7 Tips for Creating the Perfect Wedding Music Playlist (2023)

FAQs

What makes a great wedding playlist? ›

A good wedding reception playlist will have high moments and low moments- fast songs and slow songs. Times for people to dance close, times for people to slow dance, and even times for people to go get a drink so they can enjoy the dance floor even more.

How Many Songs Should You Pick? A good rule of thumb is 15 songs per hour. A typical wedding reception will see about 3 hours of dancing after dinner and all the formalities are over. That is just 45 songs.

How 'Here Comes the Bride' Became the Song You Hear at Every Wedding Ceremony. There are many superstitious wedding traditions, but some have pretty clear origins.

Something to keep in mind is that too many slow songs can bring down the mood of a wedding reception. A good rule of thumb is to have one slow song for every five fast songs. Guests typically need a rest from dancing after about 20-30 minutes, which equals about five fast songs.

Structure the playlist like a flight

Think about what role each song on your list performs, and from there it's a simple matter of arranging and connecting the dots. Having this structure in mind can help inspire more song picks, too, as your music brain will start slotting in different songs into different spots.

Wedding party (three-five hours) – 60-70 songs

The wedding party is the fun part of choosing your wedding playlist. This is your opportunity to choose a mix of fast and slow, new and old. You will want to leave a little wiggle room, so choose 60 to 70 wedding party songs.

Should I make my own wedding playlist? ›

Music is a great way to set the tone for your event. Putting together multiple playlists (potentially, there could be different playlists for the processional, recessional, ceremony, introductions, dance floor, and more) can be a lot of work, but it also gives you complete control over the mood of each moment.

It's always appreciated when you provide your DJ with a small playlist for both the Dinner and Dancing sections of your wedding. This helps them get a clearer idea of exactly what you are after and then they can expand on your choices based on the dance floor response and requests from your guests.

If you want a private last dance with just your partner, choose a slow song to create an intimate moment and re-focus the attention on you, the couple. If you'd rather go out with a bang, especially if you're having an after-party, pick a high-energy tune for all your guests to enjoy.

The average song is 3 minutes long. It can take 20 seconds for a couple to prepare and get from the entrance to their seats or the dance floor. As you increase the number of introductions, add on another song.

Most civil ceremonies will have: One song during the processional (walk down the aisle / bridal entrance) Three songs during the signing of the register. One song during the recessional (exit of the married couple)

Wedding music commences, either a separate song for the Bridesmaids to enter and a different song for the Bride. Alternatively, the entire wedding party can use just one song.

For more than a century, the Bridal Chorus from Wagner's Lohengrin (1850), often called "Here Comes The Bride", has been the most popular processional, and is traditionally played on a pipe organ.

To really personalize the ceremony, you and your partner could each choose your processional songs in private, and not share them until you walk down the aisle. Find a song that represents the way you feel about your partner, a tune they love that you know they'd be thrilled to hear, or one that holds a special memory.

The Dance Instructor's Take

That being said, he agrees that unless the couple is performing a compelling or entertaining dance routine, anything over three minutes may make your guests feel less engaged. But don't cut your song down too short, either. Hoke recommends keeping the song to a minimum of 30-45 seconds.

Obviously the amount of time for the DJing will be dependent on how coverage you've paid for. The normal, optimal length for a wedding reception is 4 hours (this includes the dinner portion). When you add in cocktail hour and the ceremony, there would be another 2 hours of music.

Does a first dance song have to be slow? ›

First Dance Tradition

There is no rule of what style of dance they should choose, some couples decide on having a slow dance, while some a more upbeat, fun choreographed number.

How important is the track order in a playlist? Playlist sequencing is important if each song tells a slice of the story you're trying to convey. But using the shuffle button is less egregious if each song is telling the same story in a different way.

PLS is a computer file format for a multimedia playlist. It is typically used by media players for streaming media over the Internet, but may also be used for playing local media.

10. In the end, you should have about 20 to 25 songs. “A good playlist is about an hour and a half long.”

Generally, five or six songs are the right amount, so take a listen to 65 of our favorite ceremony prelude songs and have fun making your selections.

How many songs do I need for my wedding ceremony? Traditionally, music is used to mark three parts of the service: the entrance, signing of the register and the exit. You'll need one song for the entrance, one song for the exit, and up to three for the signing of the register.

Building a playlist that has gradually increasing tempo is great for making it flow. That said, you don't have to make a playlist that goes up a few bpm per song with no dips at all. It might make your playlist a bit predicable and although it flows well, it can get stale quickly.

A good rule of thumb is at least 30-40 tracks. Because different genres and styles of music are available in abundance, your songs and playlists can reflect who you are and the way you feel.

How loud should wedding music be? ›

So, what is an acceptable limit to work with for your wedding? We recommend no less than 90dB. 80dB is fine for music barely audible over dinner, but when dance time comes we need to be able to double that to have something loud enough to dance to.

If a song is roughly 3-4 minutes long, then you'd be looking at 15-20 songs per hourly set. If your band is performing 2 x 45 minute sets, then it would be roughly 10-15 songs per set.

The length of this uplifting or inspirational music piece should be the same as that for other interlude songs - two or three minutes. 14) Exit of the Bridal Party: The upbeat, celebratory music of the recessional should last as long as it takes for your bridal party and guests to leave the ceremony area.

Even if you're picking a more traditional song, there's no need to share it in advance with everyone. You may pick up some unwanted comments or even criticism (“Oh really? That's a weird song.”) – and who needs that?

Wedding Dress: 5% Wedding Rings: 4% to 8% Videography: 5% Reception Music: 4% to 6%

Yes, you absolutely can. But do consider that there's a range of multitude of things that you will be personally responsible for that could go wrong, that usually you pay a professional to organize. And so what we're going to do is we're going to put a link here on how to create a Spotify playlist for the wedding.

2. Consider Who Traditionally Pays for the Wedding. Traditionally, the bride's family assumed most of the financial costs associated with a wedding, including the wedding planner, invitations, dress, ceremony, reception, flowers, photography, and music.

The bride and her family pay for all professional services, including food and decorations. The groom's family pays for the DJ or band and liquor.

Toasts/Speeches – During the toasts and speeches, music should not be played. We obviously want to hear and respect what your family and friends have to say, so their voice should be the only thing coming out of the speakers.

The groom, followed by his groomsmen, can walk down the aisle to a song that's just for them. The groom, followed by his groomsmen, can come in from stage left (the guests right) and get into place to a song just for the guys.

How long is the average wedding song? ›

Well, on the one hand, the average song length is 3-5 minutes. But the average time for someone to walk down the aisle is about 30 seconds. So, each person will only have one tiny snippet for a song as they walk down the aisle.

The mother of the bride is traditionally escorted by her son if she has one. Otherwise, any close male relative, the best man, or a groomsman walks with the mother of the bride during the procession.

To make a grand entrance, you're going to need to pick a suitably grand entrance song to walk down the aisle to. Your choice of processional song will help set the tone for the rest of your wedding ceremony, and you can continue your chosen musical theme for other important moments, such as your first dance song.

Walk (almost) like you'd normally walk.

So walk as you would anywhere else, only slightly slower. If the music you choose is medium-paced, feel free to walk to the beat. If it's extraordinarily slow, don't bother keeping pace; your trip down the aisle will last longer than your vows!

Well, let's start things off with wedding songs to walk down the aisle to. You can use the same one for the first dance or use separate tracks to make the bride's entrance more dramatic.

The number of processional songs you'll need depends on a few factors including the number of people walking down the aisle and the length of the aisle. Usually people choose two processional songs—one for the family and wedding party, and then a more dramatic and emotional song for the bridal processional.

Try not to request too many songs

“You've got to trust their judgment,” Groh says. “Give them 10 or 20 of your favorite songs and let them do the rest of the work. And if you want to see dancing, make sure the songs are danceable.

Most civil ceremonies will have: One song during the processional (walk down the aisle / bridal entrance) Three songs during the signing of the register. One song during the recessional (exit of the married couple)

What is the app that makes the perfect playlist? ›

AI Playlist Maker: PlaylistAI

The best app for making playlists on Spotify and Apple Music. Create playlists from AI prompts, images, videos, and your most-listened-to music.

Yes, you absolutely can. But do consider that there's a range of multitude of things that you will be personally responsible for that could go wrong, that usually you pay a professional to organize. And so what we're going to do is we're going to put a link here on how to create a Spotify playlist for the wedding.

You need someone that is in charge of the computer and playlists. You can do it yourself (not recommended on your wedding) or you need to make at least 1 person responsible for this. If not, people will just randomly change music all the time!

Before we got married, I read SO MANY posts about how it's just easier to hire a DJ and not worry about ceremony music on an iPod.

From walking down the aisle first to last, the traditional order is: Mother of Bride, Mother of Groom, Grandparents of Bride, Grandparents of Groom, Groom, Officiant, the Wedding Party, Maid of Honor and Best Man, Ring Bearer, Flower Girl and lastly the Bride and her Father.

Well, on the one hand, the average song length is 3-5 minutes. But the average time for someone to walk down the aisle is about 30 seconds. So, each person will only have one tiny snippet for a song as they walk down the aisle.