If you follow us on TikTok, you know that every week we do Wedding Wednesday where we go live and answer all your wedding planning questions! Each week we get so many amazing questions so we wanted to share them with you! Check out part 1 of one of our most recent TikTok lives – we might be answering a question that you have!

Music and Song Ideas

On our website, we have a downloadable music planner that gives dozens of suggestions for music that might be right for your wedding. It is a fill-in-the-blank form that breaks down the day into each part, along with suggestions for songs that might work for it. It even includes songs that aren’t lyrically specific to any one relationship, and not necessarily romantic, so they can be used anywhere! 

We always give suggestions for free on our social media as well, so don’t feel like you need to download it, but the structure of it can be very helpful.

That being said, here are some of our favorite suggestions based on the questions you asked during Wedding Wednesday!

What are some good Mother and son songs?

Here are a few that we love:

• Humble and Kind
• A Song for Mama, Boyz 2 Men (there is also a Spanish version)
• Perfect Fan, Backstreet Boys
• Mother Like Mine, The Band Perry
• Godspeed, the Chicks
• When You’re My Age, Lori McKenna
• Her Little Man – Jami Groc

Prefer rock? Try:

• Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd or Shinedown

What are some good Father and Bride songs?

• A song for mama – boyz 2 men in Spanish
• The Best Day – Taylor Swift
• I Loved Her First – Heartland Soundtrack

My fiance is walking into the piano version of Still by Dre. What should the bridal party walk into?

First of all, this is so much fun! It is becoming more popular to have a song dedicated to the groom, which we think is great! We love the idea of using the instrumental version as well. For the bridal party walking into the reception, try:

• Music For a Sushi Restaurant – Harry Styles. It has a really great build up at 56 seconds!

Ideas for father, daughter song for grandpa and granddaughter. I want to honor my grandpa.

Some really beautiful, timeless songs are:

• Tell Me About The Good Old Days – The Judds
• Have I Told You Lately – Rod Stewart
• Unforgettable – Natalie Cole
• What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

What are some good Prelude songs?

The prelude music is what is played at the very beginning of the day when guests are being seated. Because this is the time of day when you are tucked away getting ready, nobody really notices what is playing in the background, so if you have songs that you would really like to hear, we suggest playing them during another part of the day and letting your DJ put together a playlist of really nice instrumental music for the prelude. This applies to dinner as well, when you want background music but want it at a conversational level. 

Spotify makes it really easy to create a must-play playlist that you can put together and just send right over to your DJ. By no means do you need to put together all of the music for your entire day, but a quick playlist can help your DJ know what your style is and what direction they should go with the rest of the music. If they are looking for suggestions or you are doing your own music, here are a few tried and true artists that we love to use: 

• The Piano Guys
• The Brooklyn Duo
• The Vitamin String Quartet
• Jack Jezzro, Beautiful Disney covers if you are a Disney fan
• O’Neil Brothers

When a parent has passed, what do you do for a dance?

Choosing to honor a loved one during your wedding can make for an emotional moment. It can also be really cathartic and healing to do something in their memory instead of trying to fight back the sadness you feel in their absence. 

One idea we love is to dance with someone else in lieu of that person and maybe do a song that they loved or dedicate a song to them. If you are worried about being the center of attention, or about that moment being too emotional, another lovely option is to dedicate a song to them that everyone dances to in their memory.

My wedding is two months out. When should I meet with the DJ to finalize everything?

For finalizing music, we either meet in person or virtually through Zoom with our couples four to six weeks before their wedding. The reason we schedule them that close is because most of the details by that point are either in the process of being finalized or have been finalized and the couple has a better idea of what they are looking for with the music.

Do you have any recommendations for logistics on how to do an old-school receiving line, quick and fun?

A successful receiving line really depends on your guest count. For example, if you have only 50 people, you can line up after the ceremony and be able to say a quick hello to everyone without disrupting the timeline too much. 

However, if you have lots of guests, a receiving line can really crush your overall timeline for the day. As much as you want to keep it short, it’s incredibly difficult when you are seeing people that you haven’t seen in a long time! 

A great option is to multitask and visit each table during dinner. Make sure you and your partner eat first (or you may not get another chance!), then make your way around the room to visit!

When is the best time to cut the cake?

It used to be really popular to wait until almost the end of the night to cut the cake, but what people are finding now is that it’s much more efficient to cut it right after dinner so you have more time to share it. After all, you have paid for this huge cake, it’s good to let everyone enjoy a piece!

Some couples don’t even want the cake cutting to be a big deal. They don’t want to announce it, they just want their parents and the photographer to be there for it. Whether you want the cake cutting to be a spotlight moment to share with everyone or a more intimate part of the reception is up to you!

Do you have any ideas on alternatives to flowers for the flower girl? We’re not allowed to have real flowers or things thrown.

Yes! Two great options are either a decorative flower ball on a ribbon, or a sign that says, “here comes the bride”.

We may have an evening wedding with no dinner; do you have an alternative you would recommend?

Evening weddings with no dinner can be a very romantic choice, but we do suggest having a little something to eat, especially if you will be drinking. 

Some creative options are:

• Appetizers 
• Charcuterie boards
• Dessert table 
• Donut display

Do you think mariachis are better during dinner or cocktail hour?

We are from Texas, and there are mariachis at about 50% of our events. We suggest having them there during dinner, and here’s why: You’re not there during cocktail hour because you’re off taking photos. So while your guests may enjoy the mariachis, you won’t get to! So definitely schedule them during dinner if you can.

Do you have tips on how to structure the timeline for a ceremony, starting at 4:00 PM and doing a first touch?

A first touch is an alternative for when you’re not going to do a first look. So he’s not gonna see you in your dress, but you’re going to stand on either side of the corner of a building or around a tree amd your photographer will have you grab hands or maybe read a letter that you’ve written. It’s really sweet and the pictures are incredible. It’s a really cute moment!

The difference between doing a first look and a first touch is that with the look, you can bring in the rest of the wedding party and do your wedding photos after. If you are doing the first touch instead, you will just snap a few photos, and then do the rest of the photos after the ceremony, so you’ll want to leave time for that.

A wedding starting at 4pm will likely go for about 6 hours altogether. The ceremony, pictures, and dinner (depending if it’s buffet style or plated) will all take a set amount of time. The main area where there is wiggle room for time is the dance. 

The whole day goes by so fast, the end of the night is usually the time you have to get to enjoy your own party. Make sure to leave yourself some time to enjoy it!

Do you recommend renting a dance floor if the reception hall has carpet?

A dance floor doesn’t make a difference as to whether people will dance or not, so it’s not completely necessary to have one.

That being said, if you have the budget and want one, you can get dance floors with monograms or LED lights and can add a really special touch to the reception!

Thanks for joining our Q&A session! If there are any questions you would like answered, follow us on TikTok where we do this every week.

Happy wedding planning!

The Wedding Duo: A Wedding Planning Podcast