There aren’t many places these days to do the hokeypokey and the chicken dance. But it does happen at wedding receptions, with the bride and groom’s approval and the DJ’s planning.

“We have hours of planning for each wedding,” said Robert Pfeifer of Pifemaster Productions in Butler. “It’s not just show up and play music.”

Pfeifer, a DJ for 18 years, and other local DJs work with each couple to choose the music for dancing, as well as music for other parts of the reception. Pfeifer uses 60 to 75 songs for a typical reception.

“Most wedding receptions are only five hours long,” said Brian Russo of Butler, a DJ for 11 years. “When you break it down and want to do all these things, you have to be prompt on your times or you’re not going to get everything in.”

Craig Lawrence of Red Hot Chameleon Entertainment in Meridian asks couples to divide their music choices into songs that are a priority, others to play as time allows and those they do not want at all.

“The do not play (list) is just as important as priority,” Lawrence said.

“That list has increased in size over the years,” Pfeifer said. “Today’s couples are more particular about the music that they do and don’t want to hear.”

John Greaves of J’s Sound and Light in Slippery Rock said brides and bridegrooms are especially particular about the music for their first dance.

Greaves can provide suggestions for the couple.

“Years ago they would have to come to my house and I would play records for them. They would listen to them and they would pick from that,” Greaves said.

“With the Internet today and YouTube, a lot of couples are watching videos of what other couples are doing at their weddings. They are always looking for something unique,” Pfeifer said.

“They are trying to do dance routines or even having us put together an audio track with more than one song. It’s almost a performance,” Pfeifer said.

Russo has seen choreographed dances with members of the bridal party, too.

“You sit back and you watch,” Russo said, “You laugh about it and keep it moving.”

Jeffrey O’Donnell of Triple Threat Entertainment Sound and Lighting in Butler is surprised how much music couples know from earlier generations.

“They know the songs but not from the original artists,” he said.

Pfeifer buys most of his songs through a company that packages the most popular new releases for DJs, radio stations and entertainment venues.

Lawrence subscribes to a service that provides new music for every genre. They purchase any other music they need.

Pfeifer, Russo, Lawrence, Greaves and O’Donnell all use recordings that have been edited or filtered.

“The words have been changed,” O’Donnell said.

“It makes all the bad words go away,” Greaves said.

According to Pfeifer, the biggest change for DJs is the switch from music being provided on physical media to digital media.

“I used to have five or six huge cases that weighed hundreds of pounds,” Pfeifer said. “Now all of that music or more can be contained on a single hard drive.”

Greaves recalled halls with false floors, such as the South Butler Fire Hall. When dancers started pounding the floor with their feet, the needle would skip.

“To try to stop the skipping, I would put quarters on the head shell. That’s what holds the needle,” said Greaves.

Greaves made the transition from vinyl to CDs and still prefers the reliability of CDs over using a laptop with digital music.

“Every new wedding season there are a handful of hot songs that come along,” Lawrence said. Those songs are usually requested at every wedding reception.

He said that right now that group would be “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, “Want to Want Me” by Jason Derulo, “Shut up and Dance” by Walk the Moon and “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weekend.

Lawrence said other top dance requests include “Love Shack,” “The Twist,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “I Want to Dance With Somebody,” “Billy Jean,” “Shout” and “You Shook Me All Night Long.” He said people never tire of “Low” by Flo Rida and “Yeah” by Usher.

“Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson — you can never go wrong with those two artists,” Russo said.

He said classic rock ’n’ roll and “one-hit wonders” from the 1980s are popular, too.

For group dances, Lawrence said “Cupid Shuffle,” “Cha Cha Slide,” “Electric Slide” and “Wobble Baby” are requested for every wedding.

O’Donnell said guests still ask for the hokeypokey and the chicken dance and they still enjoy a conga line.

For cocktails and dinner, the DJs use instrumental music, cool jazz or artists such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, Dean Martin, Norah Jones and Rod Stewart.

O’Donnell said he often plays more oldies near the beginning of the dancing.

“As the night goes on I raise the volume and get into the kids,” he said. “If I start blasting it right off the bat, the old people are going to leave.”

O’Donnell reads the crowd and watches the dance floor as the evening progresses.

“You cannot change the gears a lot,” O’Donnell said.

When there is a request, O’Donnell said he may not play it right away. Once he gets a crowd dancing, he wants as many people on the dance floor as possible.

“If the dance floor is not packed, you’re not doing your job,” Russo said.

Greaves also reads the crowd.

“I see their ages. I see how they’re dressed. That tells me a lot,” Greaves said.

When he can see that dancers are tiring, he slows down the music.

Greaves likes to make the guests laugh, too. He’ll use one liners, have hula hoop contests or perhaps dress the groomsmen in Village People costumes.

When looking for a DJ, Lawrence said couples should find someone with a lot of experience and personal recommendations.

Pfeifer said. “The disc jockey in this area is actually the master of ceremonies at the reception, introduces people and coordinates with the videographer, photographer, banquet staff and caterer so every one is aware of the timeline and sequence of events.”

“In a perfect world we would get requests from the couple, we would be allowed to accept requests from the guests and we would be allowed to inject our own experience to create a well rounded playlist. It’s really a combination of all of those that are going to give you the best outcome and everybody is going to go home happy,” Pfeifer said.

“On Sunday morning, I want their feet sore,” Greaves said. “They may not remember my name or they may not remember my company but they are going to remember they had a good time.”