A Wedding Reception Is Held To Entertain The Guests

[spinner 0]

I had an enquiry recently that is about to turn into a booking although it may not.

 

The clients want to specify a list of music to fill the whole evening, from which it will not be possible to deviate.

 

This is because of their experience of other wedding receptions where the DJ has not played music which the B & G requested and where guests have requested tracks that they ( the prospective clients ) didn't like.

 

I have pointed out that the aim is ( or should be ) to please as many people and get as many dancing as possible as well as avoiding obvious turkeys and floor clearers and the likelihood is that my advice will be heeded.

 

However this may highlight a lack of knowledge of wedding etiquette. I may be wrong but I always understood the purpose of the wedding reception to be to entertain the guests.

 

If the guests share the same taste as the B&G, which does sometimes happen, then there may be no problem in sticking to a list designed to appeal to it.

 

However if there is a broad mix of ages and tastes, sticking to a narrow choice will probably be a recipe for an empty floor.

 

I do this to make a living so giving customers what they want is important although so is giving advice about the dangers of rigidity.

 

Opinions please.

 

PS

 

Points to remember.

 

Assuming the guests will have access to a bar it's highly unlikely that they will be told they can have only drinks approved by the hosts.

 

If there is a buffet later in the evening it's again unlikely that guests will have a restricted choice from it.

 

 

Edited January 30, 2008 by spinner

[Dukesy 0]

Choices, choices!

Ahem...cough!.....like doctors seem to say, there are never any guarantees that the guests will dance....

No

 

Ahem...cough!.....I can guarantee great music on the night because you have chosen all the music....

No

 

Ahem...cough!.....I'm not a juxebox.....

No

 

Ahem...cough!.....We are happy to play your music in the order you specifically require at no extra cost....

No

 

Ahem...cough!.....I'll happily play all your requests in the order you want and will decline guest requests if you wish.....

Hmmm?

 

Ahem...cough!.....Please do forward your music list at the earliest opportunity, rating your music track requests:

 

4 is the highest - "This track is a must play!"

3 is "please do play at some point"

2 is "not worried if played or not! "

1 is "I like... but I doubt if my guests will! Happy for a guest request instead"

 

I will also forward a list of popular music tracks which may be suitable as guest requests - please delete tracks as appropriate.

 

[spinner 0]

Well I've got the booking and my advice was received gratefully.

 

We'll see how it develops..............................

 

 

[Paul Smith 0]

I think all we can do is offer our advice to potential clients. If they opt to ignore this advice and insist that things are done their way then this is the point where a decision has to be made - do you take the booking and everything it entails or do you decline it.

 

From my experience of these situations the B&G have either listened to my points (& gone on to book me) or decided to look elsewhere and find a DJ who is happy to do it their way.

 

Sometimes a potential client is not your client ...

[spinner 0]

I've had this sort of situation before.

 

After giving advice and pointing out the pitfalls of deciding too much in advance, the fact that the mix of ages and tastes will demand a mix of styles of music etc etc. I have found that clients' preconceived ideas are tempered somewhat.

 

And if they're not, it's their day and their money.

 

But that could mean finding out the hard way!

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

this happened to me about 8 years ago, when I received a playlist for the whole evening. Even buffet music was requested. No requests were allowed.

 

Personally I thinks it's the B&G evening and if they want to stick with an inflexible playlist then it's their call. I hope that most would see sense and at least ask the professional DJ for some advice.

[C.S 0]

Did this four years ago, started evening by informing guests that the b+g wanted their requests all night so nobody else could request music. Result- i played for 5 hours to the bride and groom , total dancers on floor was err 2 ! and i got paid 750 quid !

Edited January 30, 2008 by C.S

[Spear 0]

My brother inlaw did a wedding a few years ago where the entire night was set in stone by the groom what song at what time following an exact order so that at set points during the night the correct song was playing.

No flexibility at all - result reception went 1 1/2hrs over his timetable and he spent nearly 2 hrs trying to redo his playlist to fit rather than let the dj take over. The bride wasn't to happy to say the least. :fan:

 

Some people really don't know how or when to let somebody else take control. :nono:

[Dukesy 0]

From my experience of these situations the B&G have either listened to my points (& gone on to book me) or decided to look elsewhere and find a DJ who is happy to do it their way.

 

Did this four years ago, started evening by informing guests that the b+g wanted their requests all night so nobody else could request music. Result- i played for 5 hours to the bride and groom , total dancers on floor was err 2 ! and i got paid 750 quid !

 

Ok, CS lives in what could be considered an 'expensive' part of the world...but I absolutely agree.

 

And note that this was FOUR YEARS AGO folks!

[Award Entertainment 0]

I've declined to work a wedding like this. It reflects poorly on me and hurts my chances of referrals from the guests, the venue and any other wedding professionals who happen to be there on the night. I might consider a dry hire pre-programmed jukebox and PA for this, but I wouldn't take the job myself.

 

It's not an ego thing, it's a preference. I just wouldn't be a good fit for them and it has to be a satisfactory two-way relationship IMO.

 

It's a lot harder to say 'no' than it is to take the cash begrudgingly.

[old soul 0]

I've been giving this situation some thought following my "Heavy Metal" thread the other day which was similar, thugh further complicated by the fact that party girl with her playlist wasn't the one hiring or paying me.

 

I think if this comes up in future, I might look at ways of doing it without DJ'ing. Recording the playlist prior to the event, and being on hand all night to make alterations, announcements or hopefully changes, but not actually be a presence behind the disco, whilst letting people know as stated above that a prechosen list will be played.

[RichardP 0]

I was thinking, this seems like a recent trend, is it?

 

A pet theory here. We're in the age of the mp3, with the ubiquity of portable digital players, the fastest, cheapest & widest access to music ever ... and in this era, the punters feel more empowered to make their own choices rather than be limited to that of a DJ.

 

Nowadays the switched on generation are walking around listening to the songs that THEY chose, typicially on a tiny white gadget, skipping any songs that THEY want ... often somewhat liberated from the limited & inept choices dictated to them by radio.

 

At home on their computer, it's feasible for them to make up their own high quality CDs or mp3 player playlist and offer it to their party DJ to get them to play their choices. (OK so 20 years ago it was cassettes, but not many operators would have a tape player with them, and quality was iffy!)

 

I think this merges slightly into another topic of how quite a few experienced DJs muse that crowds aren't as easily pleased as they used to be. And now more & more they want to impose playlist control on their party DJ ... also on similar lines of discussions here about dry PA hire being on the up - wired up to a tiny white gadget parked on a chair.

 

Just my 2p worth...

[DJ Marky Marc 0]

If they want only there music there way then let them... I would put there request list in a play list on my Hard drive controler and then take a seat at the bar and let it work its magic..

 

when they get bored with there own music and request that i play anything to get people dancing then id come back and do the DJ thing..

 

 

[spinner 0]

If they want only there music there way then let them... I would put there request list in a play list on my Hard drive controler and then take a seat at the bar and let it work its magic..

 

when they get bored with there own music and request that i play anything to get people dancing then id come back and do the DJ thing..

 

 

That's not a bad idea. I might just do that, but I have a feeling that clients' ideas may well change between now and the gig.