when it’s your turn. For this song choose a romantic song that is meaningful to you both. This can be on a Playlist so you get the version that you want or it could be Live if you prefer a singer/musician (…although we had lots of live music on our wedding day we wanted the original version of our song for this part as it meant a lot to us). 
• Signing the Register – For this part you need about 3 or 4 songs. This is to fill the silence whilst you two make it OFFICIAL and (as Mr T says) sign your life away! (This again can be on Playlist or Live Music if you have a musician booked).  
• Recessional – This is your ‘Exit’ song to walk back up the aisle to – again you just need the 1 song, I recommend making it an up-beat bouncy song, it’s an exciting moment when they pronounce you ‘husband & wife’ so the music should reflect that! (Playlist or Live).

Post Ceremony:

• Drinks Reception – Usually about 1 & 1/2 Hours (but double check with your venue their timings for the day – Guests are mingling, drinks are flowing, canapés are being passed around, this is a perfect time for live music!…But if you’d prefer to save on this portion of the budget and spend it elsewhere a decent playlist will work just fine too. 
• Bride & Groom entrance / announcement into Reception Room: All your guests are seated at their tables and the Master of Ceremonies announces ‘Ladies & Gentlemen, please be upstanding to welcome your Bride & Groom, the NEW ‘Mr & Mrs ____’!. Everyone will OBVIOUSLY be applauding… but it’s fun to have some music on to follow this (whilst you try to get yourself seated comfortable and in a lady-like manner in your wedding dress). Mr & Mrs T opted for ‘Be our Guest’ which everyone apparently found brilliant and REALLY got into it a lot more than we thought they would.
• Wedding Breakfast Music: Again, usually around an 1 & 1/2 Hours (check with your venue, especially if you have additional courses etc.), this is just for background music. It’s not necessary if you don’t have time to put one together, or if you have an especially loud group of guests, but if your guests are on the quieter side or you have fewer people it’s nice to have some background music to lift the mood. (The majority of weddings I’ve done have used a Playlist for this section of the day, but I have had a few that have gone with Live music, like a jazz band for example, and it was lovely!). 
• Room ‘Turnaround’ time – (About an Hour). You’ve finished your meal & speeches (in whatever order you choose to do them in), more than likely you will using the same reception room for your ‘evening do’ so you will need to move out of this space whilst your Venue change the room around for the next portion of the day and your Band or DJ is busy setting up, so you’ll need to put together a Playlist to keep your guests entertained whilst they wait (I’m guessing they’ll be by the bar!). Also your evening guests will be arriving at this time so think about that when creating your playlists as this will set the tone for the evening.  

Evening Reception:

• For your Evening Reception will most likely be booking a Band or DJ. But if not, you’ll need to create your own playlist for the whole evening – maybe put a groomsman in charge of this and save yourself some hassle. (Check start-to-finish times with your venue).
• First Dance Song – This is YOUR song, the one that you both love and represents your relationship, this is one of the ‘important ones’. Maybe you’ve had it chosen for years, maybe you need to both sit and put your heads together and have a good think… make it a good one! (Also my top tip is to practise this one in the house… even if you just practise swaying around your living room… Mr T decided to ‘dip’ me and dropped me EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. in practise… I’m so glad he didn’t try it for the first time on the day… luckily it all went to plan on the night!). (Only 1 Song needed – This will be done by your Band or DJ, think about it along the same lines as first dance… do you want the original version or a cover?).
• Daddy & Daughter Dance Song (Again, 1 song covered by the Band/DJ). This is optional but definitely becoming more and more popular in recent years. My dad says that it was one of his favourite parts of the day. 
• First Song: Don’t worry, I haven’t accidentally repeated myself, this is not your first dance song… this is the song to get everyone on the dancefloor after the ‘formal’ dances have taken place. (Discuss it with your Band or DJ and see what they recommend!)
• A ‘Do-Not-Play’ List – For those songs that you just can’t stand! – make sure to tell your Band or DJ ahead of time and get it taken off their set list to save any awkwardness. 
• Final Song – Same as the First Song… this one is to get everyone back on the dancefloor to end the night together – it might sound cheesy but all the best wedding ‘end of the night’ celebrations I’ve seen (when everyone is really enjoying themselves) are the ones where people play songs like New York, Celebrate Good Times, Wonderwall etc. Get everyone up and in a big circle, drunkenly singing their little hearts out… it will be a moment you treasure forever, trust me. (Again, ask your Band/DJ and see what they recommend!)

The After Party:

• After Party Playlist – If you have an exclusive use venue and you want the party to carry on even after you’ve said all your goodbyes to your non-resident guests and your Band / DJ have packed away for the night make sure to put together a Party Playlist in advance and end the night on a high! (Obviously get the go-ahead from your venue first!). 

Important notes: 

• Always use a Phone or Tablet – please don’t use CD’s (yes some people still hand over CD’s to me!) or Laptops. CD’s skip and laptops always start doing ‘important updates’ the second that you actually need them! 
• Make sure to put your phone into ‘Airplane mode’ – Nothing worse than getting a text saying ‘Congratulations Hun’ when your mid-way down your aisle! (I learned a long time ago to ALWAYS double check this as I found out the hard way… trust me!). 
• As your phone or tablet will be in Airplane mode, you need to make sure that your songs are downloaded to your device and available offline, as you won’t have access to the internet (obviously) but you’ll probably be using a platform like Spotify or Apple Music that usually just plays music online (Just hit that little cloud shaped button next to your song/playlist to make sure its actually ON your phone). 
• Make it as easy for your venue as possible by putting your songs into separately labelled playlists (i.e. create a ‘First Dance’ Playlist with only that song on it.) Less chance for mistakes and no-one will have to come and bother you on your wedding day to ‘double-check’ anything with you.   
• Take the correct connecting cable with you! – a lot of places will use an AUX (Jack-to-Jack) Cable to connect your phone to their speaker system but new iPhones don’t have a headphone port… so make sure you take the adaptor with you just in case they don’t have one on site! 
• Passwords – as they will need access to your phone when you’re not around ask your venue what they would like you to do in regards to your password? Obviously I don’t recommend giving your password out to anyone and I definitely don’t recommend turning it off as your phone will likely just be sat on top of a speaker somewhere!. My advice is to change your password for the day (just set a reminder on your phone for the morning of your wedding), maybe ‘0000’ or something else easy, then you can change it back the following day. 
• And apart from that… if you want a lot of people on the dance floor just make sure you take everyone into consideration a little bit (it’s 100% your wedding so make sure it’s music that YOU like!) but if you want your Aunties, Uncles & Grandparents on the dance floor at some point make sure you a hoy a song in there somewhere just for them! (Maybe that one that goes ‘Come on Eileen’ or something similar!)

I hope you feel like you know what you need now… but if you have any questions, as always, feel free to ask! 

Happy Dancing Everyone!

Lots of Love,

Mrs T x