Review of my first wedding!

[OllieJames]

Went and set up at midday, and got home for 2:30pm ish. Chilled out for a bit, downloaded a few more tracks and got some lighting scenes sorted on laptop.

Was going to leave at 6:45pm to get there for 7pm for a 7:30pm start, easy. Anyway, to cut a long story short - the person who was coming to help me, pulled out whilst I was on my way to the gig :eek: So, I managed to get another mate to come and give me a hand. So, we were there for 7:20pm, and music started at 7:30pm.

Had a chat with the bride & groom, and agreed to do their first dance at 7:40pm. So, I announce the first dance and play the track with no problems at all... then, as I ask for a round of applause - I screw their names up!!! :eek: Not badly, just kind of had a mind blank so it came out like... "ladies & gentlemen, lets have a round of applause for.......................... richard & viv!". So, got a few laughs, so I made a joke out of it and nothing else was said on the matter!

Anyway, played EVERYTHING from 70s, 80s, disco, motown, 90s, dance, UK garage, top 10 and requests, and there was litteraly no dancers until the bride & groom came back in from the bar at 10:30pm, to dance for 10 mins, to then go home. Not really a problem, as I know this can happen.

Just before the bride & groom left, the bride came up to see me - I apologised about "screwing" their names up, which she said "really, it doesn't matter! We've had a great night and you two (me & connor) have been fantastic, great music and a laugh! Do you have a feedback thing on your site? I'd love to leave some?" her Mum was also really pleased with the evening - and came out to see my parents when I was loading up and told them how impressed she was and she'd recommend me.

Result! So, first wedding done - slight name screw up, but think that was partly nerves to be honest. Had 'I'M A DJ TOO!!!!' aswell, which was quite interesting actually, as he seemed to know what he was on about.

Anyway, thanks for reading, the thread with the pictures is here: http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=26880

Cheers!

[Mark Wild]

Be better if you had sorted the first dance in advance Ollie, what if you didn't have the track they wanted as it was a tad obscure? Glad things went well though, they must have if the bride was asking if your website had a feedback option on her wedding day !

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Yep first dance sorted in an email and print it off and take with you to the gig.

I also open up a text doc on my laptop when Im djing and I write down the B&G's name or announce for the first time as man and wife Mr and Mrs xxxx.

Doing this means if you have a mental block you can just quicky scan down to yr lappy and avoid saying wrong names etc....

Plus its great for taking down requests etc...

[OllieJames]

No no no... The first dance was 'sorted' but they weren't sure on timings until the day of the wedding. I got their First Dance song months ago!

[Mark Wild]

Apologies Ollie, I must have read that wrong, a siesta in the garden to rejuvenate internal battery I reckon :p :D

[OllieJames]

Apologies Ollie, I must have read that wrong, a siesta in the garden to rejuvenate internal battery I reckon :p :D

Haha no worries! :)

[thex-faders]

In regards to forgetting the name.. i always have it on a piece of paper infront of me, or the name of the school for proms etc just incase as I've had it happen before as well!. Glad it went well for you and the rig looks great from the pictures!
Tom

[STEVE HANLEY]

Looking at your rig pics Ollie you did em proud! Well done mate.

Judging by how well established you seem to be. I can't believe that was your first wedding:confused: :confused:

[DJWilson]

Well done fella, when's ya next one wedding? :)

[DJ James Lake]

In regards to forgetting the name.. i always have it on a piece of paper infront of me, or the name of the school for proms etc just incase as I've had it happen before as well!. Glad it went well for you and the rig looks great from the pictures!
Tom

Yep same here ollie, I always have there names right in front of me on the back of a business card propped up against the laptop screen.

[OllieJames]

In regards to forgetting the name.. i always have it on a piece of paper infront of me, or the name of the school for proms etc just incase as I've had it happen before as well!. Glad it went well for you and the rig looks great from the pictures!
Tom

Cheers Tom! The thing was, I had their names in front of me! I just had one of those 'blank' moments... heaven knows why!


Looking at your rig pics Ollie you did em proud! Well done mate.

Judging by how well established you seem to be. I can't believe that was your first wedding:confused: :confused:

Thanks Steve! I've chosen to not take on Wedding bookings, due to me wanted more experience before I did one.


Well done fella, when's ya next one wedding? :)

Thanks mate! It's on 8th July :)


Yep same here ollie, I always have there names right in front of me on the back of a business card propped up against the laptop screen.

As I said in reply to Tom, I had the names on the laptop screen in a notepad & on the contract in front of me, but for some reason - just had a blank moment. Never mind - all I could do was apologise, which I did - and they weren't bothered - Thank God!

[rob1963]

Hi Ollie,

Glad to hear your first wedding went well, and hopefully it will be the first of many.

I write the Bride & Groom's names on an A5 pad which I have at the side of me to use for requests...or if you have a mental block, the other trick is to simply introduce them as the Bride & Groom, as you can't go wrong with that!

[Vectis]

Well done Ollie.

Can I suggest you invest a couple of quid in a BRMP?
























































... that's a Big Red Marker Pen for the uninitiated!


(another hot tip but it only works if you have digital playout; when compiling the playlist or request list for the event, program the B+Gs names into the filename or ID tag. For example, I'll save a copy of the first dance as Events 2010 -> Surname -> 11111 Fred & Wilma.mp3, 2nd dance as 22222 Fred Wilma & Parents.mp3. Last dance is 99999 Fred & Wilma.mp3 and then everything between is just the usual tags).

[thex-faders]

Cheers Tom! The thing was, I had their names in front of me! I just had one of those 'blank' moments... heaven knows why!

Tattoo to the inside of your eyelids?

[rob1963]

(another hot tip but it only works if you have digital playout; when compiling the playlist or request list for the event, program the B+Gs names into the filename or ID tag. For example, I'll save a copy of the first dance as Events 2010 -> Surname -> 11111 Fred & Wilma.mp3, 2nd dance as 22222 Fred Wilma & Parents.mp3. Last dance is 99999 Fred & Wilma.mp3 and then everything between is just the usual tags).

Good idea, Vectis.

Another similar thing you could do is temporarily amend the first dance title to the names of the bride & groom.

That way, when you've got the first dance cued up & ready to go, if you forget their names, just look down at your screen & they will be right there.

[Vectis]

Good idea, Vectis.

Another similar thing you could do is temporarily amend the first dance title to the names of the bride & groom.

That way, when you've got the first dance cued up & ready to go, if you forget their names, just look down at your screen & they will be right there.

Isn't that what I said? But prepended with 11111, 22222, 33333, 99999

Basically so there's absolutely no way on earth you'll get the wrong first dance because it's in the folder Events 2010 (it's 2010) -> Smith (it's the Smith wedding) -> 11111 Fred & Wilma.mp3


:)

[rob1963]

Isn't that what I said? But prepended with 11111, 22222, 33333, 99999

Yes...which is why I said my idea was similar to yours! :D

To be honest, I have no idea how folders work, so I wasn't too sure what you meant! :o

[Vectis]

To be honest, I have no idea how folders work, so I wasn't too sure what you meant! :o

Ah right - folder = directory

Anyway, this is taking it a bit too far :OT:

[Tony Scott]

Fred & Wilma.mp3, 2nd dance as 22222 Fred Wilma & Parents.mp3. Last dance is 99999 Fred & Wilma.mp3 and then everything between is just the usual tags).

YABADABADOO! :D

Oh and well done Ollie! :approve:

[nisfo]

Excellent Ollie.

As the D-Ream song goes >> 'Things can only get better'

Enjoy the gigs, and get a thrill from seeing those who you are entertaining ;)