Why The Best Wedding Parties Don't Start With Your Favourite Music: (The Secret To A Packed Dancefloor Starts Earlier Than You Think)

"We Don't Really Like Motown..." (And Why That's Absolutely Fine)

Every now and then, after listening to my Classic Motown, Funk, Disco & 80s mix, a couple will say something like:

"We're not really into this kind of music. It's not what we listen to, and it doesn't really feel like us."

Honestly?

I completely understand.

If you looked through my own music collection, you'd defintely find far more indie, electronic, hip-hop and alternative music than disco classics.

So why do I play them at weddings?

Because your wedding isn't just a party for the two of you.

It's a party for everyone you've invited.

The Secret Is Getting Everyone Involved

One of the lovely things about weddings is that you end up with people who would probably never be in the same room together under any other circumstances.

Your university friends.

Your work colleagues.

Your parents.

Your grandparents.

Your teenage cousins.

Your neighbour from three doors down.

All with completely different tastes in music.

The first part of the evening is about bringing all of those people together.

That's where Motown, disco, funk and those huge 80s hits come into their own.

They're familiar.

They're easy to dance to.

And even if people claim they don't know the words...

...they almost always do.

The Classics Are Classics For A Reason

There's a reason these songs have survived for forty or fifty years.

They're brilliantly written.

They're ridiculously catchy.

And they have an uncanny ability to tempt people onto a dancefloor who insist they "don't dance."

After a couple of drinks, it's amazing how quickly those promises disappear.

It's Not About Playing Them All Night

This is the bit that's often misunderstood.

I'm not suggesting your wedding should become an all-night disco revival.

Far from it.

I use those songs to get the party moving.

Once everyone's relaxed, the dancefloor is full and the atmosphere is exactly where we want it, that's when we can start introducing the music that really reflects your tastes.

Indie.

House.

Garage.

Britpop.

Pop-punk.

Drum & Bass.

Whatever makes you think, "This feels like us."

By that point, everyone is already invested in the party.

They're far more willing to come along for the ride.

Why Timing Matters

Here's something I've learned after DJing hundreds of weddings.

If those big crowd-pleasers don't get their moment early on, someone will almost always ask for them later.

Usually it starts with:

"Can you play something us oldies know?"

Or, if they're feeling less subtle...

"When are you going to play some ABBA?"

The problem is, by that stage of the evening, we've often moved on.

The dancefloor has evolved.

Maybe everyone's bouncing around to indie anthems.

Maybe we're deep into 90s dance.

Maybe your friends have taken over and the energy is flying.

Dropping Dancing Queen into the middle of that doesn't usually enhance the atmosphere.

It completely changes it.

And once you've taken a dancefloor backwards, it's surprisingly difficult to get it moving forwards again.

A Party That Grows Together

I've found the best weddings tend to follow a natural journey.

Start with music that everyone knows.

Build confidence.

Get every generation involved.

Then gradually steer the evening towards the music that feels unmistakably yours.

By the end of the night, it's often your closest friends left on the dancefloor anyway, happily losing their voices to the songs you really wanted to hear all along.

Everyone's had their moment.

Nobody's been left behind.

BUT… It's Your Wedding

Of course, if you really don't want to hear Motown, disco or 80s classics, that's absolutely your call.

It's your wedding, and the music should always reflect you as a couple.

My job isn't to tell you what you should like.

It's to use my experience to help create the best possible party.

And in my experience, the biggest, happiest and most memorable dancefloors are usually the ones where every generation gets their chance to shine before we head off into the music that makes your wedding uniquely yours.