Creating a Unique Wedding Atmosphere: Why a Custom Playlist Is Essential — and How I Build It

📸 Photo par Moonrise photography

When a couple reaches out to me to accompany them on their wedding day, my priority is to craft a deeply personalized musical experience. In this article, I’m sharing my five-step method — an approach that helps me understand each couple’s musical world, design a tailor-made atmosphere true to their story, and deliver it with the artistic touch that makes all the difference on the big day.

Step 1: Understanding Their Everyday Musical Taste

From our very first conversation, I ask the couple to share their favorite playlists with me. Whether they listen on Spotify, Apple Music, or Deezer, I want to know which songs soundtrack their mornings, afternoons, or evenings. These aren’t necessarily dance tracks — but they help me dive into their universe and truly understand what moves them.

Step 2: Building a Custom Wedding Playlist

Next, I guide the couple in creating a playlist specifically for their wedding celebration. We include the songs that matter to them — tracks that bring memories, get everyone dancing, and reflect their personality.Within that selection, we also create a “must-play” list: ten to fifteen essential songs they absolutely want to hear during the night.

Step 3: The Art of Live DJing

This is where the magic happens. I always explain that the DJ set is never pre-programmed. I choose the perfect moment to play each must-play track based on the energy in the room.Being a DJ is like assembling a puzzle in real time — adapting every track to the vibe of the crowd, reading the room, responding to the dance floor, and adding my artistic signature to shape a truly unique experience.

Step 4: Planning the Key Moments

A few weeks before the big day, I schedule a final meeting with the couple to define all the major moments of the evening: the first dance, emotional highlights, speeches, or special entries.We usually finalize these details one to three weeks before the wedding. Once everything is set, the rest is about letting the emotion flow and turning the celebration into an unforgettable memory.

Step 5: The “Blacklist” — Avoiding the Wrong Notes

Finally, there’s one more step I consider essential: creating what I call the “blacklist,” or the “no-play list.” I always tell my couples that identifying songs they don’t want to hear is just as important as selecting their favorites.Even if 90% of the guests love a song, the couple may wish to avoid it — and that’s perfectly valid. So we list those tracks to prevent any wrong notes and ensure the entire musical direction aligns fully with their vision.

Johann Sutter