Today, we are revisiting a post from our FAQ series last fall-a series where we took one question we get asked a lot, and gave you all of the explanation that we have given over the phone or via email countless times. Today’s post revisits a question that still pops up quite a bit: can guests make song requests during my wedding?
Can guests make song requests?
The short and simple answer to this question is…do you want them to? If you do, then yes! It’s your day, you can allow your guests to make song requests if you want to. If you absolutely do not want anyone to be able to request a song, or you don’t mind as long as no one asks for one song in particular, then we have safeguards against that (which we will get to).
First, it's important to know that the logistics of everyone treating a DJ like a personal jukebox doesn't pan out well in every event setting. You must remember that not every guest will have ideal musical taste. Some requests may not fit in with the atmosphere of your event. What we don’t want for your wedding is for the floor to be opened up to anyone to be able to make a request, and your reception loses its sense of flow and organization with the songs that are played.
Our DJs here at Snyder Entertainment work hard to create a mix that checks all of your boxes, to hopefully keep you and your guests on the dance floor making memories, instead of fretting about particular songs that may or may not be played! The planning process we take you through helps to ensure that you know as much as you want to about what is going to be played during your ceremony and reception. Let’s take a look at what that entails.
Planning
When you work with us, the bulk of the conversation concerning your wedding day music occurs in the weeks leading up to your wedding day. Each of our couples has access to an online planning portal that guides them through the different categories of music you can select. These lists include:
Reception Must-Plays
Special Dance Songs
Do-Not Play
Play Only if Requested
Cocktail Hour Music
Dinner Music
Dance Music
From the moment you book with us, before you even start chatting with your DJ, you can start compiling these lists. That way, your DJ knows, before he has reached out to you, what your general musical tastes are, the songs you absolutely can’t stand, the songs you don’t want included unless someone specifically asks for it, and more. There is no guesswork here. Each of our DJs has the professional know-how to take these song lists from you, and compile a mix that flows, mixes moods and genres, and keeps your guests on the dance floor.
If you have a random request pop up, and it is on your do not play list, your DJ already knows to politely decline. If you specifically do not want any of your guests to be able to request songs, because you took so much time crafting the song list of your dreams, you can certainly bring that up in the numerous conversations you will have with your DJ before your big day arrives!
Snyder Entertainment DJ's Craziest Song Requests:
In the spirit of fun, we've collected some of our craziest requests our DJs have gotten in the middle of events, just to illustrate that not every guest request is a good one!
The craziest request I have gotten would have to be "I'm on a Boat" by The Lonely Island -Jay Psanis
I’m sure there were crazier ones than this, but my first ever event, one guy asked me to play Highway to Hell because “that’s exactly where marriages go”. -J Clark
Let’s just say Big Pimpin at a Bat Mitzvah by the girl's father. -Kam
I got a request for George Strait in a night club. -Chase Akers
A 7th grade girl asked me to play Reign In Blood by Slayer at a middle school dance once. That one was pretty wild. -Chase Crosslin
My weirdest was actually two requests. I had two weddings that were about a week or two apart. At both weddings, I had a drunk uncle come to me at about 10pm. Right when I was in the middle of Lil’ Jon, Kendrick Lamar territory and even though these were two separate weddings they both asked me to play “Tied To The Whipping Post” by the Allman Brothers. So completely random and so not a dance floor song and especially not at that time of the night. They argued for several minutes that this request would absolutely pack the dance floor. They were so eerily similar, too. I felt like I was in a episode of Stranger Things or Twilight Zone. -Brad Ford
So, there you have it! Song requests on the fly can be a great thing, or they can be completely avoided…it’s up to you! Our planning process provides ample opportunity for you to customize things all the way down to the types of requests you’d like your guests to be able to make. We would love to work with you at your next event to make sure you have the perfect song selection to suit you and your guests. Get in touch with us to learn more!