I have done a few weddings my day. In High School I did a lot of mobile DJing and had quite a few wedding gigs. Over the years of DJ raves I have been asked to DJ a few raver weddings, mainly I would come on for a hour at the end of the reception so that the couple could re-live some rave memories. I haven’t done a reception from beginning to end in at least 25 years.
So last night I DJed at Rob and Melissa Wright’s wedding (CONGRATULATIONS!) and it was a blast for me. I have been nervous in taking this gig because the last thing you want to ever do as a DJ is fuck up someone’s big day. Rob left a lot of room open for me to do what I wanted to do musically. He has a few songs that he wanted of course but for the most part he just let me do what I felt was right. He told me from the beginning that he felt I would choose the right music for the moment. So last night I played classic standards, downtempo and trip hop, 80’s new wave, 90’s rock, chilled house, neo-classical and all kinds of other goodies and I kind of wouldn’t mind to do it again. I of course did a lot of the mic work and announcements but I find that very easy to do.
Best parts of last night are for me:
- Playing DJ Krush – “Song One” – Young Asian couple asks if I am playing DJ Krush to which I said yes. They said they loved DJ Krush.
- Playing ABC – “The Look of Love” – Groom exclaims this was his favorite song in highschool.
- Playing Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Cutter” – Groomsman starts playing air guitar and singing aloud.
End of the night, the Event Coordinator said I did a great job. I told her this isn’t something I normally do, to which she said “Yeah I can tell, the music was good”. Made my night.
So what I am thinking is maybe do a wedding just once a month. No more than that. I don’t want to be a wedding DJ. But, I don’t mind curating a wedding musically. To me, music is essential to life events. It ties memories together. The right song can take you back to an exact moment in time. So what I would want to do is instead of strict playlist or the normal wedding bullshit music, is allow me to craft a soundtrack to your wedding that will be filled with new favorites, classics and some surprises taking the couples taste in music as a starting point. Would be interesting.
While I won’t be actively searching for wedding gigs, if you would like to talk to me about curating your big day please email me.
