Couples either send us nothing or send us two hundred songs. Both make the night harder. Here is what your DJ actually needs from you, and why.
The must-plays: ten to fifteen songs
These are the songs you would be upset not to hear. Your song, the one from the road trip, the one your family dances to at every wedding. Ten to fifteen is enough to tell us who you are and still leave the DJ room to read the room. A good DJ builds the night around your must-plays, not from them.
Include the formal songs separately: grand entrance, first dance, parent dances, cake, last dance. Those are not must-plays, they are cues, and they go in the timeline.
The do-not-plays: as many as you want
This list can be long. The song from your ex’s wedding, the line dance you hate, the artist your grandmother will not sit through. We will never play a do-not-play, even if a guest requests it and swears you will be fine with it. Be specific: “no country” is a style, “no Cotton Eye Joe” is a song. Both are allowed.
The mistake: a full playlist in order
A reception is not a playlist. The room changes every ten minutes: the older crowd leaves, the bar line thins, the wedding party gets a second wind. A DJ reads that and changes direction. A locked playlist cannot. The couples who hand us an ordered four-hour list and ask us to play it straight through are the ones whose floors empty at 9:30 and who ask us at 9:45 to fix it. We will, but it is easier if we have the room from the start.
Give us the feel instead: “mostly 2000s hip-hop and pop, some Motown for the parents, no EDM until after 10.” That is a brief we can play.
Guest requests
Tell us how you feel about them. Some couples want the DJ to take requests all night; some want none. Most land on “take them, but you decide.” Either way, your do-not-plays override everyone.
Where it all lives
After booking, your lists go into Cue, the planning app we share with you and your planner, so your DJ walks in with the exact version you approved. No email chains, no screenshots of a Spotify playlist.
Questions couples ask
Can we give you a Spotify playlist?
Yes, as a reference for the feel. We will still ask you for the ten to fifteen must-plays so we know which ones matter.
Will you play songs with explicit lyrics?
Only if you tell us to. Default is clean edits during dinner and formalities, your call for the dance floor.
What if our families want different music?
That is every wedding. We build sets that move between them, and we put the songs each side needs in the first hour of dancing while everyone is still on the floor.
Last updated October 9, 2026.