Wedding Reception Perfection

Congratulations on the announcement of your wedding day! I’m sure you’re excited just thinking about your wedding reception. We’re excited for you, too!
I’m Mark Lindemer, the founder of Trans Audio Mobile Music. After 27 years of mobile DJ experience, I am now your personal music consultant and also a columnist for Shore Bride Online. Please consider me your “go to guy” for memorable wedding ceremonies and fun receptions. Here’s the link to my latest Shore Bride column…

I’d love to hear about your hopes and expectations for “your” perfect wedding day. I think when you learn more about what we can do for you, you’ll realize that we are uniquely capable of making your wedding day dream come true. I invite you to get in touch…

E-mail: mark@trans-audio.com
Office: 219-663-3815
Cell: 219-743-7575

For those of you planning a May or June wedding now is the time to get those music plans finished. Why now? Why not! Look, a good percentage of our customers get it done early. What’s early? 1 to 2 months ahead of time. The reason is because most understand they will be too busy the couple of weeks before the wedding! No plans for ceremony or reception music with 14 days to go is a disaster waiting to happen. Find out from your DJ or band if they can help but I’m sure they can because that’s why you hired them right? Most couples think they are alone in choosing music but that’s not the case. All you have to do is ask for a professional opinion and you will receive guidance. Most DJ’s have large music libraries and have the knowledge to put together a wedding ceremony. So don’t sit there, get going and get it done! You’ll feel better when you do.

The new music season always coincides with the wedding season so we’ll have to wait a month before new Summer music begins to wind it’s way to our radios and ipods. To get a start though, here are a few song suggestions to help spice things up a little with some fresh music choices. Most of these suggestions can be found on itunes, youtube or Rhapsody. They are all song choices in the WRP library too.
“You & Me” Dave Matthews Band
* Excellent first dance, cake cutting or slow dance
“Never Had Nobody Like You” M Ward
* Cake Cutting or to cut a rug!
“Hey Soul Sister” Train
* Fun mid tempo slow dance for couples
“Say Hey (I Love You) Michael Franti & Spearhead
* Everyone (you & old) seems to enjoy this but why not use it for a dollar dance song?
“Two Is Better Than One” Boys Like Girls w/ Taylor Swift
* Slow song for the Bridal Party Dance
“My Life Would Suck Without You” Kelly Clarkson
* Good song for Bouquet Toss or when the girls need a moment of bonding.
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) Beyonce
* The most popular bouquet toss song ever
“Today Was a Fairytale” Taylor Swift
* Good for a late night couples dance
“I Gotta Feeling” Black Eyed Peas
* This can be used for intros for anyone & as an energizing sing-a-long on the dancefloor
“Bad Romance” Lady Gaga
* A fun song to bring everyone out to the floor anytime
“Shots” LMFAO & Lil Jon
* A great sing-a-long for late night fun!
“Everyday” Vetiver
* Cake cutting or Bridal Party song

Everything you see listed on the WRP reception planner is information we DJ’s need to have. We have couples who call us all the time to simply ask “what do you need me to do?” Fill out the planner. It really is that easy. Your DJ wants to be accurate in playing all the special songs and you want him to be accurate too so list them on the planner. Whether it’s cocktail music, dinner music, introduction music, opening dances or chicken dances make sure you record them on this planner. The other very important pieces of information would be all introduction announcements, who is the DJ introducing? We need the information in the order on the planner. You need to be rather aggressive in helping us because we do not know your bridal party and tastes in music. Once you complete the WRP info then we can start assigning DJ’s and we really begin to understand what it is you want us to do. I have customers who take weeks and weeks to make up their mind about one special song and change their mind again and again. Get to work on this planner about 3 months before the wedding and you won’t need to worry about any of these decisions the week of your wedding.

Today’s bride is choosing ceremony music to fit her personality.
More and more brides want pop tunes for all entrances and recessionals. Canon in D maybe losing ground to Vitamin String Quartet, country & western or even Michael Jackson! Why? I think today’s young couples have less of a connection to the distant past than ever before. We haven’t played the traditional “Bride’s Processional” in several months. This year has seen a major increase in using songs from Lifehouse, Clint Black, & Coldplay or classic oldies like “At Last”, “All You Need Is Love” & “I’ll Be There.” Does the bride risk losing credibility by using pop songs for a serious and solemn wedding ceremony? Lighten up, Francis! If she has dreamed her entire life of walking up the aisle to Etta James why should anyone deny her?
Why should a classical title be any different than a popular title?
There is no solid rule of thumb so use whatever you like. My only parting thought is to be tasteful and thoughtful of family & guests attending your ceremony.
Below you’ll find a list of recessional songs many bride’s have used, some classical and some different;
All You Need Is Love (String Quartet Tribute to the Beatles)
Allegro (Violin Concerto)
Allegro From Spring – Orchestral Faster
Arrival Of The Queen of Sheba
Bach Cantata No 1
Back In Black
Concerto Alla Rusica
Concerto For Two Trumpets In Bb
Concerto grosso Op. 6/1 ‘A tempo giusto’ ( George Frideric Handel )
Don’t Stop Believing (The String Quartet Tribute to Journey)
Eine Kleine Nactmusik
The Four Seasons: Winter IV. Allegro for Brass
God Only Knows
Hornpipe – Guitar
Mama Mia Overture / Prologue (edit end out)
Music For Royal Fireworks
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Tambourin – Tambourin en Rondeau ( Jean-Philippe Rameau )
Trumpet Tune (Trumpet & Organ)
Variation In Sonata In A
Viva la Vida
Wedding March – Wedding Recessional
Wedding March Recessional (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Wedding Recessional – Guitar
Wedding Recessional – Piano
Wedding Recessional – Pipe Organ
Wind Dancer
You Shook Me All Night Long (String Quartet Tribute to AC/DC)
There are so many different ways to musically approach every ceremony, it’s best to work with your DJ or live musicians to make sure they understand and offer what you want. Music edits maybe needed so the flow of an entrance or unity candle presentation looks and sounds it’s best.
A great place in the ceremony for some personal music choices is either prelude or postlude, most brides will probably not hear much of the prelude but once the ceremony is over and you are greeting guests or releasing rows you’ll be able to pay attention to some postlude selections. Beach themes, light pop, light rock or light jazz work great for postlude music as guests are ready to now enjoy your reception and have a little fun!

Getting the most out of your wedding day can be exhausting. There are so many things to plan for before the day arrives it makes you wonder just how everything will fit in it’s place. One of the questions entertainers often get asked is about the specifics of time. When will we get introduced, cut cake or do our opening dances? If you’re not experienced all these plans can make your head spin! Here are some simple suggestions to ease many transitions during the biggest day of your life.
Get organized! Use this planner to organize all of your entertainment because your DJ will need to know what you want to do. At what time of the day you do those things is usually left up to the DJ who is working in conjunction with the banquet center and photographer.
If you use the “share my planner” feature and send a copy to the banquet manager, photographer and videographer they will print it and bring it with to make sure everyone is on the same page.
A note about working together; make sure when you hire vendors they are pros who are going to work together to make the wedding day come off effortlessly. It’s my experience that all vendors are like a wedding support team who should help each other out all day long. It’s not about us as much as it’s about us serving you.
One area of concern is the transition between ceremony and reception. If you have more than 100 people then release rows after the ceremony recessional to avoid a long receiving line into the banquet center which can eat up an hour or more.
If you do not want to take pictures before the ceremony and you only have about an hour for post ceremony pictures it’s wise to set a timeline with your photographer. He’s in charge and should watch the clock. If the ceremony is at the same location as the banquet center then you may not be as rushed but still want to enjoy the start of your reception. Have your photographer set a time limit and discuss the pictures that get taken in order. It’s also in your guests best interest because dinner will be served on time. A simple timeline should look like this:
5pm Ceremony Start
530 to 630pm Post Ceremony Photos
6p Start of cocktail hour
645 to 7pm Introductions, toasts, dinner blessing
This doesn’t mean that the start of introductions couldn’t be 5 minutes later. If you consult with the photographer and DJ you will get a good idea of how they will help each other and you through all the important events of the night.
A loosely planned timeline is a little more realistic as unplanned things may happen. I worked for a bride recently who misplaced her bouquet before introductions and her bridesmaids spent about 10 minutes looking for it. Needless to say, everything got started a little late but when it was found everything fell into place right away.
Most bride’s are nervous about the flow of the reception but if you’ve hired excellent vendors by excellent recommendations there is no reason to doubt them. It’s always a good idea to ask prospective vendors how they will approach working with banquet centers, DJ’s, photographers and video. The best of the best will probably know all the players in the local wedding market which is a plus because they look forward to working with them during the wedding season.
As always, experience is the major factor to make sure all wedding plans go off without a hitch.

I’m gonna give you readers a well kept secret among wedding DJ’s…very few know how to start a dance floor. If you thought you misread the sentence I’ll explain. Most know how to technically play the music but many have no idea how they are going to accomplish the task of getting people on the dance floor. Reader, it takes a long time to develop comfortably as a wedding DJ. Many things are involved including showmanship, public speaking, imagination and guts. Years of “flight time” are required. If you’ve ever been to a wedding and everything seemed to flow from one event to the next without hesitation it’s because you saw a wedding DJ with many years of experience. It takes extreme focus to do this job for the benefit of others to have a fun time. Contained in this program are hundreds of ideas for everything from a simple chicken dance to a more complicated anniversary dance or adding special touches to a Bride/Father dance, for example. Most people who book a wedding DJ are so focused on the cost without ever realizing what it is you’re actually paying for. A really excellent DJ will be able to add to the party with fun ideas to entertain your guests. Music is one small part of the equation. All DJ’s have music but do they have ability to entertain? That’s what you should be asking every DJ you interview for the job. If you’re paying a very low fee then you must ask the prospective DJ why. Have him explain what he’s going to do at your wedding. Have him explain the actual plan and the presentation to you. These questions should be asked before the price quote. If the prospective DJ offers nothing but music it maybe time to expand your search. Buying this program will teach you some excellent ideas for the purposes of entertaining hundreds of your guests. It also gives you an insight into what it takes to map out and the plan for a fun and successful reception. I’m not saying DJ your own wedding (leave it to a real pro) but it never hurts to get an understanding of the process.

Welcome to the Wedding Reception Perfection blog. It is our intention to share helpful suggestions and ideas to give all brides and grooms planning a wedding reception the insight they need to have a fun and successful evening. Please feel free to ask questions and post comments you feel will help everyone experience greater joy and less stress on their wedding day.