When making this blog we kept our couples in mind. Half of the weddings we DJ are with both the bride and groom being of South Asian decent. The other half of the weddings we do are mixed or fusion weddings where one person is South Asian and the other is not South Asian (White, Black, Hispanic or Asian).
The main purpose of this blog is about the open dancing at the end of the night but we will help you plan your reception musically. If you need a timeline for your event, fill out the form on this page and we will send it to you.
What music to play at your Indian Wedding Reception
Reception Dance floor Music
This should be the favorite part of your wedding weekend and is also what we live for. Getting the music right and keeping everyone on the dance floor is our specialty but it comes from a lot of input from our couples. There are a few different ways to keep everyone included and keep the dance floor packed. 10 years ago, our couples would ask us to play music in sets. Play Bollywood music in the first half for our families and American Top 40 in the second half for our friends. Over the last 5 years its been a mix of Bollywood and American Top 40 throughout the night. We get asked to play more Indian music in the beginning, but not all Indian music as it used to be. Couples are also asking to play more Indian music again at the end. Couples often think about their Non-Indian friends and co-workers attending and want to play more American music for them. The truth is, they are probably more excited to experience an Indian wedding than you are (probably not more than you, but you get the point). This may be the only Indian wedding they are invited to. They really want to see the culture through music, clothing and food. On the other hand, your Indian friends and cousins probably want to hear more American music since they attend them every year. So how do you make sure the music is great at your wedding? Easy, hire us. But seriously here is what we do.
Once a couple books with us, we go over the next steps. A major part of that is music preferences. We will give you a list of songs that other couples use at current weddings. This will help you select the songs that make sense for you. Think about all the guests that are coming and will stay for dancing. Also keep in mind song that you like to listen to on your own, may not be the best for the dance floor at your Indian wedding reception. Once we have a list of your preferences we build around it to make sure you love the music all weekend long. We put a lot of time and effort to make each wedding unique with the couples' tastes and still fun for everyone attending.
Another major change we have seen at some Indian wedding receptions is during the last 30 minutes of dancing, everything turns into club. But not just any club. Imagine a trip back to when you were in college and partied with your friends all the time. The music can be throwbacks to that time mixed in with more current rap.
A lot of what a good DJ should do is a balance of focused preparations ahead of time, the ability to incorporate good song requests at the reception, and constantly watching the crowd to make minor adjustments to the plan when needed and keeping everyone engaged on the dance floor.
Here are some additional resources to help you below. Don't forget to fill out the form on this page to get your free copy of our timeline. The intent is to help as many couples as we can with our advice and of course work closely with the couples that book us. If you want to speak with us about being a part of your wedding, contact us here.
Reception Entrances
This needs to be fun and energetic. Here are suggestions for many different people that you can have enter.
Parents This can be used for grandparents also
Siblings with kids
Sister This is good if she is single or married without kids
Brother This is good if he is single or married without kids
Bridal Party entering together in pairs
Bridesmaids in one big group
Groomsmen in one big group
The Bride and Groom The Main event, pick a hype song
First Dance
After you make your entrance, most couples will do their first dance. Here are some suggestions for first dance songs. We also have a great blog that helps couples plan their sequence of events. If you think, this is something that can help you make things run smoother, check it out here. There is a lot of great suggestions in this blog. Pick a song and plan on dancing for 2 to 3 minutes and not the entire song. If you are starting to feel overwhelmed with music choices, fill out the form on this page, and we will send you 1 suggestion for each of these categories. Also check out this video to see how we make first dances even more epic!
Cake cutting
For some reason, many couples forget to pick this song. The advice that we usually give them, is to pick the song you were debating between for your first dance. Here are our suggestions.
Dancing with your parents
Father/Daughter Dance Let him know how much you love him and what he means to you. Some brides will even slow dance for a while and transition into a fun dance song.
Mother/Son Dance A great time to tell your mom thanks for everything she has done for you in your life and this weekend.
Some couples choose to combine them but its better to keep them separate so the photo/video teams can capture it correctly. Most people will dance for 60-90 seconds. Check out these blogs in case you need a photographer or videographer.
A wedding is the happiest moment in your life and you should have vendors that you love. Over our 25 years of bringing joy to couples, the DJ Riz Entertainment team has been a part of thousands of couples' dream wedding weekends. Given these points, if you would like to talk about music and lighting for your wedding contact us here. Check out this short video from some of our recent weddings.
If you liked this blog, check out our blogs focused on Venues, Vendors, and Music. 
