Whenever a couple is planning their wedding, they typically have a entire list of songs they absolutely love. There are fast songs and slow songs, passionate songs, and funny songs. Their list of selections for wedding reception songs often include many types of music and crosses multiple genres of music from classical to country and punk to classic jazz.
A wide selection of music is in fact a pretty amazing thing at a wedding reception, because guests will be from various backgrounds and walks of life and will probably vary in age from 8 to 80's and you really want to have music that all of your guests will enjoy. While they may not love every single song, a great variety makes sure that everyone will be happy with at least some of the music. You've heard the saying, "You can't please all of the people all of the time", but at a wedding you're better off attending to the saying, "You should be able to please most of the people at least some of the time".
The ethnicity of the bride and group can also reflect the wedding reception songs that are traditionally included or expected at a particular wedding. For instance, German and Polish wedding receptions in Wisconsin almost always include The "Chicken Dance", "The Flying Dutchman" and at least a number of polkas. On the other hand, a Jewish wedding reception in New York is likely to have their own conventional wedding reception songs that absolutely must be included at the celebration and they probably don't even know how to dance. And a Hispanic or Hawaiian couple will no doubt have other musical selections and traditions that are totally different and absolutely crucial, too.
Even if you're not a big fan of customs, many of your wedding guests are, so it's a nice gesture to include these traditional songs, especially for your older guests. Generally speaking, most of the older people tend to leave the wedding reception earlier in the evening than the younger party crowd, so you will want to play these selections more by chance during the first hour or two of the dance.
Certainly, you will want to be sure to mix in sufficient modern music to keep the party crowd happy, too, so they don't get bored and drift off before the wedding reception songs you've been saving for them start to get played! Usually classic rock and roll is a crowd pleaser for all ages. Who doesn't love music by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis, and Chuck Berry? And never forget Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, the Eagles, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. A classic rock number like "Sweet Home Alabama" will have every guest tapping their feet and dancing in their seats, even if they don't get out on the dance floor.
The key to selecting great wedding reception songs is to mix it up a little or maybe a lot! Don't choose one single musical type for the entire night except if you absolutely know all your guests love that kind of music. Whether you select a live band or a DJ to spin records or CDs, make sure they come equipped with a wide collection so they can tailor some of the requests from guests throughout the night and keep everyone entertained.
