Justin The DJ

Most wedding advice on TikTok is terrible. 👇

I know that's a bold statement.

And to be fair, there are some incredible wedding professionals sharing genuinely helpful advice online.

But there's also a lot of advice being given by people who have never actually worked a wedding.

That's where the problem starts.

Every day I see wedding "tips" that sound great in a 15-second video but completely fall apart in the real world.

Advice that prioritizes aesthetics over guest experience.
Advice that creates extra stress for couples.
Advice that sounds trendy online but rarely works in practice.

The challenge is that when you're planning your first wedding, it's hard to know the difference.

One person has a viral video.

Another person has worked 500 weddings.

Both seem credible.

But those aren't the same thing.

One of the biggest mistakes couples can make is assuming that popularity equals expertise.

Sometimes the loudest voices online have the least amount of real-world experience.

And sometimes the vendors quietly working weddings every weekend have the best advice because they've seen what actually works.

Now don't get me wrong.

Social media can be an incredible resource.

It can help you discover ideas, vendors, inspiration, and things you may have never considered.

But I think every piece of wedding advice should be filtered through one simple question:

Is this advice coming from someone who regularly works weddings, or someone who regularly posts about weddings?

Because those are two very different things.

I'm curious...

What's the worst wedding advice you've seen online recently? 👇

The couple sets the tone for the dance floor more than the DJ. 👇

This is probably one of the hardest truths for couples to hear.

Because when people imagine a packed dance floor, they usually think it's all about the music.

And yes, music matters.
A lot.

But after DJing hundreds of weddings, I've learned that the DJ isn't always the biggest factor in whether guests dance.

The couple is.

Think about it.

If the bride and groom are on the dance floor having the time of their lives, guests naturally want to join them.

The energy becomes contagious.
People feel more comfortable letting loose.
They see that the couple is having fun, so they start having fun too.

But when the couple disappears...
Everything changes.

I've seen dance floors clear out because the couple stepped away for photos.
I've seen guests leave the dance floor to follow them outside.
I've even seen weddings where the music was working perfectly, but the moment the couple sat down, the energy dropped almost immediately.

Guests take their cues from the people they're there to celebrate.

And that's why some weddings have packed dance floors all night even when the song choices aren't perfect.

The couple is leading from the front.

Now, does this mean the DJ doesn't matter?

Of course not.

A bad DJ can absolutely hurt a dance floor.

But even the best DJ in the world can't force people to celebrate if the couple isn't participating themselves.

The weddings with the best parties usually have one thing in common:

The couple spends most of the night on the dance floor.

Not at the bar.
Not outside.
Not at their sweetheart table.

On the dance floor.

Because when the couple is dancing, everyone else feels like they should be dancing too.

What do you think?

At a wedding, the dance floor and DJ booth should be closer to the bar 👇

I know that sounds like a strange thing for a DJ to care about.

But after working hundreds of weddings, I've become convinced that dance floor location has a much bigger impact on the party than most people realize.

Specifically...
I think the dance floor should be as close to the bar as reasonably possible.

Here's why.

The more distance you create between the dance floor and the places guests naturally gather, the harder it becomes to pull people into the action.

Think about it.

A guest walks up to grab a drink.
They hear a song they love.
They see people dancing.
They're only a few steps away from joining in.

Now compare that to a ballroom where the bar is tucked away in another room or on the opposite side of the venue.

The people at the bar become disconnected from the energy of the party.

They're having conversations.
They're checking their phones.
They're hanging out in a completely different environment.

And once people separate themselves from the dance floor, it becomes much harder to get them back.

The best wedding dance floors usually have something in common:

Guests are constantly flowing in and out of the party.

Someone grabs a drink.
Hears their song.
Jumps onto the dance floor.

Someone takes a quick break.
Then gets pulled right back in.

That movement creates energy.

When the bar and dance floor are isolated from each other, that energy gets split in half.

Now obviously there are exceptions.

Every venue is different, and there are plenty of weddings that still have amazing dance floors despite the layout.

But if I could give couples one piece of venue advice, it would be this:

Pay attention to where people naturally gather.

Because sometimes the biggest factor in a packed dance floor isn't the DJ.

It's the room itself.

Do you agree?

Should the bar be close to the dance floor?

Couples spend too much money on decor and not enough on entertainment.

Before anyone comes after me, I understand why decor is important.

The flowers, candles, linens, centerpieces, signage, and room design all help create an amazing atmosphere.

But after DJing hundreds of weddings, I've noticed something interesting:

Guests talk about the party way more than they talk about the decor.

Nobody is leaving a wedding saying:

"Did you see those charger plates?"
"Those centerpieces changed my life."

What they do remember is how the wedding felt.

They remember singing at the top of their lungs with their friends.
They remember being on a packed dance floor.
They remember the energy in the room.
They remember whether they had fun.

And that's why I've always found it interesting that entertainment is often treated as an afterthought during wedding planning.

I've seen couples spend thousands upgrading decor details that most guests won't notice, while trying to save money on the very thing that determines how the reception actually feels.

Now don't get me wrong.

A beautiful room absolutely matters.

It creates the first impression.

But once the dancing starts, nobody is staring at the centerpieces anymore.

They're focused on the experience.

And in my opinion, the experience is what people remember long after the wedding is over.

I'm curious what everyone thinks.

Most couples don't realize this, but a huge must-play list can actually make the party worse 👇

I know that sounds backwards.

After all, shouldn't more planning lead to a better wedding?

Not always.

A lot of couples build their must-play list with good intentions.

They want to make sure their favorite songs get played.
They want to keep their friends happy.
They want to make sure every age group is represented.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The problem is that a must-play list can quickly turn into a restriction list.

When a DJ is trying to work through 50, 75, or even 100 specific songs, it becomes much harder to do the thing they were hired to do in the first place:

Read the room.

Sometimes the dance floor is telling you exactly what it wants.

You can feel the momentum building.
You know what direction the crowd wants to go.
You know what song should come next.

But instead of following that energy, you're forced to jump to a song that's on the list because you promised you'd play it.

And every time that happens, you risk breaking the momentum that keeps a dance floor packed.

Now don't get me wrong.

I'm not saying couples shouldn't have must-play songs.

It's your wedding, and there are absolutely songs that deserve a spot on that list.

But there's a big difference between giving your DJ 10-20 songs that truly matter and trying to script the entire night from start to finish.

The best dance floors usually happen when there's a balance.

The couple provides the vision.

The DJ provides the ex*****on.

Because no matter how much planning happens beforehand, the dance floor is always going to tell you what it wants in real time.

What do you think?

The best wedding songs are often 10+ years old.

Every year there's a new batch of hit songs.

They dominate the radio, rack up millions of streams, and everyone says they're going to be the next big wedding anthem.

But then something interesting happens.

Most of them disappear.

As a wedding DJ, I've noticed that the songs that consistently fill dance floors aren't usually the songs that came out this year.

They're the songs people have lived with.

The songs that remind them of high school, college, road trips, parties, relationships, and specific moments in their lives.

That's why you'll often see a song from 2009 outperform a song from 2025.

It's not necessarily because it's a better song.

It's because it has history.

People don't just hear it.

They remember it.

Don't get me wrong, new music absolutely has a place at weddings.

But if your goal is to get the largest number of people on the dance floor at the same time, nostalgia is one of the most powerful tools a DJ has.

I'm curious what everyone thinks.

Do you think older songs usually work better at weddings?

I don't think wedding DJs should always give couples what they ask for.

I know this might be controversial, but I think one of the biggest mistakes DJs make is being afraid to disagree with their clients.

Now before anyone gets upset, I'm not saying DJs should ignore what the couple wants.

At the end of the day, it's their wedding.

But I do think there's a difference between giving the couple exactly what they want and helping them create the experience they're actually hoping for.

For example, if a couple tells me they want a packed dance floor all night, but then hands me a 75-song must play list filled with songs that typically don't work on dance floors, I think it's my responsibility to have that conversation.

If a couple wants a high energy party but plans to keep guests seated through four hours of formalities, I think it's my responsibility to point that out.

If a couple wants guests dancing until the end of the night but wants the DJ booth hidden in another room, I think it's worth discussing.

The reality is that most couples only plan one wedding.

Meanwhile, their DJ might have worked hundreds.

That's not because the DJ knows what's best for every wedding.

It's because experience gives you the ability to see problems before they happen.

And in my opinion, that's part of what couples are paying for.

I've seen DJs who say yes to everything because they're afraid of losing the booking or creating conflict.

But if a doctor or a lawyer sees a potential problem, we expect them to speak up.

Why should DJs be any different?

Sometimes the best service you can provide isn't agreeing with every idea.

It's being honest enough to say:

"Hey, we can absolutely do that. But based on my experience, here's what I think might happen."

The couple can still make the final decision.

But at least they're making an informed one.

What do you think?