Groom Duties

Your “Do Not Play” List for the Wedding DJ

Jerome Pollos

Some are cheesy. Some are inappropriate. Some are downright ugly. And none of them should be played at your wedding. Hopefully, your DJ or band is savvy enough to avoid this tripe. Just in case, though, give him this list to make sure you avoid embarrassment. Is this list exhaustive? Nope. There’s plenty of other junk out there. It should be enough, however, to give your DJ a sense of your style and inform the rest of his choices:

Do Not Play

  • “Lady In Red” – Chris Deburgh – Not only is is cliche as hell, but your wife won’t be in red, though some of the bridesmaids or other guests may be. Awkward.
  • “Glory of Love” – Peter Cetera – Good rule of thumb: if it was a theme song for a Karate Kid sequel, it probably shouldn’t anchor your wedding.
  • “YMCA” – Village People — While we applaud a socially-progressive song about gay sex at the gym, we don’t recommend it for your wedding.
  • “Candle in the Wind” – Only if you’re having a wedding/funeral combo
  • “Gold Digger” – Kanye West
  • “She’s Having My Baby” – Paul Anka
  • “Another One Bites the Dust” – Queen
  • “Like a Virgin” – Madonna
  • “Groovy Kind of Love” – Phil Collins
  • “This is the End” – The Doors
  • “Every Breath You Take” – The Police
  • “Suspicious Minds” – Elvis Presley
  • “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” – Tina Turner
  • “If You Can’t Be With The One You Love, Love The One You’re With” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
  • “My Best Friend’s Girl” – The Cars
  • “White Wedding” – Billy Idol
  • “Macarena” – Los del Río
  • “Hotel California” – The Eagles
  • “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion
  • “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor
  • “Jesse’s Girl” – Rick Springfield
  • “Celebration” – Kool and the Gang
  • “Everybody (Have Fun Tonight)” – Wang Chung
  • “The Chicken Dance” – Werner Thomas
  • “Unchained Melody” – Righteous Brothers
  • Anything by Chicago, Journey, or Coldplay
  • “Ice, Ice, Baby” – Vanilla Ice – no, not even ironically. That’s played out, too.

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