Worst Wedding Grand Entrance Songs—And Yes, These Really Happened (Part One)

Worst Wedding Grand Entrance Songs—And Yes, These Really Happened (Part One)

If you think people only choose upbeat, feel-good songs for their grand entrance… oh, friend. You’re in for a treat. In Part One, I break down some of the most head-scratching, mood-killing grand entrance songs I’ve ever seen used in the wild—and yes, they’re all real. 

September 27, 2025

As a wedding DJ for nearly three decades, I've witnessed packed dance floors, magical moments, and enough happy tears to fill a champagne tower. For my role as the DJ, however, weddings are as much auditory events as they are visual. And for as much beauty and splendor as I have seen, I have also heard some...shall we say...bold and unusual song choices. 

Choosing your wedding music is important. These songs become the soundtrack to your love story; they should not be the soundtrack to your therapy session. But in all my years DJing, I have learned one universal truth:

Many couples do not listen to the lyrics of the songs they ask me to play.

While most couples beautifully soundtrack the most meaningful days of their lives, some couples select songs that are so questionable that they deserve their own HBO docuseries. 

Let me break this down further. I am not only a DJ—I am also a musician. I am a drummer who has played with a number of bands through the years; my history in the field of music entertainment is more extensive than the couples who hire me to DJ their weddings are aware. I certainly love and appreciate a good melody. I am a fan of layered production and I revere the complexities of instrumentation. I especially love jazz, and nothing excites me more than experimentation and improvisation by a master with his or her instrument. But the music I play at weddings is so much much more than pretty orchestration; the songs that I play when DJing also tell stories. Something else most people do not know about me: I am a writer, and I frequently take forays into the art of poetry. Remember, too, that I was a high school English teacher for 30 years. I pay very close attention to lyrics. I always have. And, in my travels, I have learned that many people do not.  So, in the spirit of love and laughter, and in an attempt to save future couples from musical disaster, I am here to help. 

I often tell my couples that someday I would like to write a book about the crazy things that I have seen and heard at the weddings I've DJed.  I say this in jest, but were I to take the time to write this book—more likely books, plural; it would make more sense to separate the visual from the auditory to give each the development they would require—it would likely become a best seller. It would defy genre categorization because it would be both a comedic work of genius and a modern horror masterpiece. It would also be autobiographical. These are, after all, true stories. Well, suspend your disbelief because what follows in today's post comes from a book I've not yet written. Titled A DJ's Guide to Wedding Music Mistakes. It will be a long read and very involved as it will contain real wedding DJ stories complete with hilariously inappropriate wedding song fails. You can consider this three part blog post a first draft of chapter one. It is likely to shock you. It should shock you because each of these stories shocked the hell out of me when they went down. To be sure, I will not name names. This post is not meant to embarrass the couples who made these mistakes. I will never call out anyone for questionable song choices, but I will share the aftermath that resulted from  those choices. Make no mistake, these are some of the very worst wedding song choices I have played in my 28 years DJing.

Be sure to grab your popcorn. 

And buckle up. It's about to get wild.

Why Wedding Music Matters (and How It Can Go Hilariously Wrong)

The songs that you choose for your wedding day set the tone for each moment—from your grand entrance to your last dance. The right songs can give rise to unbridled joy and high energy, they can bring about waves of nostalgia and honest sentiments.

But the wrong songs? 

They bring confusion. And nervous laughter. And sometimes tremendous repercussions. 

I knew before playing eight of these nine songs that they would not go down well, and I gently urged the couples who selected them to reconsider. The one song on this list that I did not question also ended precariously, and l should have given it more thought before pressing play. (We'll get there.) I am always honest with my couples when we meet in person. If I believe their music choices are  ill-I advised, I tell them. My couples always have complete playlist control, and I defer to their choices on all things. But I genuinely care about the couples for whom I DJ, and they deserve my honest feedback. So at our meetings, I share my concerns and provide the questionable lyrics that are likely to cause trouble. At most in-person meetings, that is usually all it takes for couples to reconsider. Most couples' eyes widen and their jaws hit the floor when they learn what lyrics they have asked me to play...

but...

sometimes, couples insist that they are content with their choices, and—no matter the lyrics—they just really like the songs. Every time this has happened, I have politely agreed to do as they ask because when I DJ weddings, everything is customizable. I always do what my couples ask of me...even when I know their song selections will not end well. 

We will save awkward first dances, inappropriate parent dances, uncomfortable dinner music, cringe bouquet tosses, and depressing last dances for future chapters. This first chapter will exclusively highlight the worst grand entrance songs I have been asked to play. It is my intent to prevent such mistakes from repeating themselves, and if this helps just one of my future couples to  choose better tracks, it will have been time well spent.

Let's begin, shall we?

Chapter One: An Ill-Considered Grand Entrance

A couple's grand entrance is, perhaps, the most important moment of a wedding reception. After all, it sets the tone for the entire night. This is more than just a walk through the doors—it is the opening act of your celebration. It is the moment when all eyes turn to you, the newlyweds, for the first time as husband and wife—it’s the spark that lights your party’s fuse. The right song energizes guests, signals the party is officially on, and gives everyone a glimpse of your personalities as a couple. The right song choice should shout, “We’ve arrived!” with energy, confidence, and festivity. Think fun, upbeat, and joyful—something that makes guests want to jump out of their seats with excitement. The wrong song? It can confuse, embarrass, or even upset loved ones. Older relatives, in particular, can be unforgiving when the lyrics, tone, or energy of a track clashes with the joyful atmosphere of a wedding reception. Couples want their guests to cheer, not cringe. Because when a couple's accompanying song misses the mark, it misses hard. I’ve seen rooms go from roaring applause to dead silence in a matter of seconds (...crickets...) followed by confused stares and a few horrified looks from Grandma. Sometimes the energy doesn’t just dip; it crashes and burns, leaving guests visibly uncomfortable or even a little angry. I’m not here to name names (wedding DJ confidentiality and all), but I am here to share a few unforgettable examples of what happens when good intentions meet truly terrible song choices. Picking the right wedding entrance song is one of the most important choices you as a couple will make for your reception—and a little DJ advice goes a long way. So before you cue up your big “ta-da” moment, let’s take a lighthearted—yet cautionary—look at nine real-life grand entrance songs that had everyone wishing for a do-over.  

I've been DJing for almost three decades, so I guess I should be grateful that there have been only nine questionable song choices. Still, that is nine too many. Each of these tunes is problematic, though some are worse than others. One ("Temporary Secretary") may even seem innocent enough, but you will understand its place on this list when I provide context. Please understand, I have no problem with most of these titles (complete transparency, there are two songs here that I detest, and I will make them known in time). I have played eight of the nine songs many, many times over the years ("Temporary Secretary" is, again, the exception), and each has worked well on the dance floor in its appropriate time and place. But I cautioned the couples who selected these songs that they were not particularly well-chosen for introductions, and my objections were overruled.  

Here, friendly readers, are the nine offending songs I did not want to play as my couples walked into the room... 

The Worst Wedding Grand Entrance Songs (and Why They Failed)

Do Not Play List: 

"Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga

Questionable Lyrics: "I want your ugly, I want your disease / I want your everything as long as it's free / I want your love / Love, love, love, I want your love / I want your drama, the touch of your hand (hey) / I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand / I want your love / Love, love, love, I want your love ."

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" might be a dancefloor favorite, but as a grand entrance song for newlyweds, it is about as fitting as a breakup speech at a proposal. Sure, it's dramatic, high-energy, and instantly recognizable—but so is a fire alarm, and no one is dancing to that on their wedding day either. The song's dark, twisted vibe completely clashes with the joyful, triumphant mood a grand entrance should create. Instead of celebrating love, it waves a flag of dysfunction. But that didn't stop one bride in 2009 from choosing it as her grand entrance song. In fairness, the song was at its peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, sitting comfortably at #2 for its third week (it would hold that position for seven weeks, held out of the top spot first by Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," and later by Kesha's "Tik Tok"). The song was everywhere; you could not escape its airplay, and for good reason—it was a banger (and still is). But here is where things became interesting: the groom did not like the song, nor did he want to use it for their introduction to the reception. His fiancée really wanted to dance her way into the room to her favorite song, and he refused to budge. The bride continued to beg him, and for weeks they teetered and tottered as I was left wondering, will they or won't they? Finally, three days before the wedding, he called me. During the phone call, he confessed he had personal reasons for his reluctance, and he asked me what I thought he should do. I told him that in marriage both partners are equals and share responsibility in the decisions they make. It wasn't my place to tell him what to do. An hour later, he called again and despite his trepidation, he told me to use Gaga for their grand entrance. He told me that he knew it would make her happy, and he loved her too much to tell her no. Hearing his words and the tone with which he said them, I knew in my gut that this was going to end very badly. Still, my job is to play the music requested by bride and groom.  And so, "Bad Romance" it was. 

As I suspected, it did not go well. The song landed with a thud so heavy you could feel the air go out of the room. Guests looked to the ground—eye contact was avoided at all costs—all were unsure whether to clap or to call for a counselor. The mother of the groom, bless her, was visibly upset...and yet, I did not know why. Not until dinner hour when she told me her son's story. As a young boy, the groom somehow survived a mauling at the jaws of a neighbor's dog. Six reconstructive surgeries later, his face was mostly repaired, but a visible reminder of the experience was left behind: a wide, discolored scar that ran diagonally from his right ear to his left cheek. His mom, to her credit, raised him well. She did not protect him from the ridicule of his peers at school; rather, she built his self-esteem so high that their taunts left no scar on his self-confidence. Yet here, at his reception, he walked in to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," and the song's references to the man's "ugly" and his "disease" just hit too close to home. His mom was still wiping away her tears long after the couple sat down at the head table. She was still struggling as she told me the story. And, suddenly, it all made sense.

What made the moment even heavier was the groom’s reaction—not outwardly, but in the tiny details no one else was scanning for. When the song’s more brutal phrases boomed through the speakers, you could see the brief flicker in his expression, the microsecond of old pain flashing behind his wedding-day smile. He didn’t flinch, exactly, but he swallowed hard, looked down, and tightened his hold on his bride’s hand as if steadying himself. His mother noticed—of course she did—and her face crumpled with a kind of heartbreak only a parent can feel: the horror of watching an old wound reopen in real time. Guests sensed it too; a quiet, aching tension settled over the head table like a shadow. Even those who loved the song outside the context of a wedding felt the disconnect, the emotional wrongness of it all. In that moment, the dancefloor anthem became something uncomfortably literal, and the celebration stumbled into a space it never should have entered. And that is the hidden danger of a bad grand entrance song: it can turn a joyful moment into a reminder of everything love is supposed to heal—not reopen. In her moment, I do not believe the bride ever picked up on his pain, and I still think about them to this day. I wonder if he ever confessed the pain he felt or the sacrifice he made so she could dance to her song. 

"She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5

Questionable Lyrics: "I know where you hide / Alone in your car / Know all of the things that make you who you are / I know that goodbye means nothing at all / Comes back and begs me (to) catch her every time she falls, yeah / Tap on my window, knock on my door / I want to make you feel beautiful / I don't mind spending every day / Out on your corner in the pouring rain / Look for the girl with the broken smile / Ask her if she wants to stay a while / And she will be loved."

First things first, it is never a good idea to choose a ballad to accompany your grand entrance. You want to fist pump as you swagger through the doors, not crawl to your head table at a snail's pace. But when the ballad chosen is Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved," you have much bigger problems than tempo to contend with. It might be a pop classic, but as a grand entrance song at a wedding reception, "She Will Be Loved" is deeply misguided. For one thing, the song is often interpreted as being about a stalker. This makes sense, given the lyrics. He is, after all, watching her day and night. He "knows where [she] hides, alone in her car" and he "spends every day out on [her] corner in the pouring rain," promising that someday, "she will be loved."  Still, others interpret the song to be about a prostitute. This is well-documented. Those who believe the interpretation to be true are quick to point out that Adam Levine is standing on her street corner as he waits for her arrival. He also willfully acknowledges that "[he's] had [her] so many times, but somehow [he] wants more." The song opens by telling us that she is a "beauty queen of only 18" who "had some trouble with herself" and "always belonged to someone else." She has clearly gotten herself in trouble, and her "broken smile" is proof positive that she is unhappy with her life choices.  Do I believe either interpretation is correct? No, I don't. But we are already in troubled waters because many guests may know these interpretations (they are widespread), and they may believe them.

Regardless, the song is not exactly the stuff of fairy tale romance. The woman is emotionally broken, hiding in her car and flashing that broken smile—hardly a symbol of marital bliss. And Levine has been permanently friendzoned. The song's melancholy tone and storyline suggest that the groom is pining for someone else. But in September 2002, when the song was newly released and resting at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, I had a couple who believed that it was a beautiful sentiment (what bride does not want to hear that "she will be loved" as she walks into her reception?) and they insisted that it would be a fine accompaniment to their grand entrance. Long story short, the couple walked in grinning ear to ear while the lyrics about a man chasing a different woman floated through the speakers. The applause started strong, then fizzled as guests exchanged confused looks. By the second verse, the bride's grandmother whispered, "Does he have a mistress?"  The romance of the moment disappeared as the mood went from "newlywed glow" to "Lifetime movie." The symbolism wasn't subtle—it was a red flag waving proudly above the head table. All that was left behind was a strange mix of pity and secondhand embarrassment. It wasn't the introduction of a happy couple—it was the musical equivalent of a therapy session no one asked to attend.  

But the moment that sealed this grand entrance as one of the worst wedding song choices I’ve ever witnessed came later in the evening, when the groom’s sister pulled me aside to ask if the couple had really thought through the symbolism of their big musical debut. She wasn’t angry—just genuinely baffled, the way someone looks when a magic trick goes wrong and they’re waiting for the punchline that never arrives. She explained that the bride had always been a little insecure about an ex-girlfriend the groom had remained close with. This ex was invited to the wedding, and she sat with her own husband in a far corner of the banquet hall. The sister said she couldn’t help but notice how many heads turned toward his ex when the lyrics played about chasing, longing, and loving someone who “always belonged to someone else” and how the poor girl nearly sank under the table in response. And the groom’s grandmother refused to let it go. Hours later, she continued to shake her head in disbelief, repeating, “That wasn't a song you marry someone to… that was a song you leave someone to.” The emotional temperature in the room changed entirely—what should have been the joyous kickoff to the reception became a quiet swirl of speculation, discomfort, and whispered commentary. By dessert, even the couple sensed that their romantic gesture had somehow backfired spectacularly. And as a longtime wedding DJ, I can say with complete certainty: few things derail newlywed magic faster than a grand entrance song that accidentally makes people question the stability of the entire relationship. 

_____________________________________________

As wild as these first two examples may seem, I promise you—we’ve barely scratched the surface. If Bad Romance and She Will Be Loved are red flags, what’s coming next are full-blown sirens. In the next installment of this series, we’ll dive into even more questionable grand entrance songs, from one of the worst pop tracks ever written (My Humps) to a Paul McCartney misfire so bizarre it helped blow up an entire wedding reception. If you’ve ever wondered how far a bad song choice can really go, Part Two is where things shift from merely awkward to genuinely heartbreaking. As a wedding DJ who’s seen hundreds of receptions, I can tell you with confidence: you’ll want to hear these cautionary tales before you pick your own grand entrance song. 

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