Cosmo Creations was recently featured on Ashley’s Bride Guide. Brent Cantrell (Owner) was interviewed about the role he plays as a wedding DJ and his opinions on pre-requested songs! See what he has to say here! Excerpt below.
What role does a quality DJ play?
I think I speak for all of us at Cosmo Creations when I say that the best part about being the disc jockey at a wedding reception is being able to create a relaxing atmosphere for a couple of hours, allowing the bride and groom to mingle with old friends and family and/or stay on the dance floor from beginning to end! It’s easy to tell when someone is enjoying their self, and that’s what we’re looking for. Our “not so over the top” approach seems to work for our budget friendly brides and also our brides on a bigger budget.
Does it help when a couple give you more freedom over the reception playlist?
Yes, after the couple decides on the “mood” of their wedding reception, the music selection becomes critical. Too often a couple gets wrapped up in trying to please their close friends and forget that they will have a lot of older wedding guests to entertain too (family, co-workers, friends of the family). If we look out at the crowd and the average guest’s age is 45 to 50 and the “must play” songs from the couple are all newer Top 40 songs, chances are we need to open the dance floor with something that will ease the crowd into the Top 40 selections. Depending on the guest, this transition could take several songs, but the goal should be for everyone to have a great time.
When a bride does allow you to choose all or almost all of her music, how do you decide on what to play? Do you go off of her personality? Do you quiz her on some of her favorite songs? Or do you just pick what’s popular?
When meeting with brides we sometimes hear that they want everyone to dance and have a great time, yet their “must play” song list is composed of more somber or obscure selections. Our responsibility as disc jockeys and emcees should be to read the crowd’s reaction and keep the momentum going on the dance floor. Normally we can play 15 songs per hour, so at a 4 hour wedding reception you would only expect to hear about 60 songs. That being said, we feel it’s best when the couple give us a list of all the traditional dances and event songs (like bridal party introduction, cake cutting, etc.) and 5 to 10 must play songs. A “do not play” list is helpful too, especially if either the bride or groom are opposed to certain songs that are very popular or have been over played at wedding in the past. Providing a do not play list will take the guess work out for the disc jockey (all your friends may realize that you hate “Call Me Maybe” but to the DJ it’s still #1 on the charts).
~ Kelly
