How to DJ a wedding
Wedding crowds are every age at once. Plan the big moments, play recognisable songs, and favour clean transitions like echo-outs and phrase cuts that never risk a train wreck.
Typical tempo: Wide: slow dances under 80 BPM, party songs 100–128.
Tips
- Agree the must-play and do-not-play lists with the couple.
- Have every formal moment cued: entrance, first dance, cake.
- Mix decades so every generation gets a turn.
- Keep the transitions clean. Nobody remembers a safe mix, everyone remembers a bad one.
How to order the set
- Dinner: easy background music.
- First dance into the open floor.
- Peak: decades of sing-alongs.
- Last song: something everyone sings together.
Transitions to learn first
- Let it play outLet A finish, then start B clean.
- Short blend on the downbeatA quick overlap so the keys never get time to clash.
- Quick cutStop A, start B. Bold and clean.
- Echo outLet A ring out on an echo, then drop B.
- Hard cut on the phraseSnap from A to B exactly on a new phrase.
- Filter fadeMuffle A with a low-pass, then bring B in soft.
- Tempo ramp, then blendGlide the tempo over, then do a short blend.
- Vocal-over introStart B's vocal intro over A's fading instrumental.
Level up
- SpinbackRewind A like a vinyl spin, then slam B in.
- Energy resetOne breath of silence, then start somewhere calmer.
- Acapella bridgeFloat a vocal across the gap between two beats.
- Reverb freezeFreeze A into a wash of reverb, then let B emerge.
- Lyric handoffEnd A on a line that B's first lyric answers.
- Hook teaseFlash B's hook over A, pull it away, then deliver it.
- Throwback stabStab a famous throwback hook in, then cut to it.
- Genre flipAnnounce the change, kill A, and slam into a new genre.
- Key-shift boostMove up the Camelot wheel for an instant lift.
- Mashup holdPlay both songs at once for a full phrase, like a live mashup.
Big moments
- Pitch diveDrag A's pitch down like a dying record, then cut to B.
- Crowd-sing gapDrop the volume on the big line and let the crowd sing it.
- Stop on the oneStop A dead, hold the silence, slam B on the 1.
- Word stutterStutter a word from B over A's last bar, then let it rip.
Practise with your own songs
Import your playlist and Cueball puts it in order, picks the right transition for every pair of songs, and shows you exactly which knobs to move.
Build a set for free