Karaoke at Your Wedding - Things to Think About

If you have a wedding coming up, you want it to be memorable. There are many different things you can do to make this happen, however, if you are looking at karaoke there are many things to think about.

If you are considering karaoke as an option for your wedding reception because your DJ offers it, you are most likely the type of bride and groom that really want a party-feel and really want your guests to have fun. You probably want to start of your marriage with something memorable. However, as Spidey once said, "with karaoke comes great responsibility." (- Or something like that.)

First off, if karaoke is you key attraction and agreed on by both the bride and groom, make sure your DJ has karaoke experience. This means a regular karaoke gig, with somekind of buzz, locally. While it is hard to exactly explain what it is that makes a DJ good at karaoke, in the eyes of his or her karaoke patrons, it probably has to with a combination of personality, organization and fast pacing.

Personality. It is something your karaoke DJ either has, or doesn't have. There are no lessons for this attribute. You cannot learn this. The only way to really judge this, however is to see them in living color. Ask to see them playing karaoke music at a public venue. The reason they may also get booked for a lot of weddings and sweet 16 birthday parties is by having potential customers come to public gigs and test them first. If they invite you, do it! You can see them in action, unannounced, uncensored and unknown. Then you can judge for yourself, without watching an edited video of only their best moments.

How do you know, if what you are seeing will translate well for you? They should be funny and fun and keep the party going, but not a spotlight hog themselves. (Some karaoke DJ's are unbooked musicians looking for an outlet to shine. Your wedding is not the place for this.) You don't need them to get on the mic and attempt stand up comedy. Your guests want to hear music, not speeches, but a little bit of quick mic work in the appropriate places after or before a strategic song can be classic. They should mix party DJ success with their karaoke, then they will do a great job at both for your reception.

Timing is everything. No dead air, is important. When it happens - PEOPLE CRINGE! Have you ever been on a dance floor and there is a space between songs? What do the dancers do? They either freeze and stand there like deer in headlights, or go and sit back in their seats. BOTH OF THESE OUTCOMES ARE NOT GOOD! Watch the DJ try their hardest to keep everything moving and leave no room to sleep for the karaoke audience.

Once you have chosen the right DJ who also has karaoke, consider these precautions.

1) SCHEDULED KARAOKE TIME - Timing is everything! I recommend only the last hour of the event, so your wedding reception does not become a karaoke concert. Not everyone likes karaoke, so limit it to either scheduled performances by a few key players, or open up say the very last hour. If you open it up for the entire reception, it will not be special and will become more annoying than anything else.

2) SET LIMITS - Do not allow multiple songs by one guest. Maybe one or two, but you do not want your wedding reception to become a crazy huge karaoke jam staring only one or two key players.

3) SCAN SONG SELECTION - Make sure your DJ runs all the songs by you, if they could be considered questionable. Some songs out there have ridiculous amounts of adult content and just are not right for a wedding. (HINT - if there is cursing, or a song by the 2 Live Crew, beware!)

So that's it. Karaoke can really be a blast, but be careful. If you are, it can really add to the final flavor and make it a great night for everyone!