Wedding gig

[Gandy]

so as per my other story in the big ups thread, i now have a wedding gig to do, i said id never do weddings but couldnt really turn down this request. They will be hiring all the gear for me, but my questions is...

what the fuck do you do at weddings as a dj????

ive asked them to give me a list of music they want to hear as i stated straight away i only have disco beats, never done a wedding before, dont have any other music yadda yadda and they said yea sweet no worries they will get that too me

so all good, but having never been to a wedding or reception, i have no idea what to do

cheers whales

[Gandy]

one good thing though they said they want to see me unleash at the end of the nite, so im guessing for the last hour or so i can jump on and go nuts, but apart from that...

[Hobberz]

I would say check out some of the songs in this Playlist game, some tunes in there that would really suit the event.

http://www.ausdjforums.com/modules.php? ... pic&t=3809

Play a mixture of stuff from 70's up until today. Obviously it will be hard trying to mix it all, but no-one will care about cross-fader slams.(As long as you JESUS POSE.)

I would just say have fun with it man, cater for the oldies and than get into the mixing later on in the night.

#1 tip is become friendly with the bridesmaids, They will be drunk and horny. Your the DJ so you will get all the bitches.

[Gandy]

thats what i figured, figured ill just be running from itunes for the first half of the nite since its pointless trying to mix 70's-80's crap and mite even just setup a playlist where ppl can walk up and add there own song to the cue, then when all the fomalities are done and everyones half charged, get on the decks and get the place pumpin

[Hobberz]

I done the same thing for an engagement party. They wanted some older music, so I bought a 101 BBQ Songs cd and played it through iTunes for the start of the night and than once the oldies left it was free range.

[Gandy]

cheers man +rep

[andythemusician]

Drop Skrillex as they enter the room.

Collect monies at end of gig.

Success!

[Hobberz]

Drop Skrillex as they enter the room.

Collect monies at end of gig.

Success!

Way better than my idea

[Mitch]

Drop Skrillex as they enter the room.

Collect monies at end of gig.

Success!

bit of fucking die as they come in would go down real well i reckon

[imadje]

hey gandy.

that thread with the playlist game is good for song ideas but here's the real gold:

http://www.ausdjforums.com/modules.php? ... c&start=15

you'll be repping source b4 you know it

[andythemusician]

Keep it all radio edit clean, keep all the young kids and old grannys happy.

Remember you can be playing to people between the ages of 2 years old to almost boxed up, so a good range through different eras and genres is good to have at your disposal.

Check out http://www.weddingmuseum.com/tools/wedding-music-samples.htm and http://www.djintelligence.com/pages/mobilebeatprint.asp as they will give you an idea of songs to fall back on if you are struggling for ideas on the night, or are wanting to check your library to make sure youve got the popular requests.

[crundyy]

just put this song on repeat all night

[SourceRaver]

Hey Gandy...Most weddings have the same structure so look up the following post and read from the beginning:

http://www.ausdjforums.com/modules.php? ... sc&start=0

I usually start with background music (I-Tunes playlist and then mix some chilled prog house) at the beginning and during meals. At some point, say the bridal waltz, most of the formalities have ended and its a good time to get folks on the dance floor. I usually start with older tunes (say 60s onwards) to cater for the wrinklies and then gradually move towards more current stuff for the youngens. The last hour is yours to really work the crowd. Be warned tho, you may only get a good couple of hours of mixing in if every thing starts to run over time. Talk to the MC and get them to keep an eye on the time.

[Gandy]

thanks for all the great advice guys, certainly helping put my mind at ease, i know weddigns are a whole different kettle of fish to club work, guess im just a lil nervous cause this is my first one and i dont wanna be the one that ruins my mates most special nite lol

[djjon76]

Weddings are very structured.

So as long as you get your music right, they are pretty easy (well I find them to be). The hardest part for me is the 80% of the night that not much happens (music wise).

I usually pull out some Cafe Del Mar stuff, maybe a few crooners, Michael Buble ish.

Then once the formalities are over, its time to get the cheesy stuff out (in accordance with the requested playlist of course).

Mostly though, just enjoy the night, the food and the chance of copping off with the Bridesmaid(s)

[Lurk6r]

I've done over 10 weddings (some good, some so-so) and have made some observations.

1. During the bridal waltz, usually, youl invite the bridal party, then family, then the rest to join in.

This is a great time to kick of a dance set.

2. The desert will FUCK YOU UP, no matter how much people are enjoying themselves, when desert is called the dance floor is gone.

3. If you have any say in how the night is run, get them to group the boring stuff such as entrance, food, speech and waltz together then about 30 min-1 hour break, then garter and flowers, then more dancing.

4. Again if you have say, get them to seat the oldies at the back of the room, away from the speakers, or theyl tell you to turn it down over and over.

5. Speaking of oldies, have some cheese for them, the dancing grampa usually gets people up.

Are they expecting you to mc as well?

Theres nothing worse than a slow boring start, then they run out of time.

[Gandy]

i hope they dont expect me to mc, i make magic happen with my hands not my mouth

[SourceRaver]

I've done over 10 weddings (some good, some so-so) and have made some observations.

1. During the bridal waltz, usually, youl invite the bridal party, then family, then the rest to join in.

This is a great time to kick of a dance set.quote]

GOLD!

This is how i do it as well.

Dont feel obliged to MC if they arnt paying you.

[fackedd]

pretty sure most people get close friends and/or family to MC nowdays. (from the weddings i've been to)

Last thing people would want is have some fag like djdennis mc their wedding.

[djjon76]

I've done over 10 weddings (some good, some so-so) and have made some observations.

1. During the bridal waltz, usually, youl invite the bridal party, then family, then the rest to join in.

This is a great time to kick of a dance set.quote]

GOLD!

This is how i do it as well.

Dont feel obliged to MC if they arnt paying you.

Agreed.

[wazza]

Last thing people would want is have some fag like djdennis mc their wedding.

lol + rep

[imadje]

^ normally i ask the bestman but if he's ruined the most i've ever said on the mic at weddings are the following:

Ladies and gentlemen the first dance.

ladies and gentlemen the buffet is ready.

ladies and gentlemen last orders.

ladies and gentlemen thank you and goodnight.

If thats MCing I'm a music producer.

[Lurk6r]

Oh and as their about to head off the door I do a

"ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together one last time for Mr and Mrs LASTNAME!"

But what I like to do at this point, is turn the mic down just a tad, so I can get semi shouty and energetic.

[L33nsta]

Get the Wedding couple to give you there ipod with a playlist of there favourite songs for the first 2 or 3 hours.

Tell them while they are creating this list, get them to exclude and write down songs they want played later on in the night. It makes your job easier and they get exactly what they want.