How to Write a Do-not-play List via Dan & Ken’s Wedding at The Admiral | Omaha
Dan and Ken handed us 16 songs they never wanted to hear, a late-night pizza plan, and one request for the end of the night: close on the 10-minute version of "All Too Well." Here's what their planning can teach you about building your own.
October 25th, 2025 · The Admiral, Omaha
Your do-not-play list matters as much as your must-plays
Most couples spend weeks on the songs they want and about thirty seconds on the songs they don't. Dan and Ken did the opposite.
Here's the do-not-play list they gave us:
Soulja Boy — "Crank That"
"Gangnam Style" — Psy
"What Does the Fox Say?" — Ylvis
"Sweet Caroline"
"YMCA"
"Brown Eyed Girl"
"Cotton Eye Joe"
No Kanye
No Chris Brown
"Who Let the Dogs Out"
"Dance Monkey" — Tones and I
"Don't Stop Believin'" (Journey or Glee)
"Bulletproof" — La Roux
"We Are Family"
"Party in the USA"
"Single Ladies"
Three things worth copying from how they built it:
They named the crutch songs. Sweet Caroline, YMCA, Cotton Eye Joe, Brown Eyed Girl, Don't Stop Believin'. These are the songs a lazy DJ reaches for the second a floor dips. Putting them on the list told us, plainly, that they'd rather we read the room than pull the emergency cheese.
They banned whole artists, not just songs. "No Kanye. No Chris Brown." You can keep an artist off your day for any reason at all, musical or otherwise. It's your wedding and your name on it.
They closed loopholes. "Don't Stop Believin' (Journey or Glee)" makes sure no version sneaks in.
You don't need to copy their list. The move to copy is spending real time on yours. Tell your DJ what makes you cringe, and a good one will never put you in the position of forcing a smile while it plays.
Closing on a 10-minute Taylor Swift song (yes, really)
Their one note for the end of the night: "If we can, end with Taylor Swift's 'All Too Well' — the 10-minute version."
A lot of DJs would talk a couple out of that. Ten minutes is a long time to hold a room on a slow-building song about a breakup. But a finale does a different job than a peak-hour banger. It hands the room one last thing to do together, and for Dan and Ken's crowd that was shouting every word of a song they all knew by heart.
If you've got a song that's "too long" or "too weird" to close on but it's unmistakably yours, that's exactly the thing to tell your DJ. The last song is the one moment built entirely around the two of you. We went deeper on how to choose it here: How to pick the last song of your wedding night (and why it matters).
Steal this: the late-night food drop and the hand-built details
The smartest move of the night came right around the hour energy usually sags. Dinner was Eddie's Catering. The late-night Orsi's pizza run was the part people texted about the next day, plus a secret menu of Polish sausage, sauerkraut, and dumplings for the guests who knew to ask. Food timed to the back half of the dance set does something a coffee station can't: it pulls people back off the patio and gives them fuel for the last push.
The rest of the room was built by hand. Friends and family made the centerpieces, designed the bar menu, and set up a throwback cigarette station. The details guests actually remember rarely come out of a catalog. If your venue allows a late-night snack, it's one of the best-value calls you can make.
Hear the actual night
Two ways to borrow from their music. The song picks, and the real recorded sets.
Steal the songs (Spotify): Open these and drag whatever fits straight into your own list.
Hear how it was mixed (Mixcloud): This is the real night, recorded, not a playlist on shuffle. If you've ever wondered what "a DJ who actually mixes" sounds like next to a press-play playlist, put this on.
And about that "still recovering" line in their review below: that's the "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer slow moment flipping straight into a drop-it-low stretch a few minutes later. Pacing like that is the whole job.
From the couple:
"Saturday was a freaking BLAST!!! The amount of compliments and aching knees were expressed to Ken and I all day. (We are still hurting from dropping it too low)." — Dan Podjenski & Ken Zeiger
The crew that brought the vibe
Venue: The Admiral (@theadmiralomaha) — Sam and team, total pros.
Catering: Eddie’s Catering + Orsi’s Pizza (late-night perfection)
Photographer: Royce Studios @roycestudiophotography
Florals: On Parr Florals
Photo Booth: Premier Party Rentals @premierpartyrents (Stephanie, you crushed it!)
DJ: @brentcrampton with @alternativeweddingdjs
Planning & Details: Friends and family — the best kind of team.
Shoutout to Royce Studios (@roycestudiophotography) for these incredible shots — you captured the vibe perfectly.
