Kaleidoscope Events

Classy Wedding DJ + MC Services

The 5 Worst (New) Songs For Your 2017 Wedding Dance Floor

A lot of great songs have come out recently that you should feature at your wedding. These; however, are the songs that we consider to be the WORST new songs released in the past few months. Feel free to listen to each song and let us know if you agree or disagree!

1. I’m the One, DJ Khaled Ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne
This song is as catchy as can be. When it comes on the radio in your car, chances are you turn it up. Here’s the weird thing about this song though: it doesn’t have the energy to sustain the dance floor. It’s easy listening, but it’s not a banger. Don’t make the mistake of thinking just because it’s popular it will keep your guests on the dance floor.

2. Shape Of You, Ed Sheeran
In an effort not to offend those who love this song, we’ll keep our commentary on this song brief. Let’s just say we aren’t huge fans of it. We’ll play it if requested, but we can’t recommend it as a surefire dance floor hit.

3. T-Shirt, Migos
This song is popular. Right now it’s in the top 35 on the Billboard charts. The problem with this song is not that it’s obscure, but that Hip Hop songs can be hit or miss with the average wedding crowd. The exception to this rule of thumb is well-known throwback jams like Black and Yellow.

4. Humble, Kendrick Lamar
Again, this type of song rarely jives with the average wedding crowd. Rap can work if it has a catchy hook in the chorus, but this song (as well known as it is) is definitely lacking in the catchy factor. This song is incredibly popular. It’s been on the charts for 7 weeks, peaking at number 1. Despite it’s popularity though, we still wouldn’t recommend it for your wedding’s dance floor.

5. XO Tour Llif3, Lil Uzi Vert (Dark, def not a wedding vibe)
This song is catchy, but it’s incredibly dark. Is he referring to fallen comrades, or is he talking about how his only friends have dollar signs on them? We don’t know, but it definitely seems like Lil Uzi Vert is bordering on being suicidal in this song. Is that something you want playing at your wedding? Probably not. Your wedding should be a joyous occasion, and this song is sure to make for a gloomy vibe on your big day.

What About My Indie Jams?!

Your indie jams are critical to the mood of your wedding.

These songs are what will set your wedding apart from the other hundreds of other weddings your guests will experience over the course of their lifetime.

Don’t like Indie music? That’s totally fine, just let it be a placeholder throughout this discussion for your not-super-well-known genre of choice (country, 1930’s Country Western, 1920’s Jazz, etc).

So, let’s recap one of our previous discussions… A wedding isn’t a club. People go to a club to dance, but that isn’t necessarily the reason they go to your wedding, so the dancing needs to be [Read more…]

How Many Songs Should You Choose?

I’ll never forget the feeling… it was a Tuesday afternoon in the summer of 2014… I opened up the Google Doc spreadsheet to compile the bride and groom’s requests for the upcoming weekend, and there they were: over 250 Dance Requests. Not only were there 250 of them, but 97 of them were marked as “Must Play” songs.

If this doesn’t seem crazy to you, let me explain… [Read more…]

3 Steps to A Packed Dance Floor

A wedding is not a nightclub.

People go to a nightclub to dance. They’re at your wedding to celebrate with you, see old friends, and maybe do a little dancing as well.

At a nightclub, a DJ can play almost any good song and people won’t vacate the dance floor. Why would they? They’re there to dance. As long as a song has a good beat and is catchy, it doesn’t matter much if it’s a song they know.

This is not the case at a wedding. It doesn’t matter how great a song is… if your guests aren’t familiar with it, they’ll quickly [Read more…]

The 80/20 of Song Selection

Choosing songs for your big day can be hard. We get it. In previous posts, we’ve covered how many songs you should request, as well as some tips for song selection, but today the topic of choice is the one that haunts future brides and grooms as they plan their big day: do we play cliché songs people know, or do we play songs we (the bride and groom) actually like? In other words, which is more important: a unique wedding, or a fun wedding?

This is a tough choice. Chances are, you want your wedding to reflect your personality. You’re unique. You’re one of a kind. And, I’m willing to bet that the Cha Cha Slide or the Macarena do not have anything to do with your interests or who you are as a person- and that’s probably a good thing! But let’s set aside the über cliché songs for a moment and deal with the ones that perhaps you’d be more likely to agree to. Songs like “Timber,” “Yeah,” or “Uptown Funk.” Songs that don’t make you look like a total loser when they come on, but they also won’t encourage your guests to whisper to one another about how cutting edge you are.

So the question is, do you like these songs?

[Read more…]

Our All-time Favorite Dance Songs

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Here is our collection of songs from each genre that, in our experience, will fill your dance floor to the absolute brim. Many of them are well known, some even may seem cliché, but trust us, these songs will get people up and moving for the entire night (without embarrassing you).
Also, a disclaimer, this list is not in any way meant to be exhaustive, but rather a ranking of our top 3-5 favorite songs per genre.
So without further ado, here they are, our official list of dance floor-fillers:
Oldies:
Twist and Shout, The Beatles
The Twist, Chubby Checker
Runaround Sue, Dion

[Read more…]

7 Tips for Dance Floor Song Selection

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So many couples wants to know if they should do the “chicken dance” or play “YMCA”. And it’s a good question.  So allow us to set you up for success. Here are seven ways to choose great music for the reception.

(1) Choose a Blend of Musical Styles – Naturally your reception will contain a slew of many different ages. A wise move is to choose songs that compliment these varying demographics so that all guests feel like they are a part of your special day. This is hard because it requires setting aside your immediate desires for those of your guests, but we promise you it’s worth it.

(2) Launch the Dance-Floor With Oldies  – For the first opening dance floor set, consider starting with older songs (Beatles, Chubby Checker, 60s, Motown, Disco) to draw the older guests. This helps release the tension in the room and allows for the upcoming modern dance songs to be embraced.

(3) Use Medium to Low Songs for Cocktail Hour & Dinner Music – Non-Danceable genres like Indie Rock or swinging Crooners are suited well for the dining phase of the evening. This is where conversations are starting and people are getting comfortable. So make it easy on them so they can hear each other and dine in a classy fashion.

[Read more…]

2015 Wedding Trends

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One of the interesting things about being a Wedding DJ/Planner is the opportunity to observe the change in wedding trends from one summer to the next. Here are some of the trends from this summer, based on weddings that Kaleidoscope has done:

The Ceremony:

-Let’s start with the ceremony. Obviously, it isn’t a wedding without the ceremony. But, what we have seen this summer is that Ceremony time has been “short and sweet.”  More and more, brides and grooms are telling us that more is less when it comes to the ceremony. They want it to be meaningful and compelling, but they also want their guests to not have to sit through more than 20-25 minutes of Ceremony programming.

-Unity Elements: We see much less of the classic Unity Elements than we used to. Instead of doing the Unity Candle or Unity Sand, couples are opting instead for other, less common options. These are the three things that we have seen more and more of this season: 1. The Unity Knot, 2. The Unity Tree, 3. Unity Wine. As a side note, drinking two different types of wine mixed together doesn’t sound delicious, but the symbolism is nice…

Cocktail Hour:

-We have seen an uptick in the third-site cocktail hour. What this means is that many people are having their cocktail hour in a site that is different from where the rest of the reception will take place. For instance, if your venue is indoors, do your cocktail hour in a scenic spot on the grass outside of your venue. How do you get the people out there you ask? Ask your venue if they can/will set up a temporary bar in the location where you want your Cocktail Hour to be. Just to clarify, this is still at your reception venue, it’s just not inside of the venue where the dancing and dinner will be.

-Activities: We’ve seen a lot more weddings that offer activities for the guests. Here are what we see: Corn Hole, Ladder Ball, Giant Jenga, Spike Ball, and many other random lawn games. Guests like these, and it creates a casual and fun BBQ vibe, if that’s what you’re going for.

Dinner:

-Family Style: 75% of the weddings we do offer Family Style dinner. It is insanely popular in the Barns especially. Beware though, it is often times the slowest form of serving dinner in our experience. The second most popular form of dinner is buffet style, but it isn’t nearly as popular as Family Style.

[Read more…]

A Guide To Radically Lowering Stress on Your Wedding Planning Journey

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Planning the biggest day of your life can be incredibly stressful. If you are engaged, you likely resonate deeply with that statement. But, here are our top five tried and true strategies for reducing stress leading up to your big day:

1. Exercise
This is a solution that you have likely seen before all over the internet, but for good reason. According to Dr. Peter Salmon, studies indicate that “aerobic exercise training has antidepressant and anxiolytic (anxiety reducing) effects and protects against harmful consequences of stress.” One reason that exercise may be avoided is that time is a sparse commodity in your life. But, recent studies also show that if intensity is high, workout duration can be as little as 20 minutes. Check out this article in lifehacker for more on how to have a 20 minute, high intensity workout.

Being a wedding vendor can be stressful as well, as it is incredibly high pressure (we are dealing every week with the most important day of people’s lives). So what I do for my exercise regiment is Crossfit. It takes an hour each day at the gym, but it is the best way that I have found to quickly get in shape and relieve stress/anxiety.

2. Adopt a Sabbath
In the Old Testament, God gave his people a Sabbath rest. It was one day each week when work was not just discouraged, but disallowed. Whether you are religious or not, consider taking a Sabbath rest from wedding planning each week. Devote one whole day to the rest of your life. And most importantly- Don’t think or talk about wedding plans! This is your day to restore balance in your life. Tell friends and family that you will cease to work on the wedding each Monday. Don’t respond to vendor emails (unless it’s critical) and do something active that you enjoy. If one whole day is too much, consider taking one afternoon/evening each week as a Sabbath.

3. Maintain a date night with your fiancé
This goes hand in hand with the previous idea of Sabbath, which stems from the fact that balance in life can quickly erode when one is planning a wedding. Not only does your entire life revolve around your wedding day, but your relationship with your fiancé also can unhealthily revolve around your wedding day. On your weekly Sabbath, consider going on a date with your fiancé each week. The only rule: don’t say a word about the wedding. Seriously, not a word. Wedding plans are fun at first, but after a few months your relationship can literally become poisoned with plans. Make it a priority to have at least one date night each week to restore sanity and romance to your relationship. Your love life is not a machine with the desired outcome of a wedding. But, your wedding is the fruit of your loving relationship with the person whom you want to spend the rest of your life with. Remember that.

[Read more…]