Wedding events are quite popular at Huntsville Botanical Gardens! We’ll cover some wedding event entertainment questions on this blog to assist brides and wedding clients. We’ll start with choosing music for your wedding event.
When selecting music for your wedding reception event, keep in mind the wide diversity of guests you have invited. There is likely an extensive range of music tastes and an appreciation of many genres, generations and styles among your attendees. It’s a good idea to be diverse in your music selections to represent the multiplicity of ages and the vast music palates of your guests; but don’t be afraid to also represent the styles and sections you personally appreciate to reflect your personality during the music portion of your event while remaining diverse and keeping everything in moderation.
Professional entertainers will usually express the largest challenge when entertaining a wedding audience is to appease everyone. A wide variety of selections is usually beneficial. If dance is desired, providing guests the opportunity to dance to music they enjoy leads to a favorable outcome on the dance floor. Then, sprinkle your personal favorites into the mix throughout the evening to customize the event to be a representation of your personality and tastes. This way, everyone has fun and your event is marked with your personal song selections to create a successful occasion.
It’s traditional at wedding events to begin the dance portion of the evening with an “opening dance” honoring the bride & groom. When selecting music for your opening dance, choose a song that represents you, as a couple. This could be a song which is special to you, or lyrically represents your relationship to one another. There are not many rules when it comes to your first dance – it’s truly a personal choice!
Next, it’s traditional for the bride to share a dance with her father. This often represents the “giving away” of the bride, signifying the bride and groom as a married couple and dad putting his trust in the groom to inspire comfort and happiness in the relationship. Often, this dance is very emotional and sentimental, but it’s not uncommon for this dance to be more celebratory in nature. Here are just a few ideas for song choices for the father/daughter dance:
Sentimental:
• “I Loved Her First” by Heartland
• “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle
• “Daddy’s Little Girl” by Al Martino
• “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw
• “Walk With You” by Edwin McCain
Celebratory:
• “My Girl” by The Temptations
• “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder
• “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra
• “Teach Your Children Well” by Crosby, Stills, Nash
• “Daughter in Water” by Loudon Wainwright
With so many choices available, these represent only a small sampling of song selections often utilized at wedding events. If a mother/son dance is scheduled, the same sentiment and philosophies apply. Here are just a few ideas for song choices for the mother/son dance:
• “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts
• “A Song For Mama” by Boys II Men
• “A Mother’s Song” by T Carter Music
• “Have I Told You Lately” by Rod Stewart or Van Morrison
• “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
• “Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
These lists can go on and on…
Finally, if you have enlisted a professional entertainer to provide the music for your event, be sure to give them the flexibility and freedom to provide the music you have selected along with music choices they feel are appropriate and will contribute to the excitement of the day. Draw on their knowledge and skill to maximize the participation and enjoyment of your guests. If they have an understanding of your desires and expectations, give them the ability to make the most of all the music which is available to them to ensure success on the dance floor and a lifetime of memories for you and your guests!
Have fun with your music selections and for your final decisions – don’t be afraid to trust your instincts!
Steve Metz
Metropolitan Disc Jockey Service & Special Event Lighting
Huntsville, Alabama © Copyright – Metropolitan Disc Jockey Service – 2017
