Author name: prestonleejohnadmin

After performing as a DJ and emcee for hundreds of weddings, private parties and community events, I’ve picked up some valuable insights to improve the likelihood your wedding will be a raging success! These are the top 11 tips for the absolute best results. Set Expectations Early Let your guests know in advance there will be dinner and dancing at your reception. This will help put them in the right mindset and plan what to wear. You can include this on your invitations, social media, mass text or whatever it takes. If people don’t know you are expecting them to stay the whole night, many of them will come for a few minutes, say “hi,” grab a snack and leave. If you hope they’ll stay, tell them beforehand! Hold the Rehearsal Dinner Two Nights Before Sometimes wedding parties drink too much at the rehearsal and they’re hung over for the actual wedding. Try adding a day in between to rest and recover so everyone can bring their best energy to the real party. Plan Something Special at the Beginning and End People tend to remember what happened first and what happened last at events. Carefully curated cocktail and dinner music sets the atmosphere for a powerful grand entrance. Picking the perfect song and having guests form a serenade circle around you at the end are memorable moments that can transform a decent wedding into one people rave about. Dream a little with your DJ on ideas to get the party started right and finish on a high note. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel here, but it’s important think through it and actually plan something instead of just seeing how it goes. Seat Older Guests Away from Speakers Older guests and small children can be more sensitive to loud music. It’s best to seat them away from the speakers. They’ll be able to hear conversations easier and have a more enjoyable time at your wedding. This will take some extra planning and coordination, but they’ll absolutely appreciate the effort. Place Bar and Cake Close to the Dance Floor If the bar and food are in another room, your guests will most likely leave the dance floor empty. If possible, bring them together in the same room. Also, consider keeping the bar open as long as you want people to stay at the reception. When you close the bar, it gives the impression the party is over. Nothing says please go home like, “Last call for alcohol!” Nightclubs and bars actually use this line on purpose when it’s closing time, to get people out of the building. Smaller Dance Floor, Bigger Vibe Having a dance floor that’s a little too small is better than having one that’s too big. A smaller dance floor creates the illusion the floor is full. Would you rather go to a restaurant with a line out the door or one that looks like people avoid it at all costs? The line out the door is a psychological signal that a lot of people are fans of the restaurant. It makes everyone else feel like they are missing out on something awesome if they’re not in line too. The same is true for your dance floor. People are more likely to dance when it’s packed. If you don’t have a dance floor you can strategically block out an area in the room with chairs, tables or whatever you can find at the venue. Finish Formalities Before Dancing It’s best to finish dinner, cake cutting, toasts, planned photos and other traditions before you start dancing. Planning events in the middle of a raging dance party kills the vibe and decreases the energy. The goal is to slowly build momentum throughout the evening and end the party with open dancing. If people know they have all the formal events and photos out of the way, they are able to relax, let down their hair, loosen their ties and turn their gyration up to ten. It works every time! Dim the Lights for Dancing People feel more comfortable dancing when the lights are low. They don’t feel like everyone is staring at them. Try to plan dancing later in the evening for outdoor weddings because the sun will be setting. You have more flexibility with Indoor receptions because you can dim the lights whenever you want. Play the Hits Weddings are unique because the age range of your guests usually varies widely. It’s important to choose a few tracks from a range of decades as well as genres. You’ll also want to lean toward the most recognizable songs from each of those categories. If people know the words to a song, they’re much more likely to dance to it. With that being said, you don’t always have to play the radio versions of Cha Cha Slide, YMCA and Cupid Shuffle to get people to dance. Great DJs will be able to incorporate the original songs as well as some remixes and redrums of the same popular songs to inject new life into otherwise overused tracks. Love songs are obviously great choices, but don’t limit yourself. Any popular song that brings feelings of cheerfulness, youth and nostalgia will work great too. Steer away from obscure songs unless they’re deeply meaningful to you. For your dance party, give me 25 tracks that’ll make you and your friends go absolutely nuts. I’ll gauge the crowd and work my magic keeping the dance floor packed from there. End the Party on a High Ending the party while people are still dancing leaves the impression the dance floor was packed all night. Contrast that with playing late into the night for only a handful of people on a mostly empty dance floor. This can leave the impression of a party that just fizzled out. Finishing the celebration while your guests still have some energy left gives the perception this party was one of the greatest of all time. People will also be able