image by Nikk Nguyen | see more of this real wedding here

Most couples want to host a fun wedding. Of course, you want the cake to be delicious and your florals to be amazing. But when it comes to your wedding, it’s also a unique time to show off your dance moves with the help of a professional. After toasts are done and dinner has been served, it’s time to open up the dance floor with amazing wedding reception songs. Thankfully, you don’t have to go at it alone—as long as you’ve already hired a professional wedding DJ.

Imagine the photos you’ll cherish of group dances and the songs that provoke spontaneous bursts of singing on the dance floor. From the first dance to the last song of the evening, we’ve rounded up the best wedding music to keep your guests dancing all night long!

Our Top 10 Wedding Reception Songs

1. I Wanna Dance with Somebody — Whitney Houston
2. Marry You — Bruno Mars
3. Crazy in Love — Beyonce and Jay Z
4. On the Floor — Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull
5. All of Me — John Legend
6. We Are Family — Sister Sledge
7. Dancing Queen — ABBA
8. Man! I Feel Like a Woman — Shania Twain
9. Lose Control — Missy Elliot
10. Suavemente — Elvis Crespo

If you’d prefer to listen to these songs and not read through the list, scroll to the bottom to find our playlist on Spotify!

image by Marianne Chua

Don’t Stop At The Top 10 Wedding Reception Songs

The rest of the songs didn’t make our top ten list but that doesn’t mean they’re any less special. Who wants to listen to the same ten songs for an entire wedding reception, anyway? We added many more songs to the list below separated by genre and make note of the ones you want to bring up to your wedding DJ. 

When discussing your wedding reception playlist with your wedding DJ, make sure to include a mix of songs that you like. Cover various genres, tempos, and eras to encourage people to shake their tail feathers. We mean it. You should include something for all your guests. 

Junebug Wedding Music Tip:

Include a section on your RSVP cards where guests can request their favorite songs be added to your dance floor playlist. Then be sure to share their requests with your DJ! 

image by Oliver Rabanes Photography

Wedding Reception Classics

These are classic wedding reception songs. Folks will know how to dance to them, you won’t risk offending your new in-laws, and these are sure to inspire some singing on the dance floor. Throw a few of these into your mix and even your great-grandmother will get up to show off her moves.

Mambo No. 5 — Lou Bega

Shout, Pts. 1 & 2 — The Isley Brothers

We Are Family — Sister Sledge

Don’t Stop Believin’ — Journey

My Girl — The Temptations

Signed, Sealed, Delivered — Stevie Wonder

Canned Heat — Jamiroquai

I Want You Back — Jackson 5

Boogie Nights — Heatwave

Play That Funky Music — Wild Cherry

Love Train — The O’Jays

Boogie Shoes — KC & The Sunshine Band

September — Earth, Wind & Fire

Sweet Caroline — Neil Diamond

Dancing in the Moonlight — King Harvest

Love Shack — The B-52’s

Stayin’ Alive — Bee Gees

Respect — Aretha Franklin

Build Me Up Buttercup — The Foundations

(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life — Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes

Do You Love Me — The Contours

Walking on Sunshine — Katrina & The Waves

Little Bitty Pretty One — Thurston Harris

Hot Stuff — Donna Summer

image by Rob August Photography

Country Dance Floor Music

If you’re not personally into country music that’s okay. These carefully selected country songs are crowd pleasers and many of them have built in dance moves. Throw a few of them in and watch your dance floor expand! 

Copperhead Road — Steve Earle

Tennessee Whiskey — Chris Stapleton

I Cross My Heart — George Strait

Honey Bee — Blake Shelton

The Keeper of the Stars — Tracy Byrd

You Had Me From Hello — Kenny Chesney

Country Girl (Shake It For Me) — Luke Bryan

Nobody But You — Blake Shelton

Love Story — Taylor Swift

Wagon Wheel — Darius Rucker

Better Together — Luke Combs 

Boot Scootin’ Boogie — Brooks & Dunn

Man! I Feel Like a Woman — Shania Twain

Footloose — Kenny Loggins

Meant to Be — Bebe Rexha, Florida Georgia Line

I Do — Alan Jackson

Butterflies — Casey Musgraves

Why Don’t We Just Dance — Josh Turner

image by menino conhece menina

R&B Wedding Reception Songs

R&B music is perfect for your wedding reception songs. Some of these have different tempos that will keep some of your guests dancing and allow some of your guests to take a quick break to hit your reception bar. 

Good Feeling — Flo Rida

Family Affair — Mary J Blige

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough — Marvin Gaye

The Business — Tiësto

24K Magic — Bruno Mars

Here Comes The Hotstepper — Ini Kamoze

Love on Top — Beyonce

Yeah! — Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris

I Feel Good — James Brown

Forever — Chris Brown

Celebration — Kool & The Gang

We Made It — H.E.R.

No One — Alicia Keys

Want to Want Me — Jason Derulo

Don’t Start Now — Dua Lipa

Nothing Can Come Between Us — Sade

Levitating — Dua Lipa

Jumpin’, Jumpin — Destiny’s Child

This Is How We Do It — Montell Jordan

Mi Gente — J Balvin, Willy William

Circles — Post Malone

How Will I Know — Whitney Houston

Rhythm Is A Dancer — SNAP!

We Found Love — Rihanna, Calvin Harris

Formation — Beyonce

Always On Time — Ja Rule, Ashanti

You’re The First, The Last, My Everything — Barry White

Get It Shawty — Lloyd

One Love — Trey Songz

Hey Mr. D.J. — Zhané

Because of You — Ne-Yo

Aint Nobody — Chaka Khan

Let’s Get Married — Jagged Edge

image by Jordan Voth

Hip Hop Reception Music

There’s no getting around it, hip hop songs are a surefire to get your guests dancing. Whether it’s Missy Elliot encouraging your guests to lose control on the dance floor or Lizzo announcing the results of her DNA tests, hip hop wedding reception songs are some of the most fun.

Feel So Good — Mase

LOVE. — Kendrick Lamar

It Takes Two — Rob Base & DJ EZ Roc

Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It — Will Smith

Push It — Salt-N-Pepa

Bust a Move — Young MC

Boom — Tiësto, Sevenn, Gucci Mane

Hey Ya! — Outkast

The Way I Are — Timbaland

Yo Perreo Sola — Bad Bunny

Cyclone — Baby Bash, T-Pain

Taki Taki — DJ Snake

Truth Hurts — Lizzo

I Like It — Cardi B

Jump Around — House of Pain

Kiss Me More — Doja Cat

What’s Luv? — Fat Joe

Lose Control — Missy Elliot

Luv U Better — LL Cool J

Don’t Stop The Music — Rihanna

Cha Cha Slide — DJ Casper

Gonna Make You Sweat — C & C Music Factory

Do It — Chloe x Halle

It’s Tricky — Run DMC

Hold On, We’re Going Home — Drake

Hypnotize — Notorious BIG

Mayores — Becky G, Bad Bunny

That’s What I Like — Bruno Mars

Pump Up The Jam — Technotronic

image by Lindsey Paradiso Photography

Rock n’ Roll Reception Music

Don’t forget about your rock n’ roll friends when it comes to wedding music. Sure, they might not be confident in all of their dance moves, but they’ll get on the dance floor for songs they know. These songs will offer a fun mix to change up the mood and yes, get even more of your guests on the dance floor.

Brown Eyed Girl — Van Morrison

Take On Me — A-Ha

Livin’ On A Prayer — Bon Jovi

Should I Stay or Should I Go — The Clash

You Shook Me All Night Long — AC/DC

This Must Be The Place — Talking Heads

Wild Thing — The Troggs

The Best — Tina Turner

Magic — Coldplay

Dancing in the Dark — Bruce Springsteen

All the Small Things — Blink 182

Groove Is In The Heart — Deee-Lite

Sugar, We’re Goin Down — Fall Out Boy

Lovefool — The Cardigans

All Day and All of The Night — The Kinks

Summer of ’69 — Bryan Adams

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) — The Proclaimers

Mr. Brightside — The Killers

Sweet Home Alabama — Lynyrd Skynyrd

Dog Days Are Over — Florence + The Machine

Come On Eileen — Dexy’s Midnight Runners

Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana

Jailhouse Rock — Elvis Presley

Twist & Shout — The Beatles

Once In a Lifetime — Talking Heads

Free Ride — The Edgar Winter Group

Laid — James

Best Day of My Life — American Authors

Dancing Queen — ABBA

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go — WHAM!

Shut Up And Dance — Walk the Moon

image by Eden Strader

Pop Reception Tunes

Just like Cyndi Lauper suggests, wedding guests just wanna have fun! Light-hearted pop hits from multiple eras are the key to success for your wedding reception songs. Don’t just turn on Top 40 to get inspired—those aren’t necessarily good dancing songs. Use this list instead.

Get Lucky — Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers

Girls Just Want to Have Fun — Cyndi Lauper

Moves Like Jagger — Maroon 5

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom — Selena 

Hello — Martin Solveig, Dragonette

Always Be My Baby — Mariah Carey

Shake It Off — Taylor Swift

Before I Let Go — Beyonce

I Gotta Feeling — Black Eyed Peas

Despacito — Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee

Adore You — Harry Styles

When Love Takes Over — David Guetta

I Love It — Icona Pop

Vivir Mi Vida — Marc Anthony

Party in the USA — Miley Cyrus

Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough — Michael Jackson

Toxic — Britney Spears

So Yo — Bomba Estéro

Since U Been Gone — Kelly Clarkson

Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson

Suavemente — Elvis Crespo

Wannabe — Spice Girls

Let’s Go Crazy — Prince

Waiting for Tonight — Jennifer Lopez

Dancing On My Own — Robyn

Livin’ La Vida Loca — Ricky Martin

Everybody — The Backstreet Boys

Havana — Camila Cabello

Bye, Bye, Bye — *NSYNC

Single Ladies — Beyonce

Bang Bang — Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj

Danza Kuduro — Don Omar

SexyBack — Justin Timberlake

One More Time — Daft Punk

image by Dallas & Sabrina | see more of this real wedding here

Slow Songs To Dance To

Slow songs are important for your dance floor. Don’t sleep on them and make sure that you include a mix of them for all of the couples attending your wedding. 

All of Me — John Legend

Make You Feel My Love — Adele

Kokomo — The Beach Boys

Can’t Help Falling In Love — Elvis Presley

The Way You Look Tonight — Frank Sinatra

Because You Loved Me — Céline Dion

Dream a Little Dream of Me — Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

I Choose You — Sara Bareilles

Being With You — Smokey Robinson

You Send Me — Sam Cooke

We Danced — Brad Paisley

From This Moment On — Shania Twain

Perfect — Ed Sheeran

Paper Planes — Alexander Jean

First Day of My Life — Bright Eyes

image by AH Love Stories | see more of this real wedding here

Listen Along on Spotify

Keeping your guests in mind when choosing your wedding reception songs will ensure you create a collection of the best wedding reception songs. If you’ve hired an expert wedding DJ they’ll also help you curate the mood on the dance floor with their extensive knowledge of both popular and classic wedding reception songs. This is one wedding decision—thankfully—you won’t have to handle by yourselves.

Now that you’ve got your wedding reception playlist rolling you can focus on the other important musical elements of your wedding like your first dance song.

image by Christian Reyes Photography