What's the perfect Soulstrut wedding?
maru
1,450 Posts
I got hired to do a wedding Labor Day weekend and the couple is super chill music wise. Fan of my blog and mixes and all that stuff and are pretty much giving me free license to do whatever I want. They don't want any of the cliche wedding songs and have expressed interest in soul, funk, disco, rock, hip hop and some contemporary stuff, with a few "hits" mixed in as well.
Seems like a great opportunity to play some cool records, but I still want it to be approachable and most importantly danceable. I know some of you on here must have experience with this and was curious what people on here might play in such a situation. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Seems like a great opportunity to play some cool records, but I still want it to be approachable and most importantly danceable. I know some of you on here must have experience with this and was curious what people on here might play in such a situation. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Comments
Paper Record Player from kellianderson on Vimeo.
edit: sorry i only read the thread title! disregard
My point is...the bride and groom might have great taste in music, but you're still gonna have to deal with their (drunk) family and friends that expect the standard popular catch-all Top 40 songs.
This.
They'll tell you they want you to do your raer goodness thing, and you might be able to do a little of that, but in my experience, there's no getting away from the fact that you're gonna have to bust out some Motown and whatnot because "my parents want something to dance to." And really, that's not a bad thing at all, so long as you can steer clear of the dreaded wedding cliches--"Electric Slide," "Celebrate," etc.
Ditto.
I've done two weddings this year for close friends with great taste in music. Almost everything I played was "popular music"...but it doesn't have to corny. I roughly followed the hierarchy of: a) making sure that I loved everything I played (I figured THIS is why the couples asked me to do their music), b) trying to use stuff that the couple recommended or would like (they gave me list of favs well in advance, and I know their taste otherwise) and c) not playing anything that would offend/alienate a whole lot of other folks.
The really fun thing for me was getting the list of favs from the couples...maybe I didn't like/use everything they sent me, but I got to learn about lots of good music that I wasn't up on before.
Why I always turn down wedding gigs.
Who am I to get in the way of Auntie Ruth getting her party on because I don't have Cher?
I definitely understand the requests issue, and I'm sure things will eventually devolve into top 40 type of stuff. But I think there's still a good 4 hours or so before it gets to that point.
I have done a fair number of weddings. I have done some pretty standard weddings and some where I could stretch out a little. During the cocktail hour and dinner you can fit in most of the bride and groom requests that are not good dance songs, as well as some more obscure stuff that sounds great but not everyone will know. Be sure to keep an eye on the subject matter though. No down by the river songs or stuff about breaking up. Also, don't turn that shit up too loud during dinner, people want to talk not scream at each other.
If you want everyone to dance you need to play stuff a lot of them know. It doesn't need to be corny, but it should be familiar. I usually start with motown and stax type soul stuff, move into more disco type stuff before moving into more 80's and current stuff. The place where the wedding will differ from the club is that you need to throw in some slow dance songs every once and a while too. It will be expected.
There is nothing worse than DJing a wedding party while everyone sits at their tables drinking and there is a huge empty dance floor in front of you. My rule is if they don't dance to Billie Jean, Kiss or Hey Ya they probably will not dance and you will be in for a long night.
Also, if you have to make announcements, get all the names in advance and have everything you will need to say written out. Weddings are a lot of work, make sure you are getting paid well to do it.
Seems like I've been getting a lot of requests for weddings lately. Mostly referrals. I tell 'em to come to my weekly at least once but preferably twice before they choose me. That's what you can expect, I say. If they decide they like it, then I have them give me a list of "must have" songs, get my DL on, invite a friend to co-DJ to share the gig so I'm not all alone and rock that shit. It's really good, relatively easy money and every time they've loved it. My only problem is the fee aspect. I know DAMN well I do a better job than those Yellow Pages wedding DJ's, yet I feel really bad charging what they charge.
yeah i saw these before. amazing idea, and surely very expensive.
Seriously, don't feel bad. Those dudes cost that much for a reason, because that is the going rate. If you are providing a much better service for the same price, they are getting a deal.
Also, triple double is right about the demographics, but bring some of everything, because you never know what is going to work with some crowds.
Pretty sick. My friend Roanne is killing it right now with her print company and recently did this for someone we know and posted it to her BLOG
Was running Hall & Oates "Out of Touch", bout to mix in some talking heads when a dude comes dancing on over, I look up as he approaches... hmmmm THAT'S MUTHAFUCKIN PAUL MCCARTNEY.
When we had gotten there that day the brides mom had pulled us aside to say, listen it's not a big deal but my brother in law is Paul McCartney and he'll be here so don't get freaked out or feel like you have to play any beatles songs or anything just treat him like a normal dude....
So obviously we were a little bugged out but figured he had come and gone quickly for the ceremony and maybe stayed for dinner, but naw, dude was jumping around singing the hall & oates jam as he made his way over.
Sir Paul McCartney then proceeds to shake both of our hands, tell us we're doing a great job, and ask if we have Jay-Z & Alicia Keys... we say of course then his fiancee starts to ask if we have "paper back writer" and he groans tells her to stop and pulls her away.
Still have a big ass smile on my face thinking about this one
As for the main topic, great advice all around. I tend to, for the most part, move along a time line once the dancing starts. Motown & 50s rockers - disco/funk/jams - 80s - hip hop - etc. I do that mostly because I want to be sure that the older folks get some dancing in, and they're more likely to lose steam early on. Though there are no set rules. I often drift away from that format if and when it doesn't seem to be working. The last wedding I DJ'd (a couple of weeks ago) ran so late that, by the time the dancing started, I had to jump right into the MJ/80s/Hip Hop.
Also, don't forget some slowies for the couples. JB - Try Me, Sam Cooke - You Send Me, etc.