Popular Wedding Dance Songs
There’s no doubt that want your wedding to be a celebratory, fun, dignified, silly, hoppin’, emotional, groovin’, stately, sexy, bodacious, memorable affair! All you need to do is choose your favorite popular wedding dance songs and let your DJ worry about mixing them up.
People go through all kinds of moods at weddings. They feel very festive, because they are dressed up and happy about the wedding. Fast music makes a great start. At other times, there will be very emotional moments when the crowd is tired and wants to slow down, and couples will want to enjoy romantic dances together. Then there are the popular wedding dance songs that the old ladies and the little kids will get up for—well, the kids will get up for anything! And there will be times that you just want to bring everyone to their feet.
What about the traditional crowd movers? Think about these songs…
We are Family, by Sister Sledge
This is a must for sports games, reunions, and weddings. This is a must because you want everyone who has witnessed your wedding to know that You. Are. Familee.
The Hokey Pokey, By Whoever
Come on, whether or not it’s your favorite, you have to play it for the people who are normally too shy to get up and shake it all about.
The same goes for the Chicken Dance
This is actually a Swiss dance created in the Fifties by an accordionist. It actually originated as the Duck Dance, but when it hit Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the Eighties, no one had a duck costume and history was made.
YMCA by the Village People
Even if you nix the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance, you have to play YMCA. Yes, it speaks to the gaiety in each of us, but it really overtook the world as everyone’s song when Dick Clark launched it on American Bandstand in 1979.
Then you need to choose something for a conga line. Yes, a conga line—it will get everyone’s blood moving, including those who might be a little tipsy. You can choose from…
Conga, the obvious choice, by Miami Sound Machine. This one’s great fun, but there are other choices. Hot Hot Hot by Arrow, or choose the version by the Avid All Stars.
Cuban Pete by Jim Carrey and Angie Jaree. Actually, if you’ve never seen Jim Carrey in “The Mask,” you can use the instrumental version of this song simply as a fun samba.
Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte. And to cool the line down, you can follow this with Harry’s classic Banana Boat Song—you know, “Day-O.”
Of course, you need to fit some lively standards into those popular wedding dance songs so that people can just shake it, shake it, shake it…
- Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry
- Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin Daddies
- Smooth by Santana featuring Rob Thomas
- You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer
With a select few to slow down pulses…and speed up heart throbs…The Righteous Brothers can bring your evening to a close almost singlehandedly with these classics…
Ebb Tide
Unchained Melody
I’ve Had the Time of My Life
You’ve got the idea. There are loads of wonderful tunes out there to fit the theme of your wedding reception. If you prefer a specific genre of music, your DJ can suggest the most popular wedding dance songs to accommodate your tastes. For hundreds of more wedding song ideas, check out The Wedding Reception Kit planning package.
All the best with your special wedding day,
Grace Williams
Dance Wedding Songs