Wedding Music Mistakes

There are hundreds of things to organize and navigate as you are planning a wedding.  As one task is finished and given a checkmark we move to the next, but do not neglect wedding entertainment just because it has simply been booked.  Be ready to avoid these common pitfalls when it comes to wedding music mistakes.

 

Skipping Sound Check

In some cases a people will plan a ceremony, luncheon, and reception in flawless arrangements; one event will lead directly into another as to avoid having guests waiting around and creating wasted time.  The problem with this is that if these events are all held in the same venue, some facilitators will order the band to forgo having a sound check as it would interrupt with the activities.  Skipping the sound check is a BIG mistake.  By skipping a sound check you are losing the ability to check the setup, surroundings and instruments for proper functioning.  If you don’t do a sound check and you are outdoors you may underestimate how severely your string quartet will be drowned out by the breeze.  Without a sound check the sound-tech will not be able to discover that one of his speakers has malfunctioned until the band is attempting to play the first dance song.  Allowing for a sound check will insure that the entertainment will go as planned.

Starting Events in Silence

In order to make the surprise of the arriving couple cause further shock, planners might choose to avoid playing music before the “main event”.  The bride and grooms initial entrance is usually planned to be big and exciting, as it should be.  Unfortunately, some brides forget is that there’s likely going to be a large portion of time before the entrance that guests will be standing around.  To keep guests from falling into awkward lulls of silence, keep light background music playing either by the band or an mp3 player.

An Eternal First Dance

Even though you and your shmoopsy-pooh have had Transatlaticism: Death Cab For Cutie as your song since you first kissed to it, NO ONE wants to watch you sway back and forth for all 8 minutes of the song.  Although the first dance is indeed symbolic and romantic you may not realize just how long one minute can be when you are dancing alone with 100’s of eyes on you.  When you choose your first dance song, make it a short one (perhaps an edited version of your favorite song) or ask your wedding party to join you after the first minute or so.  This way you can encourage the crowd to move to the dance floor and use it as a transition into the dancing portion of the evening.

Distasteful Jams

Its not against the rules to play your fav. metal song at your wedding, it is your party after all, just be wary of playing to many offensive tunes at your event.  Keep in mind that although it is progressive day and age there are going to be people there who are not from your generation.  You want people to feel comfortable and have pleasant memories about your wedding rather than only recall the “Thong Song” being played as your husband ripped the garter from under your dress.  Playing funny songs or inside jokes is fine but aim to avoid explicit music or music with copious amount of profanity, better safe than sorry.

--Nikole Higgins, Communication Director, Nikole@utahliveband.com