The wedding day is drawing near and you want to make sure everything is perfect. This includes the music. If you are looking to give your wedding some style and pizzazz, then here are the reasons you should go with a DJ. 1. Great Music Quality – When you choose a DJ, your music will be played from its original format, whether that be a CD, tape or record. Music quality is important when it is amplified as any background noise or scratches will also be amplified. Professional DJ’s also use the best professional equipment, from speakers to amplifiers and they understand how to use them, including monitor sound and feedback. 2. Song Selection and Variety – A professional DJ will have a large selection of songs and genres and will help you choose the type of music that best suits your personality, your wedding and its guests. Having variety in contrast to hiring a band leaves a multitude of choices available for everybody, including those who have special requests. 3. Fulfilling Requests – A DJ can accommodate most requests at any time, whether pre-event or on-demand during the event. In contrast to prerecording your songs on an iPod, with a DJ the ability to take requests helps liven up the party. 4. Optional Commentary – When you choose a DJ, you get quality music and MC skills. DJs often use wireless microphones and can provide on-the-spot MC commenting for those important times during the event, like when it comes to cutting the cake. The DJ can be right there in the audience with everyone else. 5. Music Continuity Provided At All Times – The music doesn’t ever have to stop when you choose a DJ. A professional DJ will keep the music flowing at all times, and will be able to blend one song into the next. This means that your guests will be able to dance without interruption. In choosing a band, there will often be breaks throughout the night, a fifteen-minute break every hour. This breaks up the continuity and can lead to guests losing that dancing mood. 6. Affordability Without Sacrifice – You get the best quality entertainment, consistent music playing when appropriate, great MC skills, on-the-spot in-audience volume checks and MC commenting when you choose a DJ. When hiring a band, there are typically five or more band members to split the profits. Each will expect to be paid heavily for their contributions. 7. The Right Music The Right Time – With a DJ, song choice can quickly segue from great dance numbers to the perfect “cutting the cake song”. A DJ has the ability to read a crowd and pick the right music as well as maintain flexibility to adapt to sudden changes. If the audience needs motivated, the DJ can adapt and play music that is motivating. 8. Knowledge of Music – How many songs do you know the name of and the musicians who perform them when it comes to wedding music? This is where a professional DJ comes in handy. Even if you download a list of songs from the Internet, looking at this list and trying to place it in the context of your wedding can be difficult. Song order is also important. Your DJ will create sets of music that build in tempo or intensity. 9. Keeping To A Schedule – Your wedding will be on a tight schedule, there must be time for the father and bride to dance, the groom and bride, etc. With a DJ, all of these factors are taken into consideration as the music starts and stops. In programming your own music, it is hard to account for potential delays during the ceremony that will have to be accounted for during the reception. 10. Paying Someone Else Saves Time – If someone has told you to go with programming an iPod and playing your own music, take a good look at how much time this could really take. First you have to spend the time programming your music and in the order you want it played. Next you will spend a few hours calling around trying to find a rented PA system, speakers, cables, amplifier, mixer, microphones, and dance lighting. Once you have found a place that you can rent all of these, you then have to pick them up and install them correctly. In the end, you could save hours of precious time by hiring a professional. So what are you waiting for, there is no time to waste in preparing for your wedding correctly and that includes the music.

Your wedding entertainment can really make or break the atmosphere of your reception. No other detail will command more influence over the behavior of your guests, so you should use this opportunity to elicit the behavior you desire. Thus, whether you want your guests dancing on the tabletops by night´s end or would rather keep the atmosphere formal and elegant, your reception music will help set the mood.

Once you have decided on the type of atmosphere you wish to create, it´s time to hire your wedding entertainment. The overall look and feel of your wedding and your venue may determine whether you should hire a wedding band or DJ; however, either will work in almost any situation.

Shop Around

Selecting your wedding reception music is one of the most important decisions you´ll make, so invest some time and energy in scouting for your band or DJ. Check out local acts or ask friends for suggestions. Other vendors can also provide recommendations. Once you find a few bands or DJs that interest you, check out their websites. Many offer sound clips that will further help you decide. Ask each potential band to send you some sample cds for review.

Meet and Greet

Once you have narrowed your list, set up appointments with your top prospects. Take note of the band leader´s or DJ´s personality. Does he or she have a pleasant manner or grate on your nerves? Also, make sure that your band or DJ wears something that coincides with the overall feel of your wedding reception. Mullets and ripped T-shirts don´t really work at formal dinner.

Plan Your Playlist

Make sure that your wedding entertainment plays a variety of music. You want to ensure that both your 17–year–old cousins and your 75–year–old grandmother will enjoy your wedding reception music and find songs that will entice them onto the dance floor. Supply your entertainment with both a play list and a do not play list. If your vision of your reception in no way involves your relatives performing \”the chicken dance,\” you must alert your band or DJ so that they will have a ready response when your Uncle Fred requests it. Browse this list of popular Wedding Songs for receptions for ideas.

Consult this complete guide to wedding music for even more ideas and money saving tips.

Music is an essential ingredient of a memorable wedding day, so care is needed in deciding what role it will play on your big day.

CDs and MP3′s are fine, but there’s just something about live music in providing a great wedding atmosphere.

Depending on where you’re getting married, there are three main areas where you need to consider what music and musicians you need – before, during and after the ceremony.

Civil weddings in secular locations are becoming more and more popular these days. However, you need to set a good atmosphere as family and friends gather ready for the wedding ceremony itself.

In churches it’s usually down to the resident organist to provide background music while the guests assemble. Of course, there’s no direct counterpart at a hotel or stately home, and this is one area where the presence of a good wedding pianist, for example, can really help.

Unlike the church setting, where pre-ceremony music is usually chosen (or sometimes improvised) by the organist, you’re likely to have more active input with the hired musician or musicians of your choice as to what material you’d like played.

Of course, the local church still remains a very popular choice for wedding ceremonies, so how should you handle the music here?

You should ideally ask the member of the clergy who is officiating at the ceremony to put you directly in touch with the organist. This will give you a chance to meet, listen to him or her play, and discuss choices of processional/recessional music and which hymns you would like sung.

You should pick music which is technically well within the capability of the designated organist – simpler music, well-played, is far better than having an inexperienced musician make an utter hash of something difficult.

When choosing hymns, it’s best to stick to the most popular ones unless a) you have paid for the church’s choir to sing at the ceremony and b) the choir itself is loud and musical – try attending morning service to guage their ability.

If neither applies, you’ll be relying on the congregation. Therefore, stick to familiar and easy-to-sing hymns that most people will know.

If you prefer to appoint an organist of your own for the ceremony most churches will allow you to do so, but some may insist that you also pay their regular organist fee as well.

Music for civil ceremonies usually has quite a different character – for a start there’ll be no hymns to worry about. But many ceremonies feature music for the entrance of the bride, the signing of the register and the newlyweds’ departure.

Piano music with a romantic theme can be used to full effect here and your pianist should have a broad range of possibilities from which to choose.

Many couples have “our tune”, a song or melody which has special significance for them and for their relationship, and a good wedding pianist should be able to handle most requests.

Bear in mind, though, that the instrument being used needs to be suited to the music in question – Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water may be your all-time favourite tune, but it’ll sound rubbish played on a piano!

So now you’re hitched (good luck!) and have arrived at, or are already at, the venue for the wedding reception. What’s next, music-wise?

You may decide that a function band is ideal for the party after the ceremony – again, it’s up to you to decide the mood. A good rule of thumb is to be as inclusive as possible – you may be fans of heavy metal, but is that AC/DC tribute band really going to go down a treat with Auntie Flo?

Far better to aim slightly more middle of the road and use a band whose repertoire tries to offer something for everyone.

By far the biggest bone of contention surrounding most music at weddings is its volume. Remember that weddings are social occasions, so there’s little point in your guests not being able to hear themselves speak.

To be fair to bands, it’s worth pointing out that any group featuring a live drummer is going to be on the loud side, due to the nature of the instrument. Again, it’s possible to create quite a different mood with a solo wedding pianist playing favourite tunes into the night.

It’s important to consult any band or pianist in advance about the repertoire. While most musicians are happy to play a couple of particular favourites, given enough notice, wholesale customisation of their set list is probably something that won’t be possible without paying a significant additional fee.

When planning your schedule, you should allow enough time for the musicians to set up – usually about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the act – and enough physical space for them to play in. Consult with the act in question about this. Similarly, access to power points is an important matter to sort out – one plugboard run from a single socket is neither adequate nor safe!

The musicians will appreciate being looked after a little. You should supply some sort of changing room. It should be warm and ideally have washing facilities. Please note, toilets are not really acceptable as changing rooms!

While your wedding pianist or function band won’t necessarily expect the same food as you’re giving your guests, some light refreshment is very welcome. Most venues can usually arrange a few sandwiches for the band, providing you arrange it well before the date. At the very least, you should provide a supply of drinking water for use before, during and after the performance – making music is extremely thirsty work!

What about the cost? As a rule of thumb, most acts will charge an absolute minimum of 150UKP per musician, plus travel expenses. Remember, professional musicians pay tax on what they earn just like you. They work very unsocial hours and spend a great deal of time in rehearsal and money on expensive equipment.

You may be able to cut costs with cheaper acts, but largely speaking – as with all things in life – you get what you pay for. This is where listening to audio samples and demo discs is vital. It’s simple – good acts don’t come cheaply.