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DJ'd a wedding(divine inspiration related)

The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
edited April 2006 in Strut Central
ok, last night I am DJing a wedding...I asked if there was to be any special requests or special instances of the couples first dance, you know, typical wedding stuff. I was told "no" by the groom, just play 60s soul and jazz. Cool. BUT after about a half hour this dude comes up and says "I am going to do some introductions". OK. So I stop playing and he does his thing. Then he introduces the bride and groom and says "OK, the bride and groom will now have their first dance" I dont have ANYTHING cued up. I have the tone arm in the middle of a Lonnie Smith record. FUCK. I just plunged my hand into my 45 box in a panic and blindly pull out a 45... I pull Sam Cooke "You Send Me" without even looking, and since everyone at the reception was still aplauding for the couple I had just enough time to throw it on and get it started. Whew. And as it starts up, every lady in the house went "awwwwwww" I am a lucky lucky bastard. I could of really messed that shit up.I had only one hater all night. This miserable old dude...the only way he could have been sitting further away from the PA was if he was out in the parking lot...the dude is in the far far corner of the reception hall...comes up all pissed off, "could you turn this down!!!?" Now the buffet line has to go right in front of me, just inches from the speakers and folks are dancing and complimenting me on the music as they stand in line and this old guy walks 2 miles to tell me its too loud. Its wedding season, so tell your stories.

  Comments

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Sometimes weddings bring out the best in people......

    From this mornings headlines....

    Bride's Father, Brother Stabbed In Alleged Fight Over Wedding Cake[/b]
    Witnesses Say Man Was Growing Impatient About Cake Cutting
  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    I've learned from experience that EVERY wedding has at least a few old folks saying the music is too loud. I've even done some weddings where the speakers weren't near the DJ table, and I've had to turn down the music so low that I couldn't even tell that anything was even playing. Of course, these lower-the-volume requests are usually interspersed with requests from younger attendees for you to crank it up. No-win situation, just gotta deal with it.

    Its wedding season, so tell your stories.

    Only good ones so far this year. Our last wedding was for the heads of the local scooter club so we played funk, northern soul, & and reggae all night to a full dancefloor. One middleaged dude requested "It's Raining Men" but we shut him down quick.

    But yo Er*c, I'm confirmed for that Indian wedding in Memphis on October 28th. I'm arriving a day early, so
    if ya'll could get some funk & soul shindig set up for Friday October 27th, it would be awesome to party with you guys so I can get my hangover on for the wedding gig.
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    But yo Er*c, I'm confirmed for that Indian wedding in Memphis on October 28th. I'm arriving a day early, so
    if ya'll could get some funk & soul shindig set up for Friday October 27th, it would be awesome to party with you guys so I can get my hangover on for the wedding gig.

    will do. hopefully we can get a regular appearance from the Dynamites every other month or so since they are close by in Nashville...will try to set something up like that.
  • ShingalingShingaling 877 Posts


    Its wedding season, so tell your stories.

    Damn E! Sounds like your wedding went better than mine last night.
    Went to drop the turntables off at the reception hall and the place was locked up. I stood outside in the heat for 30 minutes before someone let me in. I get inside and they claim they didn't know there was a DJ. They were suppose to have me a table and an extinsion cord. They did not. So from there I had about 30 minutes to drive downtown and pick-up the PA from my boss. His band was playing an outdoor show and I had to park pretty far from where I needed to be. I make several trips back and forth to the car lugging those heavy-ass speakers. Finally, I'm on the road again with 15 minutes till the reception. I rush inside and set everything up with the quickness. By this time, I was covered in sweat. I had just enough time to go in the bathroom and put on a nice shirt.
    Everyone finally came in from the wedding and started to eat. I kept it pretty chill for the first hour. Then it's time for the first dance...they only had one request...JOURNEY "Faithfully." During the dance an old dude comes up and ask if I had "Wolly Bully." I said "Yes, but not with me." His response..."Let me tell you something young man. You have no buisness DJing a wedding without Wolly Bully." He then starts going down the list. "Do you have...YMCA, Shout, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, etc." I tell him no, I just brought what the bride and groom asked for. 15 minutes later dude comes up to me with his I-Pod and tells me to hook it up for him. I tell him to run this by the newly weds and see what they say. He then starts to get really angry with me demanding that I play his I-Pod. So, I put on a long one and track down the groom and tell him the situation. As we start walking back to the turntables dude is unhooking one of my decks. At this point I lose my cool and tell him to get away from my equipment. The groom asks him what he is doing and he says "TRYING TO SAVE YOUR WEDDING FROM BECOMING A DISASTER!" "THIS KID HAS NO BUISNESS PLAYING MUSIC HERE!" The groom then asked the dude to leave. He then turns to me and says "Kid, you've got a lot to learn about music and respect for your elders!"
    The night continues and it starts again. A 14 year old kid comes up to me and straight up says..."This music sucks!" Then, a bitter-ass young girl. I was playing the "Tighten Up" and she asked me if I would play something they could dance to. I said this is the Tighten Up!!! She then says "Well, could you play something that people have heard before!" I felt like I was on acid.
    The night ended with the bride's drunk-ass mother making an announcement on the mic. She grabs me and says "Everyone...this is my baby Andrew!!! Let's give him a round of applause!" She then sits in my lap and started to grind her old ass on my crouch! I hope she didn't consider this a "tip." When I finally made it home...weed never tasted so good.

    The bottom line is... I think I'm done with weddings. Sure they pay well but it's just not worth it. Otis Redding and Sam Cooke got no love yesterday.
  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    I've found that you can't go on the bride & groom's requests alone. A lot of times they're not even in the room for half of the reception. It's a good idea to tell them to get requests from as many family members as possible. And regardless of any requests I get, my wedding playbox ALWAYS includes:

    1. Mellow bossa nova & piano jazz for the dinner hour
    2. Some big band, Sinatra/PeggyLee/Dean Martin, & doo wop tunes for the old folks to dance to
    3. Al Green "Let's Stay Together," Bill Withers "Lovely Day," Aretha "Respect," and Stevie Wonder MUSIQUARIUM VOL. 1
    4. Several CDs of played-out disco hits
    5. Several CDs of played-out oldschool hiphop (Bust A Move, Humpty Dance, Baby Got Back, etc.)

    These can usualy defuse 90% of family member music quibbles.
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    You should package that shit - a 10-disc CDR
    "Wedding DJ Survival Kit" for $150 apiece on eBay!
  • ShingalingShingaling 877 Posts
    I played all well known R&B, Doo Wop, and Soul tunes. No love.

    My wedding = booze, friends, Hook-Up on the tables, and Harvey Scales.


    Marco...I'll go ahead and hold that October date.
  • ayresayres 1,452 Posts
    I've found that you can't go on the bride & groom's requests alone. A lot of times they're not even in the room for half of the reception. It's a good idea to tell them to get requests from as many family members as possible. And regardless of any requests I get, my wedding playbox ALWAYS includes:

    1. Mellow bossa nova & piano jazz for the dinner hour
    2. Some big band, Sinatra/PeggyLee/Dean Martin, & doo wop tunes for the old folks to dance to
    3. Al Green "Let's Stay Together," Bill Withers "Lovely Day," Aretha "Respect," and Stevie Wonder MUSIQUARIUM VOL. 1
    4. Several CDs of played-out disco hits
    5. Several CDs of played-out oldschool hiphop (Bust A Move, Humpty Dance, Baby Got Back, etc.)

    These can usualy defuse 90% of family member music quibbles.

    realspeak! also Hava Nagila, the Chicken Dance, the Electric Slide and lots of Motown. I love seeing square people acting a foll on the dancefloor. But carrying the equipment =
  • Secret_ChimpSecret_Chimp 915 Posts
    Some of my best dj experiences have been at weddings. Granted, they were all my friends' weddings, and they specifically asked to hear "my" music.

    However.. about 6 or 7 years ago when I was living in Bellingham, WA I got a job for this wedding dj service (they supplied the cd's with all the classics). So.. my first gig was in Blaine, WA (the town they based "Footloose" on - no joke, it was once actually illegal to dance in this town). To top if off It turned out to be a dry wedding (no alcohol), and I swear to God not a single person danced. They all stood around the dancefloor looking at me like they didn't know what to do with themselves. Not a single head nod.. and I tried everything - country, oldies, soul, swing, etc.

    Worst dj experience EVER.
  • bluesnagbluesnag 1,285 Posts
    Some of my best dj experiences have been at weddings. Granted, they were all my friends' weddings, and they specifically asked to hear "my" music.

    However.. about 6 or 7 years ago when I was living in Bellingham, WA I got a job for this wedding dj service (they supplied the cd's with all the classics). So.. my first gig was in Blaine, WA (the town they based "Footloose" on - no joke, it was once actually illegal to dance in this town). To top if off It turned out to be a dry wedding (no alcohol), and I swear to God not a single person danced. They all stood around the dancefloor looking at me like they didn't know what to do with themselves. Not a single head nod.. and I tried everything - country, oldies, soul, swing, etc.

    Worst dj experience EVER.

    i wonder why the hell they bothered to get a dj. why not just an art display if people just wanted to stare.
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