Are you getting married? Or are you a DJ who works weddings? FiveThirtyEight needs your help!
It’s wedding season, and wedding season has a distinctive sound. I’m not talking about Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March,” Pachelbel’s “Canon” or even the dulcet tones of a college roommate reading 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. I mean “Shout” by the Isley Brothers, “Runaround Sue,” and the “Chicken Dance.” I am talking about “Uptown Funk.” You know, those inoffensive and ubiquitous cross-generational jams that have come to define the “both grandma and my niece have to hear this music and dance to it” music of wedding receptions.
Or maybe those songs are standards at only the weddings I’ve been to? Let’s figure this out — I want to compile the ultimate wedding playlist, and I need your help.
If you’re a couple about to get hitched and have a DJ booked, ask — if you haven’t already — to see the planned playlist, and send it on over to me. Or if you’re making your own playlist, send me that. No need to send in much more than a screenshot. You have stuff to do. You’re getting married. I understand that’s a somewhat involved endeavor.
Wedding DJs, I would love to see your generic set list. Would you mind sharing it with us? (I’ll anonymize.) What’s the most requested song you get? What song is most frequently blacklisted by couples? What’s the strategy — I know you have one — for designing a set list?
Email me at walter.hickey@fivethirtyeight.com with the subject line “Wedding Playlist.” Remember, screenshots of Spotify or iTunes playlists are not just OK, they’re ideal. DJs, do let us know your region of operation. Couples, please please please tell us all about yourselves — how long is your guest list? What kind of party are you throwing?
The deadline for submissions is May 20 (I want to get this piece out before a two-day marital doubleheader the following weekend).