How to create a party vibe at your wedding through fun music moments!
Photo Fern & Stone Photography
If you’re a party-loving couple who wants your wedding to be loads of fun from the moment guests arrive, you’ll want to make sure you create this vibe throughout the entire day!
Based on ideas from real weddings they’ve played, party starters Eddy and Aleks (from the incredible One More Song DJs) have put together a list of music based non-traditional “formalities” to inject a party atmosphere into your wedding even before the dance floor kicks off.
Read on for their top tips when it comes to creating a party vibe through fun music moments, and a sneaky link to a pre-prepared playlist you’re going to LOVE.
Set a party vibe from the beginning with your pre-ceremony and cocktail hour music
Sure, you can have soft acoustic covers playing as guests arrive for your wedding ceremony, but have you ever considered turning it up a few notches? There’s no reason why you can’t have upbeat tunes playing before formalities kick off. This goes for post-ceremony (or “cocktail hour”) music too.
Depending on your music tastes, you could choose Cafe Del Mar style electronic tunes, classic Motown and soul, disco or Indie folk/rock music. Alternatively, check out Triple J’s Like A Version albums for more quirky covers of well known pop songs.
These don’t need to be bangers, but they’re not ballads either. You want to create a vibe that screams “Today is going to be FUN!”.
We’ve put together a Spotify playlist of a mix of our favourite upbeat pre-ceremony and cocktail hour tunes here!
Photo Motta Weddings
Dance down the aisle
There are no rules when it comes to the music you choose to enter your ceremony to. If you want to come in as a couple, you could choose a really high energy track and dance down the aisle together! We’ve seen couples take a shot at the top of the aisle and then dance hand-in-hand down to their celebrant while a Martin Garrix tune plays. If that doesn’t scream party, we don’t know what does!
Another modern adaptation we’ve seen for ceremony entrances are flower men instead of flower girls. Have them come down the aisle to a party-starter tune to really kick things off.
Pick a song for your DJ/band to play for each person making a speech
Couples will often choose different songs for their wedding party entrances into the reception, so why not extend this to speeches too?
To make it even more fun, choose specific songs for each person speaking and keep these a secret. The tunes you select could poke a bit of fun at the speakers’ personality traits or be an in-joke. Either way, it definitely makes that walk up to the “podium” a lot more light-hearted, less nerve-racking and just plain fun!
Photo Long Way Home Photography
Call out members of your wedding party or other guests to do a dance at random times
We’ve seen this done at one wedding and can honestly say it’s such a fun way of energising everyone, especially during a sit down reception. The idea is to surprise your wedding party or selected guests by getting the MC to call them out at random parts of the evening to have a little boogie in front of the couple to a surprise song (you can choose or let your DJ/band work their magic!). They can stop dancing when the couple stands up and applauds!
You can really have fun with this and choose a variety of upbeat tunes (especially those with a recognisable beginning) to surprise the unsuspecting dancers and your guests!
Photo Katie Harmsworth
Pick a song for your re-entrance onto the dance floor if you’re having an outfit change
If you’re going to throw on a blingy outfit halfway through the dance floor, why not make it a big moment?
One example we had was a bride getting changed from a classic white bridal gown into a short, sparkly number and literally swishing her way back onto the dance floor to The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”. It was a really high energy and exciting moment, not to mention a banger of a tune!
It’s no surprise that carefully considered music choices really elevate a celebration and we will always advocate for entertainment being a wedding planning priority. One More Song are experts in their craft, and if you loved these top tips from Aleks and Eddy, you’re sure to love their advice for structuring your reception to ensure a killer dancefloor – click here.
