For the majority of couples planning a wedding, you’re going to DEFINITELY want to hire a DJ. You need a DJ to not only help you select music, but to keep the flow going and know when to switch gears (and stop/start the music for important moments such as the first dance, toasts, etc.). If you don’t have a DJ you’ll be relying on a friend of family member (or you!) to tend to your music player if something goes wrong or to make changes, which if you’re having a formal wedding is not fun for anybody.
However, for couples planning a laid-back, casual wedding (or even a rehearsal dinner!), there are so many ways to curate amazing music these days without shelling out money for a DJ. While iTunes is always a great resource for buying music and searching cool genres/artists, these days apps like Spotify and Beats are making it easier than ever to discover and find music that’s perfect for pretty much any event you’ll ever want to plan. And since I started working from home a couple months ago, these apps have also been a total lifesaver when it comes to figuring out what music to play during the day so I don’t start talking to myself (that still kind of happens anyway).
While I think both Spotify and Beats have everything you could ever really need as far as music apps are concerned (and I have both), I’m really into Beats’ playlists as of late. You can listen to playlists from Rolling Stone, Mojo Magazine, Mario Batali (yes, the chef), and Pitchfork just to name a few. (Spotify also offers playlists from several of those curators, I’m just slightly biased because I think the Beats’ ones are easier to find). You can also browse music by genre, which is really helpful if you know that you want to play Jazz during your cocktail hour, old-school Country during dinner, and R&B/Hip-Hop during the after-party.
I think this playlist from Mojo magazine featuring songs from Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Ray Harris would be a super fun choice during your cocktail hour or dinner. Listen to it here.
And no music post on this site would be complete without some mention of Cameron Crowe (duh). This collection of his songs is pretty great.
So, what do you think? Would you consider using a music app for your wedding?
Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling in Love
Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes
Ray Harris – I’m Winning Now
Nanncy Wilson – All For Love (from the movie Say Anything)
Some links in this post may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them. Thank you for your support!
