For most of us the evening wedding reception is what we all look forward to the most at a wedding, let’s be honest! After a beautiful wedding service, and delicious meal, it’s then time to let your hair down and party with friends and family!

And if you are planning your wedding it’s more than likely that you are going to want an awesome, memorable wedding reception. As opposed to an average, forgettable one.

We asked award winning Hertfordshire wedding DJ’s JN sounds to give us their top 6 tips to ensure you have an awesome wedding reception.

1. Meet your DJ before you book them

We can’t stress the importance of this enough. Meet up with DJs before deciding which one you’ll book.

Your DJ will be playing a considerable part in your wedding day, especially if they are also acting as your host/MC. Would you book your photographer without meeting and getting to know them first?

Get to know them – you need to find someone who is passionate about what they do. They should be able to show experience and offer lots of advice for creating the right type of party for you.

Let them get to know you – the more they know about you and your wedding, the more they will be able to tailor and personalise their services to what you desire.

Ask questions – what makes them different from other DJs? What can they offer that others don’t?

Music! – Talk lots about music. The music you love and the music you hate. The more a DJ knows about your musical tastes the better. This will help them understand what is going to get you and your guests dancing on the night!

2. Create moments

This is where your DJ will be able to help if they have gotten to know you. A night of dancing is great fun, but stand out moments can make it amazing, and even more memorable. Plus they can make brilliant photos!

Some moments almost go without saying; the cutting of the cake, the first dance (that being said, it isn’t the law to do them!). But there are others that can be created throughout the whole evening, and during the day. To name but a few:

·         Grand entrances

·         Speeches with a twist!

·         Fun games

·         Hen/stag party dances

·         Bouquet toss

·         After party (whoop whoop!)

These moments are only limited to the imagination of both you and your DJ, so go crazy!

3. Keep everyone together

Keeping everyone together, where possible, can be easier said than done. And really it comes down to your venue and your preferences.

Venues that contain everything needed in one room for the evening reception really do lend themselves to weddings. With the bar, food, photo booth etc. being in close proximity to the dance floor action, it means everyone can still be enjoying the music and fun. It can also make things easier when it comes to things like announcements and gathering guests together for the moments above.

Having said that, it can also be nice to have an area that is slightly separate from your main room. When looking at wedding venues take into account the layout of the venue and its rooms and ask yourself ‘where will I want my guests to be on the evening?’

4. Your First dance

Your first dance, if you decide to do one, is the perfect opportunity to really kick off the party. All of your guests joining you on the dance floor afterwards is an amazing moment, and from there going into dance and party tunes makes sense.

Timing is key

Do your first dance too early and many of your guests are bound to go back to the bar. Do it too late however and you are then eating into valuable partying time!

It depends what time your wedding will be finishing too. With a midnight finish we find around 8pm a happy medium time.

This is something that both your DJ and venue should discuss with you, so be sure to bring it up if they don’t.

5. Avoid a DIY disco

It is easy for us as DJs to cringe at the thought of an iPod disco (other mp3 players are available, actually do they even make iPods anymore??). However unless your entertainment budget is limited then don’t go there.

First of all unless you are hiring in professional PA speakers, an iPod dock or similar isn’t going to have the same impact and create the same atmosphere.

Consider the announcements. Who will make them in a professional manner?

Lastly, crafting the perfect Spotify playlist for the whole evening might sound like a good idea. However this won’t be able to easily change and react to the crowd. Good DJs have the ability to do this and will always be changing their mind about which songs to play to get people up dancing and enjoying themselves.

6. End of the night

Picture the scene; you’ve a brilliant day full of fun and laughter. Followed by the best night of partying. Then it comes to the last few of songs. The DJ plays some generic ‘end of the night songs’, and it then it all kind of fizzles out and ends a bit flat. That could have been better couldn’t it?!

It can! First of all, choose your own songs to end the night with. Think of songs that both you and your family and friends will love dancing and singing away to for the last few moments of your perfect day. They don’t have to be slow songs either. We have ended weddings on drum and bass bangers! It’s your wedding so personalise it as much as possible with songs you love.

A good DJ will also know how important the last few songs are, and will assist in getting your guests to join you to send you off in style!

Music is an important part of every aspect of your wedding day – so now you have the reception make sure you read our article ‘How to pick the perfect music for your wedding ceremony’

To find out more about JN sounds you can click to visit their website.