Weddings Am I missing it...or are they?

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If a bride doesn't want line dance songs I don't do them. But I will ask if they're OK if requested? My last two brides - one didn't want any of the older participation songs i.e. chicken dance, hokey pokey, macarena, electric slide, but she had no problem with cupid, wobble, Watch Me etc. The other just didn't want any cliche wedding songs, love shack, YMCA, etc. which is about the same thing.

I never play those old, over done wedding hits from 15 years ago unless requested. Can't remember the last time I played YMCA or Celebration. I cringe when a DJ plays those worn out songs.

There are others that can slip under the radar - You shook me all night long, We are Family and many more.
 
love shack fails here of late. YMCA usually fills the floor. I always ask about chicken dance..not one of my faves but it's 'tradition' for many.

I've not been play whip it nae nae at weddings..to me it's more a kids song (school dances, parties) but apparently that's changing - req at an august wedding and just about filled the floor wiht adults...kids teaching them the song.

I like Celebration..but it's not done well, tried it at my last wedding and it went over big. Hmm... Shots (lil jon) usually goes well..didn't at last wedding...

This sat's wedding is about 40% country so we'll see how it goes. SLowly building a list of what I"m calling "pop dance' songs..see how that works.

Decided to break open the piggy bank for a second ETX18..my daughter is having a b'day party in a few weeks..hoping to get some school dances as well. If nothing else the neighbors will be annoyed and I'll have fun.
In Nov I'm back at an outdoor place (the one that I was at this past weekend with photobooth) so I'll be able to give both ETX's a good run. That bride wants Shots and others of that vintage/genre so I'll enjoy that too.,
 
I don't do weddings, but have played YMCA, Celebration, Sweet Caroline, Macarena (and cupid, Wobble, Silento) .. no chicken dance .. no hokey pokey .. I think those are really only for groups that have small kids dancing.
 
IceBurghDJ said:
cupid shuffle, cha cha slide? I"ve had them on the 'no play' list..and I spend 1/2 my time telling guests 'the bride said no'...around here they are THE standard song, will fill the floor when nothing else will get people out of their seats, from ages 8 to 80, grade school dance, wedding, etc.

Elec slide last year was a floor killer..this year? Requested 1/2 the weddings I've done.

Wobble is 50/50 - some just don't know it.

Song's I don't usually play, but am changing my position on it are footloose, africa, sweet caroline...
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Maybe it's just a regional thing. I just finished a double header and didn't play a single song even close to a line dance, nor did anyone ask about any of them.
 
I played Celebration this past Saturday. You shook me, shout, and we are family.

They were a 25yo couple, but the bride said she loves the "old classics " my parents danced to.

Both cocktail hour and dinner were quick, so we had almost 4 hours of dancing to work with.

As some of these older songs were played, both older and younger were out dancing, Based on the response of the crowd, I played more of these, and the dance floor got more crowded.

Yes we played some modern music too.

To me, it's all about understanding that crowd, the timing, and the customer 's desires.

It turns out an old classmate of mine was the uncle of the bride. We talked beforehand as we hadn't seen each other in 30 years. He said goodbye afterwards and said it was the most fun he's ever had. He asked if his niece requested all of those songs. I said we talked about it and it gave me some frame work, but most were decided on because of the crowd. He said he's never seen all of his family dance so much. Most importantly, the bride and groom were very happy.

My point is I don't discount any song as old and overdone. What's "overdone " for one crowd could be exactly what the next crowd needs. Yes some songs get played less. For example, Only the good die young is a song I don't play as much, but based on this crowd, I played it and they loved it.
It's a mistake when a dj can't recognize a genre that's not working and stays with it or doesn't recognize a genre that is working or could work and stays away from it.

If I saw cowboy boots all over the place, I'm pretty sure I'd try some country songs. Plenty of danceable country songs.

I talk with the couple about line dances. If they are adamantly opposed to line dances, which is extremely rare, we'll find other songs to play.

I'll admit I rarely see other djs because I'm usually djing.

But I don't judge other djs as I don't know what was asked/ requested/ required of them.
 
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Albatross said:
Maybe it's just a regional thing. I just finished a double header and didn't play a single song even close to a line dance, nor did anyone ask about any of them.
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It's not really regional. ...It's the type of clientele you are dealing with. Your market is D.C. and Northern Virginia, and you say you don't do below $1,500 weddings.

In the further out suburbs, and especially rural areas, the "cheese" and Line dances are much more prevalent. The $$$ those weddings fetch for DJs is also far below $1,500 in most cases. With my experience, Pennsylvania rural areas away from Philly is a real touch market to book north of $1,000 for a DJ.

MOST of the time I do events in rural parts of Maryland, or really even in Baltimore city...Line Dances are pretty much a must.

If I do a wedding in down town D.C. or a fancy Northern Virginia Wedding Venue, and I find that the majority of my clients prefer NOT to hear line dances at their wedding. I will still get a request or two for one though at about 40% of the time from a guest. I would say with D.C. and Northern Virginia weddings, 80% of my couples prefer no line dances, and 20% want some line dances to be played.

It flip flops in Suburban Maryland, and more rural areas. I did do a wedding yesterday which was in Rural MD out in Upperco, MD at a country club in the middle of a bunch of corn fields about 30 miles north of Baltimore.... The bride did not want any line dances, and surprisingly no one requested a line dance song, BUT over half her guests were older family members above 70 years old who did not dance hardly at all.

I still played Uptown Funk, Hot Line Bling, Can't feel my face, and even Baby Got Back which was on her list of requests.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
It's not really regional. ...It's the type of clientele you are dealing with. Your market is D.C. and Northern Virginia, and you say you don't do below $1,500 weddings.

In the further out suburbs, and especially rural areas, the "cheese" and Line dances are much more prevalent. The $$$ those weddings fetch for DJs is also far below $1,500 in most cases. With my experience, Pennsylvania rural areas away from Philly is a real touch market to book north of $1,000 for a DJ.

MOST of the time I do events in rural parts of Maryland, or really even in Baltimore city...Line Dances are pretty much a must.

If I do a wedding in down town D.C. or a fancy Northern Virginia Wedding Venue, and I find that the majority of my clients prefer NOT to hear line dances at their wedding. I will still get a request or two for one though at about 40% of the time from a guest. I would say with D.C. and Northern Virginia weddings, 80% of my couples prefer no line dances, and 20% want some line dances to be played.
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I think in many respects you're making my point for me... Maybe "regional" isn't quite the right term, but in some areas, people just don't like these dances.

And we could certainly debate about line dances forever because there will never be a consensus among DJs on the "right" way to do things. I just wanted to make the point that if my client expressed that they don't want particular songs at their wedding - that I felt it was heavy handed to insist on it. There is so much great music that can be played at a wedding, insisting on a couple of tunes that shouldn't make or break the night seems silly to me.
 
Is it they don't like it, so don't play it no matter what? Or is it 'i prefer you don't play it but if it's requested that's OK"

I ask about 'sensitive' issues - dont' want to play a first song from a divorced parent's wedding..or dead sibling (did a wedding where the MOH was sister to the bride and her husband, (who's wedding I also did) had killed himself 2 weeks before..tense? Yeah, a bit).

Some songs are floor fillers and some can be substituted - cha cha slide does well..elec slide usually not.
 
IceBurghDJ said:
I ask about 'sensitive' issues - dont' want to play a first song from a divorced parent's wedding..or dead sibling (did a wedding where the MOH was sister to the bride and her husband, (who's wedding I also did) had killed himself 2 weeks before..tense? Yeah, a bit).
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I guess you didn't play the M*A*S*H theme.
 
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IceBurghDJ said:
Is it they don't like it, so don't play it no matter what? Or is it 'i prefer you don't play it but if it's requested that's OK"
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I usually term these as "Soft Do Not Play" and "Hard Do Not Play". I usually explain it, "I hate the Macarena, but if Uncle Charlie is pestering you for it, go ahead. That's a soft do not play. A hard do not play is not to be played under any circumstances, even if Uncle Charlie is offering $100 to play, we won't."
 
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Scott Hanna said:
My point is I don't discount any song as old and overdone. What's "overdone " for one crowd could be exactly what the next crowd needs. Yes some songs get played less. It's a mistake when a dj can't recognize a genre that's not working and stays with it or doesn't recognize a genre that is working or could work and stays away from it.
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Bravo! This should be one of our "client music matra's"!
 
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dunlopj said:
Bravo! This should be one of our "client music matra's"!
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agree, you have to think about this differently, while you may perform 5-20 wedding a year most guest attend one or two tops, they are hoping to hear the songs they want to dance to, they could care less that you've played Little Willy 15 times this year , they want to dance to it
 
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Scott Hanna said:
My point is I don't discount any song as old and overdone. What's "overdone " for one crowd could be exactly what the next crowd needs
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As long as you aren't playing that stuff at every event on your own. I worked with a photographer that complained about a DJ that played Celebration and YMCA at every wedding. He also commended me for playing songs that weren't stale. I don't want a reputation for being a cheesy DJ myself. Most prospects already think that all wedding DJs are cheesy!
 
Jas said:
As long as you aren't playing that stuff at every event on your own. I worked with a photographer that complained about a DJ that played Celebration and YMCA at every wedding. He also commended me for playing songs that weren't stale. I don't want a reputation for being a cheesy DJ myself. Most prospects already think that all wedding DJs are cheesy!
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again the photographer is at far more weddings than an average person is
 
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Jas said:
As long as you aren't playing that stuff at every event on your own. I worked with a photographer that complained about a DJ that played Celebration and YMCA at every wedding. He also commended me for playing songs that weren't stale. I don't want a reputation for being a cheesy DJ myself. Most prospects already think that all wedding DJs are cheesy!
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How does that photographer know what a DJ plays at every wedding? How many wedding did they do together? Did he say how the crowd reacted? What the Brides wanted?

To me, a "stale" or cheesy song is a song that's played when the crowd has given every indication that it won't work. Playing Uptown Funk at a 70YO birthday party may be very cheesy.

What's cheesy to one person is a great song to the next.

I was at a bar with some friends of my wife several years ago. They wanted to dance. No one was dancing. The DJ kept playing songs they didn't know. When they requested songs, he said those songs were cheesy and they can hear them anytime, and they should dance to the cool music he was playing. We went to another bar
 
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