Wedding season is once again upon us and come with it the infinite list of things to organize including dress, shoes, veil, bridesmaids, flower girls, cake, bar, appetizers, mains, food restrictions, food allergies, guests, event planner, venue, venue lighting, tables, table cloths, chairs, chair covers, and the list goes on and on.. and when it comes to music, we all know that hiring the right Dj can be a daunting task – who do you choose, do you go off someone else’s recommendations, do they fit into the budget, will you and yours vibe with this person, and will they even understand what you’re looking for?  Why not make life just a tad bit simpler and a little less expensive by programming your own playlist of songs. With a simple mp3 player and a few pointers, you’ll be well on your way to creating the soundtrack to your own wedding, and who knows, maybe you’re friends will ask you to program the music for theirs!  This month’s blog article is dedicated to setting up and programming that special playlist for your own wedding.  After all, it is one of the most important days for you and your significant other.. so why not have some fun with it and mix all your own favourites!

Begin by breaking down the event into rough time frames – the ceremony & the reception, guest arrival & cocktails, dinner, dessert & speeches, and dancing (first dance, bride & father, mother & groom, etc).  Plan to have more music than necessary.  If the music runs out, there will be more than enough guests during the reception to play the song selector.  Start off with a lighter mid-tempo, instrumental, jazzy vibe for cocktails and dinner.  Mark and cue the first & second dance songs for that memorable moment, and complete the evening with a combination of up-tempo classic and contemporary.  Think of yourself and your guests, and keep in mind the track tempos (fast vs. slow), vocals vs. instrumentals, foreground vs. background music, and any emotional associations when selecting and omitting tracks – escalate the energy over the evening and keep it light and fun.  If you use a music player like iTunes, create a system for rating songs.  Star ratings can represent any number of categories including time frames and energy levels.  Create labelled playlists and organize within them even down to a particular order.  In iTunes, you can edit individual song start and stop times as well as adjust the timing to automatically fade between songs.  When that momentous day draws near, remember to only sync those playlists you intend for your audience to hear, and appoint a capable someone to play that Dj!