After the seemingly eternal run of bad dance floors I've had during the hot weather (it's STILL not rained much in these here parts and is still over 25c most days), today was an absolute Godsend!
It's a venue I last visited just over a year ago and they don't do too many weddings as it's a privately owned estate. In fact, it used to be the HQ of Lotus cars. The grounds are gorgeous, with a river running down the side of them just to give that cooling effect.
Today's wedding was in a Tipi type of tent. And it was a LOT smaller than I was expecting. The arrangement I had with the bride and groom is that I'd turn up as the guests arrived, setup the Maui5Go with a battery mic and let them run the afternoon side of things (including Bluetooth connection to the PA) whilst I got on Ninja style and set up the main rig.
I made a mistake and arrived early - the plan being to get the main rig set up and go the extra mile in doing so rather than relying on Bluetooth connections and one of the wedding party faffing around with the music starting and stopping. The bar had taken the spot I would have naturally assumed. In the only other spot was a string quartet playing to the afternoon guests as they milled around outside the tent.
The other shock...I'd been told the dance floor was to be in the middle of the tent. Now I assumed as most would that it'd be between the tables in the middle of the floor but close to one of the walls. Nope...it was slap bang central in the tent with the top table on it - no way to set up beside it then.
So, once the quartet packed their belongings, it's time to set up. Only one other snag....the kit may have been under the ceiling of the tent....the DJ most certainly wasn't. And do you know what, working with no ceiling above you as it gets dark is quite refreshing!
The booth had to be physically tied to the tent poles as the afternoon's breeze was behind it, as were the lighting tripods just in case. I also took along my beloved Yamaha combo for this one. It's the first time it's been used since before the world went a bit fuzzy a couple of years ago, so the Evolves were in the van just in case something went wrong after being off the road for so long. The EVs could have stayed in the lockup...the Yammy's roared into life and didn't skip a beat (cue DJ with cheesy grin on his chops all night....I LOVE those speakers)
The afternoon of hanging around soon turned into the evening, and the first dance (scheduled for 8pm) eventually happened at 9pm. Not a problem, it means it's dark and I can see my screens. Just before the first dance the groom asked if I could play George Ezra's Paradise for his niece and nephew as the second song of the evening as they were then off to bed. No problem. In fact I announced it nicely for them and at the end of the song wished them goodnight over the PA. According to the bride and groom, they'll remember that for a long time (in fact I'd heard it being mentioned during a couple of conversations whilst packing down at the end of the night).
Musically, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. I could do no wrong. Requests came in aplenty, mainly 90s stuff but also a lot of disco and 80s. I also had a list of "must plays" which sort of went by the wayside since we were running so late. I don't think I went outside of the 120-130 BPM zone all night apart from Sex on Fire and Brightside. My mission was to fill the dance floor and I certainly accomplished that....right from start to finish - happy days
A fake ending to finish proceedings and a lot of thanks and hugs from the dignitaries of the day (including the brides parents who couldn't thank me enough....and the owner of said estate who I have a feeling will be recommending my services in the future).
I could do with a few more like that one
Next week, back to a barn I covered several weeks ago after the couple had been let down with a week's notice. This one's been on the books for several months now and I still have no idea of any musical preferences, the first dance or even his partner's name! This actually seems to be becoming a thing at the moment with me having to chase for even the basic information