Wedding Week: How To Make Your 'Do Not Play' List

Hey (wedding) D.J., don’t play that song, but keep me dancing, all night.

The bride and the groom organize and plan everything for their special day, including the music. The first dance is a big part of the big day, for example. But almost of equal importance, is the list of songs that they do not want played. Call it the “Do Not Play List.” Your grandmother might want to cut the rug to the Pussycat Dolls' Don’t Cha, but such suggestive pop songs are frequently placed on wedding parties' banned list.

Want to make sure your party rotation stays within the realm of what you'd want on your iPod (AAPL) safe list? Then start gathering the songs you don't want to hear: The common bans fall into four main categories, bad dance songs, older party songs, overplayed songs, and the aforementioned suggestive pop songs, says Jennifer Reitmeyer, Vice President of My Deejay.com, based in Columbia, Md. If a "no play" list is not submitted, then “we request a list of what they don’t want to hear,” says Jeff Mercer, a night club and wedding D.J. from Washington, D.C.

While some do away with songs, “other people specify entire genres or music they don’t want, such as rap [or] country,” says Reitmeyer. Music style or genre is a common ban as couples attempt to “avoid anything that make you feel you’re in a night club,” says Mercer. So when it is time to party, what works best? "Typically the 70s and 80s are safe," says Mercer. "There's a wide range of people attending weddings, so there is a wide range of music."