Wedding Playlist

If your music collection is stuffed with indie rock staples, you don't have to put them aside while planning your wedding playlist. Mainstream dance tunes just aren't every couple's style, and there are plenty of indie songs with a good beat that will get the crowd grooving.

Don't be afraid to wander off the proverbial beaten path when compiling your reception playlist. If this is the kind of music you and your fiancé enjoy most, it will have more meaning. Just because Sinatra didn't croon it (or Timbaland didn't produce it) doesn't mean it's not wedding-appropriate or fun.

I put together a playlist of good reception songs from smaller artists — including some tunes that are pretty and others that are straight-up fun to dance to. Whether you're looking to go all indie or just want to sprinkle in something a little different between your oldies and your retro tunes, these songs are a good start. Are there any indie bands or songs you'd love to hear at a wedding? To check out my playlist, read more

When planning a wedding, most brides spend a lot of time hunting down one perfect song that captures their relationship with their new husband for the first dance of the night. Another big chunk of time and energy goes into finding the music for walking down the aisle. I've helped many friends with this search, and we always end up with a whole pile of songs that are not necessarily appropriate for the bride and groom alone but are no less romantic and beautiful.

Instead of discarding the leftover slow jams, why not sprinkle a couple in between blocks of the faster-paced fare during the reception? After all, weddings are the only times nowadays that those of us not in high school get to dress up and slow-dance together.

I've compiled a few of my favorite slowish songs that are romantic and universal but usually don't make it onto the "our song" lists. What are some of your favorite romantic songs to sway with a date to? To see my playlist, read more

I've already talked about general guidelines for choosing your wedding reception "playlist" and suggested a few oldies but goodies, so now it's time to get the party going like they're doing in the picture above. Ha! And what better decades in music history to get folks off their feet and dancing than the '70s and the '80s? From big hair bands to men in tight, tight jeans — these years produced some highly danceable tunes. Plus, if your DJ just can't conceive of a wedding without "YMCA" you'll have a handful of other, not-so-grating anthems from that time period to load'em up with.

To see a handful of the songs that I've loved dancing to at weddings, read more

Yesterday I gave you some tips on planning your wedding reception music, which can be a challenging task when you try to appease everyone's musical tastes. You and your friends might have a different perception than your grandparents of what constitutes fun dance music — perhaps more "Golddigger" and less "String of Pearls." Yet if you truly want to make the oldsters happy and have a fabulous, danceable playlist (even for people who don't know how to jitterbug), check out my Oldies-But-Goodies Reception playlist.

From The Temptations to Sinatra to Louis Armstrong, you'll be able to shake your moneymaker and make your great aunts smile, so to take a listen, read more