By PAT GOUDEY O’BRIEN

“I’ll dance at your wedding.”

It’s a popular sentiment, and it assumes a wedding will include dancing. Dancing means music and that used to mean having to hire a band.

But, music played at wedding receptions today often consists of recorded music organized and introduced by a master of ceremonies or a disc jockey. Music chosen for the ceremony itself, or for a cocktail hour prior to the reception, may involve a single musician playing instruments like a harp, piano, organ or flute, or a small ensemble playing background music as guests gather at the church before the ceremony or enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres prior to a dinner reception.

The types of dance music – ballroom, swing, salsa, mariachi, rock ‘n roll – played after dinner remains as varied as the tastes of individual couples, but the popularity of DJs over live bands has increased during the past few decades, according to music providers in the area.

Kristi Benjamin, who handles catering sales for New England Culinary Institute at the Inn at Essex, said DJs have been the trend in after-dinner wedding music for a while, with the bulk of couples selecting a master of ceremonies who plays recorded music, rather than a live band, although some couples still want a live band.

At Peak Entertainment in Morrisville, 13 disc jockeys are available for weddings and special events around the state. Client services representative Newton Wells said the bulk of the company’s clients are from out of state.

“Our clients tend to be destination couples coming from New York, Boston, New Jersey and Connecticut,” Wells said. “They are older couples, perhaps in their late 20s or early 30s.”

He said these couples want music that will help motivate people of all ages and tastes to get up and dance.

“A bride will say, ‘We want to be sure grandma and grandpa are out there dancing, too,’” he said. Popular music genres include some modern and hip hop selections, but selections from swing, Motown, oldies, and disco dominate the mix, he said. “Eighties rock is huge,” Wells said.

Bea Cobeo, a partner with Hector Cobeo at HP Bands in Burlington, said her company books bands from an extensive list of live local performers, soloists or DJs. If a live band is hired to provide pre-wedding music, a small ensemble can be selected from among band members to play before the ceremony or during a cocktail hour, while the full band can provide music for dancing later on, she said.

Cobeo said sometimes the choice of DJ or live band is driven by economics: the cost of a DJ from HP Bands can run from about $900 to $1,300, while a local band can start at about $3,800 and increase to $7,000.00 or more.

Whether using a band or a DJ, couples planning a wedding gravitate to classic selections of popular tunes from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Cobeo said. Rhythm and blues, rock and dance music are popular selections, she said. HP Bands also offers mariachi, which is becoming popular in the area.

The bandleader or DJ typically serves as master of ceremonies during the course of the wedding, and couples can engage dancers or instructors to help wedding guests learn special dance steps to encourage more to participate in the celebration, she said. They sometimes demonstrate dances like swing, ballroom or Latin styles, she said.

Wells said his 13-year-old company provides a database of music for couples to choose from; brides and grooms also can request specific songs and Peak Entertainment will find a copy of the piece, if possible.

Communication to refine the play list is accomplished over the Internet, he said.

For modern couples, traditional music or high-technology recordings are both flexible and viable options to provide music so guests can dance at their wedding.