Must-Play Reception Songs

Each week, we feature music recommendations from Scratch Weddings, the nation's leader with the best wedding DJs at affordable prices. This week's post comes from DJ Jon Blak, whose client list includes Beyonce, Jay Z, Jermaine Dupri and Ryan Leslie. He describes his style as "retro/future”, a seamless blend of old and new that translates well to wedding guests of all ages. "I love the challenge of crossing genres and generations and playing a diverse mix that's totally seamless. At the end a wedding, I'd like the bride and the groom to be exhausted from dancing!" Jon is known infusing any event with energy and cool, while always keeping the client's musical preferences front and center in his music selection.

Photo Credit: Leah McCormick

The work starts before the wedding; I try to get an idea the bride and groom’s musical tastes while also getting a sense of what family and friends will enjoy.

Now the fun begins! After the formal dances have been completed, I like to invite all family and friends to come together on the dance floor. In the beginning of the reception, I play a lot of popular music to get everyone involved in dancing. I like to mix it up with classic dance tunes and current hits.

I start by playing some classic party songs to get older family members on the dance floor first. For some reason, they aren’t afraid of not being cool! The younger fold usually filter in by song three. The best part of starting the reception off this way is watching different generations come together!

Here are some classic "must play" songs that'll get everyone dancing.

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 “Love Shack” - The B-52’s
 “I Gotta Feeling” – Black Eyed Peas
 “Shout” - The Isley Bros
 “Hey Ya” - Outkast
 “Yeah 3x” - Chris Brown
 “Get The Party Started” - Pink
 “Billie Jean” - Michael Jackson
 “Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'” - Michael Jackson
 “The Twist” - Chubbie Checker
 “We Found Love” - Rihanna feat Calvin Harris
 “Let's Dance” - David Bowie
 "Forever" - Chris Brown
 ► “Please Don’t Stop the Music” - Rihanna  
 ► “I Saw Her Standing There” - The Beatles
 ► “You Shook Me All Night Long” - ACDC