Day #24 Music To Eat With at Your Wedding Reception

From Erik Michaels and June Hoffman of Megasound

Happy Christmas Eve to you and your family! This is always a very special time for us as it is to so many people. Occasionally, we have been asked to do weddings during the holidays. These weddings become extraordinary memories simply because of the timeframe they were held in (but of course ALL our weddings become special memories for one reason or another). Here's hoping you and your family have some unique and exceptional memories of your own this season!

As a part of our “25 Days of Christmas: Megasound-style”, we wrote about cocktail music and how it is different from dinner music. Sometimes, couples request the same type of music for the cocktail hour and the dinner time. Also, not every couple has a cocktail hour. So, today we will discuss dinner music and what makes this particular music so important for brides and grooms and their guests.

Dinner music generally should be kept rather quiet. Compared to cocktail music, dinner music should be toned down a bit volume-wise. The important factor here is to create a most relaxing atmosphere for you and your wedding guests. It is important that guests sitting at the same table are able to talk and hear each other without yelling across the table. Aside from volume, another important factor in dinner music is to play music that is memorable for one reason or another. For instance, if you remember hearing big band music at your grandparents' house or your parents played light adult rock at various points, you could utilize those types of music for your dinner hour at your reception. Jazz is still one of the most popular types of music played for dinners and when brides and grooms ask for suggestions, we recommend this type of music (as you will have your highest number of older guests during your dinner time).

Many couples like to include adult contemporary selections for dinner music. we even had one couple who asked that we play 80's "Hair Band" music for dinner. That was interesting and memorable as we grew up in the 80's. Almost any type of music will work provided it is slower music. Music that is too fast (too many beats per minute) may cause indigestion, especially in older individuals. Generally, older individuals will leave earlier than younger people anyway, but you don't want to "push" them out the door with obnoxious music or music that is too fast for the atmosphere you want to create.

As always, should you have a question about your wedding; whether it is about dinner music or other areas of your planning, CALL MEGASOUND!