Photo by Jonas Peterson found via Loverly

Every week we are featured on Bridal Guide with some of our favorite picks for all types of wedding songs!  This week DJ Drew Izm gave his advice on how to incorporate alternative rock the right way!  You can see his suggestions below and check out the original feature over here!

Weddings not only showcase the DJ, but the music taste of the couple as well!  Guests don’t need to have tattoos and piercings from head-to-toe (but its fine if they do!) to enjoy a fine-crafted rock mix. Maybe your aunt has a secret affinity for Axl Rose, or your nephew is a rising star in Guitar Hero. Whatever the case, you want your wedding to rock! Not like mom and dad used to though, because your night shouldn’t be accompanied by moldy oldies.

Alternative rock has been around for decades now. Teenagers are still getting into bands that were just starting to break out in the ’90s. Groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, and Foo Fighters are still making waves in the industry today.  If your lifestyle has an edge, you can reflect that in your wedding without scaring your grandparents away or scarring the innocent youth in attendance.

Here are some alt-rock songs from back-in-the-day to more modern that everyone can get into during the party, slow dances, or even cocktail hour!

Cocktail Hour 

Classic

• “Scar Tissue” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
• “Doin’ Time” – Sublime
• “3 A.M.” – Matchbox 20

Contemporary

• “Separator” – Radiohead
• “Float On” – Modest Mouse
• “Denial Twist” – The White Stripes

Slow Dances 

Classic

• “Don’t Speak” – No Doubt
• “Black Hole Sun” – Soundgarden
• “Under The Bridge” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Contemporary

• “Green Eyes” – Coldplay
• “Guiding Light” – Muse
• “Street Joy” – White Denim

Dance Songs

Classic

• “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana
• “Basket Case” – Green Day
• “Song 2″ – Blur

Contemporary

• “Rope” – Foo Fighters
• “Last Nite” – The Strokes
• “My Body” – Young The Giant

We had the pleasure of spinning at the gorgeous wedding of Jooin and Mau at an amazing vineyard in Long Island!  They wanted the day to have both modern and rustic elements which were pulled off flawlessly by the bride herself!  Trent Bailey was there to capture all the festivities and got some awesome shots of the dancefloor as well!  You can check out all the amazing photos that were featured on 100 Layer Cake a couple weeks ago too!

Congratulations Jooin and Mau, we hope you are enjoying married life!

Photographer: Trent Bailey Photography
Event designer: Bride
Florist: Sprout Home
Entertainment: DJ Trife from Scratch Weddings & String Quartet: Anthology Strings
Desserts: Sweet Jenni’s
Brides Dress: Jason Wu / Brides accessories: vintage bracelet + earrings: Dannijo
Grooms Attire: J.Crew / Grooms Shoes: Converse
Bridesmaids Dresses: Anthropologie, H&M, French Connection, Zara

Image found via Loverly

Our very own DJ Unos & Dubs chatted with Bridal Guide today for this week’s Music Monday feature about including hip hop on your big day!  You can read the whole feature here or check out his suggestions below!

The Hip Hop genre is the essence of cross-genre mixing. Whether you’re rocking out to Outkast, Jay-Z, Beyonce or The Sugar Hill Gang, we all have been influenced by this unique and increasingly-popular genre.  The origin of Hip Hop stems from DJs experimenting and playing a mix of Breaks, Funk, Latin, R&B, Rock, Soul, etc.  Because this genre uses so many different genres as its base, every client that I’ve spun for always requests a good amount of hip hop at their weddings.  An important part of choosing the wedding soundtrack is to include a wide variety of music that makes the couple happy as well as their guests.  With that being said, almost all hip hop music has sampled some aspect of other musical genres, so how can you go wrong?

Medium Dance Songs

Classic

• “Brass Monkey” – Beastie Boys
• “Rappers Delight” – The Sugar Hill Gang
• “Hip-Hop Hooray” – Naughty By Nature

Modern

• “Drop it like it’s Hot” – Snoop Dogg
• “Gold Digger” – Kanye West
• “Vibrant Thing” – Q-Tip

Fast Dance Songs

Classic

• “Treat’em Right” – Chubb Rock
• “It Takes 2“ – Rob Base & Dj Ez-Rock
• “Apache” – The Sugar Hill Gang”

Modern               

•  “The Way You Move” – Outkast
• “Encore” – Jay-Z
• “Hot in Here” – Nelly

Photo found via Lover.ly

DJ Vida Ventura has some great advice on Bridal Guide on how to incorporate some unique music on your wedding day!  Try Indie Electronica!

“Indie Electronic music is my favorite genre to sprinkle into a wedding. There are some terrific indie songs that have climbed their way in and out of mp3 players—and even radio stations—all over the world. Great indie songs can become quite popular and make excellent additions to any wedding playlist.

This genre fits each section of a wedding quite nicely. During the cocktail portion, I find that it creates a wonderful contrast between some of the more traditional genres, like classical and jazz, and can actually heighten the sound of all songs played by adding versatility and variability. The dinner portion is a wonderful time to play those indie folk-derived love songs. The electronic element of this genre adds a beautiful soundscape that can complement a gorgeous environment with its sense of style and modernity.

Here are some Indie Electronic songs that I love to play at weddings”:

Cocktail:

• “Cherry Blossom Girl” – Air
• “Two Weeks” - Grizzly Bear
• “Breathe” - Télépopmusik
• “Hysteric (Acoustic)” - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• “Blue Monday” - Nouvelle Vague

Dinner:

• “Paris (Aeroplane remix)” - Friendly Fires
• “We Will Become Silhouettes” – The Postal Service
• “Lisztomania (Classixx remix)” - Phoenix
• “Rebellion (Live)” - Arcade Fire
• “Laid” - James

Dance:

• “A-Punk” - Vampire Weekend
• “Move Your Feet” - Junior Senior
• “Young Folks” - Peter Bjorn and John
• “Around the World” - Daft Punk
• “Over and Over” - Hot Chip
• “Barbra Streisand” – Duck Sauce

Entrance Song for couple:

• “Sweet Disposition” - The Temper Trap

Photo by Beautiful Day Photography via Loverly

One of Washington DC’s best, DJ Eskada is over on Bridal Guide Magazine this morning with “Why You Should Play 90′s R&B at Your Wedding”!  She’s even made some amazing playlists with tracks to add into the mix!  Read all of her advice below and head over to Bridal Guide to check out all of our past Music Monday’s as well!

It’s important for the wedding music to speak not only to the bride and the groom but also to their guests. Many modern weddings include guests from a wide variety of ages, cultures, and lifestyles. Great wedding music can bridge these gaps, form connections, and blend a seemingly disparate group of people into one cohesive celebration.

Whether it’s cocktail hour or a post-reception dance party, the upbeat style of 90s R&B is versatile, generates good vibes, and creates an atmosphere that leaves the dance floor approachable to all ages. The heart of the genre includes memorable artists like Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Bell Biv DeVoe, and even legends such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.

This niche group of songs appeals to all ages because older guests, who may not identify with the current tunes, are elated to be taken on a musical time machine to their past, while younger guests can still move to the colorful beat. Since the beats, melody, and vibe of 90s R&B stem from older R&B and, furthermore, are the building blocks for the future of R&B, this genre makes for a smooth and tasteful transition into any other genre.

Check out the songs below to find 90s R&B tunes that will work great for your cocktail hour and party hour.

Cocktail Hour:

• “I Love Your Smile” – Shanice
• “Remember The Time” – Michael Jackson
• “Honey” – Mariah Carey
• “Angel of Mine” – Monica
• “On Bended Knee” – Boyz II Men
• “All My Life” – K-Ci & JoJo

Reception Songs:

• “Candy Rain” – Soul 4 Real
• “Real Love” – Mary J. Blige
• “This Is How We Do It” – Montell Jordan
• “Poison” – Bell Biv DeVoe
• “Are You That Somebody?” – Aaliyah
• “I Will Always Love You (Remix)” – Whitney Houston

Photo via Loverly

If you love soul music we’ve got some great tips for you from DJ Center about how to include it in your wedding!  You can read all of his advice below or head over to Bridal Guide to see the original feature!

Few genres of music have the ability to connect with intergenerational audiences in the way soul music does. Maybe it’s the “feel good” nature of the music; maybe it’s the funk in the back beat; or maybe it’s the incredible songwriting that touches everyone and has separated these songs into a ‘timeless’ genre of their own.

Young and old rejoice, sing along, and can’t help but run to the dance floor during a classic soul set.  From the incredible Motown catalog that gave birth to the careers of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye, amongst others, to it’s modern day torch carriers—Adele, John Legend, and Raphael Saadiq—not a night goes by where I don’t play soul music in my set.

When I DJ a wedding, it’s all about connecting with the crowd in front of me. I aim to leave no person untouched by the music. Throughout the course of the evening, I may weave in and out of various genres, but the one that seems to reach everyone is soul. Early on, I may set the mood with the Temptation’s “My Girl” or Bill Wither’s “Lovely Day.” Later, I may transition into other dance floor sets with soul music selections that has been sampled by modern day hits, such as the Chi-Lites “Are You My Woman (used by Beyonce for “Crazy in Love”) or Ray Charles “I Got a Woman” (used by Kanye West and Jamie Foxx for “Gold Digger”).

People instantly recognize the sample in the modern song they know and the room lights up with smiles. The effect of the music reaches everyone, and the honesty of the songs touch their ‘souls’. It’s hard to beat the beauty of that moment, and what better place to celebration to experience than at your wedding? Here are a few choice selections I like to use at a wedding:

Cocktail Hour:

• “Love and Happiness” – Al Green
• “I Can’t Help It” – Michael Jackson
• “No Ordinary Love” – Sade

Slow Dances:

• “At Last” – Etta James
• “Lost Without You” – Robin Thicke
• “Spend a Lifetime” – Jamiroquai

Dance Songs:

• “I Want You Back” – The Jackson 5
• “Respect” – Aretha Franklin
• “Do I Do” – Stevie Wonder

Photo by Braedon Flynn via Snippet and Ink

Last week DJ Jon Blak gave some fun inspiration for your walk down the aisle and now he’s back on Bridal Guide today with some greats tips on the walk back up!  Make sure to check out the full feature here and look up all these great tracks!

You’ve just shared your first kiss a married couple, and the wedding ceremony is over. The excitement is through the roof and you’re both beaming with happiness. Now you’re ready to party!

Countless hours of planning and months of waiting have culminated to that big kiss, which launches you into a new chapter in your lives. It’s a life-changing moment, marked by huge smiles, a few happy tears and, of course, some music! The big question is – what’s the first song you’ll hear together as newly-joined lifelong partners? Get ready, because it’s time to walk it out back down the aisle!

Here, some songs I recommend for you and your dearly beloved as you take your first steps together as newlyweds.

Traditional:

• “Sonata for Trumpet and Strings” – Peter Hurford
• “Trumpet Voluntary” – Wynton Marsalis
• “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” – Academy of St. Martin In the Field

Modern:

• “In Your Eyes” – Peter Gabriel
• “Beautiful Day” – U2
• “Just Like Heaven” – String Quartet Tribute to The Cure

Soulful:

• “I Got You (I Feel Good)” – James Brown
• “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” – Stevie Wonder
• “Spend My Life With You” – Eric Benet

Indie:

• “Hold You in My Arms” – Ray LaMontagne
• “Home” – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
• “I Was Made For You” – She & Him

Photo by Amanda Wilcher via The Knotty Bride

It’s Music Monday on Bridal Guide!  We have DJ Jon Blak this week giving some great new options for the bride’s big moment…the walk down the aisle!  Read on to see all his great recommendations and then head over to Bridal Guide to see the entire post as well as some of our past Music Monday tips!

Wow. Its here – the most important day of your life. all the planning, and preparation is finally paying off, so you’ll need music to set the stage. After the butterflies have settle a bit, its time to stroll down the aisle. That’s where I come in.
The wedding ceremony is arguably the pinnacle of any Wedding. It’s the point where the couple joins in holy matrimony. The music should be fitting such an occasion.
Some couples prefer the traditional tunes of the “Bridal Chorus,” the prelude to Act III of the Lohengrin Opera (also known as “Here comes the Bride”) Other couples, who also have a respect for tradition in a different way, may want their moment to stand out too. They may prefer a song that symbolizes their love for one another a la “Light My Fire” by The Doors.
With many wonderful tunes to choose from, here is my list of processional songs for the traditional and not-so traditional couple:

Classical:

• “Pachelbel’s Canon” – Johann Pachelbel
• “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op 61” – Boston Pops Orchestra
• “Lohrngrin: Prelude to Act III” – Stephen Cleobury
• “Romeo and Juliet: Love Theme” – Arthur Fiedler and Boston Pops Orchestra

Funky:

• “Best of My Love” – The Emotions
• “Love’s Theme” – Love Unlimited Orchestra
• “Just My Imagination” – The temptations
• “Isn’t She Lovely” – Stevie Wonder

Soulful:

• “Ribbon in the Sky” – Stevie Wonder
• “All my Life” – K-Ci & JoJo
• “At Last” – Etta James
• “If This World Were Mine” – Cheryl Lynn and Luther Vandross

Indie:

• “First Day of My Life” – Bright Eyes
• “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
• “Don’t you (Forget About me) – Vitamin String Quartet
• “Light My Fire (String Quartet Tribute to The Doors)” – Vitamin String Quartet

The great thing about all of the songs listed above is that they come in various instrumentals, from steel drum bands, to string and brass orchestras. Couples always usually seem to find a way to mix the classical with the funky.

Photo by W Scott Chester via 100 Layer Cake

This week on Bridal Guide, DJ Kuato has given some advice when it comes to the style of music to play at your wedding!  This week focuses on an often uncommon choice: reggae!  Check out all his tips below and then head over to Bridal Guide to see the full feature and check out some of our other Music Mondays!

It is important for the reception music to speak not only to the bride and the groom but also to their guests. Many modern weddings include guests from a wide variety of ages, cultures, and lifestyles. Great wedding music can bridge these gaps, form connections, and blend a seemingly disparate group of people into one cohesive celebration.

Whether it’s cocktail hour or a post-reception dance party, reggae is an uplifting and surprisingly versatile genre for a wedding. It’s been called a “universal language” by music aficionados, and historically it has appealing to the masses from all different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, reggae’s influence can be found in pop hits, including songs by The Police, Blondie, Rihanna, Estelle, and many others.

Couples who ask me to pepper in a few reggae songs are always pleased with the reaction from their guests. It gets heads bobbing and feet tapping; it gets people grooving on the dance floor; and most importantly, it gets the entire room feeling good and smiling. Depending on what the couple asks for, I can do a mini- set of 4-6 reggae songs, or I can mix a few reggae songs into the cocktail and/or dance sets; both get great results.

Check out the songs below to find reggae tunes—both new and old—that will work great for cocktail hour, slow dances, or party songs. Like any genre, reggae has its contemporary jams, as well as old school party classics.

Cocktail Hour

• “Boom Shack-A-Lak” – Apache Indian
• “In The Summertime” – Shaggy
• “Lottery Spin” – Zap Pow
• “Cupid” – Amy Winehouse
• “Magnificent” – Estelle ft. Kardinal Offishall
• “Can’t Keep I Down” – Stephen Marley

Slow Dances

• “La-La (Means I Love You)” – Alton Ellis
• “Baby I Love Your Way ” – Big Mountain
• “Many Rivers To Cross” – Jimmy Cliff
• “Hold You (Hold Yuh)” – Gyptian
• “No Games” – Serani
• “I’m Still In Love” – Sean Paul ft. Sasha

Dance Songs

• “Hot Steppa” – Ini Kamoze
• “Sweat (A La La La La Long)” – Inner Circle
• “No Letting Go” – Wayne Wonder
• “Hot Hot Hot” – Crossfire
• “Pon de Replay” – Rihanna
• “Letting Go (Dutty Love)” – Sean Kingston ft. Nicki Minaj

The Academy Awards are coming up this Sunday, February 26!  Although the GRAMMYs are filled with the amazing artists that create the music we love, the Oscars are one of our favorite award shows!  The night is always an amazing production and no doubt the most glamorous event of the season.  But what we enjoy the most about the Oscars is the recognition that music gets as a key element in making a film successful.  Think about it…a composer or artist must produce music that sets the scene and ultimately creates the connection between the viewers and characters of the movie.  In honor of these amazing artists, today we have created an Oscar Mix filled with 2012 Academy Award nominated songs!

You can listen to the entire mix here!  Enjoy!