Shakermaker Promotions
07-11-2008, 05:03 PM
Hi all,
Here's a report from last nights wedding. This was only the 3rd midweek wedding I had ever done and it was all last minute.
I received a call on monday evening from an old mate of mine who asked if I was available. I told him I was and he passed me over to the bride who explained that they had been let down by a DJ friend of theirs (this seems to becoming more and more regular). I arranged to see the bride and groom the next day and get all the details including venue etc. I didn't discount the price because it was midweek and they paid me when I went to see them the next day.
Contacted the venue, sorted out access & setup times etc, sorted first dances, specific requests etc etc...all done and dusted.
Last night I arrived at the venue (a social club) where I was directed as to where to set up. I had a van load of equipment of which half stayed in the van. I was told that the room I would be in had a 200 capacity...I'd say half that in reality. The bride and groom had invited 120 guests but there must have been half that attending, mostly mums and dads with small kids. This was obviously a very low budget wedding. The buffet was laid out on the pool table and didn't look very appetising.
I set up as best as I could in a small corner with not much room to move. I've started to use the bass bins a lot more now to fill out the sound better so I set them up on a seperate amp with the JBL's running off the other amp. Yes, far too much sound for the small room but the quality was great. I set up the 4 LEDJ colour bursts behind me in blue so they gave a nice effect and on the goalposts I had 2 x Dynarocks, 1 x Mystic LED and a Kam LED Swingfire. It was more than enough light in there.
Duration was 7.30pm - 11.00pm so I guessed I would be in for a nice, easy (and early) night. I set up at 5.00pm, was done by 6.00pm and was relaxing in the bath when my mobile went off. I missed the call but the voicemail was from the best man who I had met previously who was asking if I could get there asap as people were already turning up.....it was 6.45pm. I wasn't that happy in rushing around so I took my time and eventually got there for 7.15pm so I just switched on and started playing some music. The kids went mad for the lights etc and I thought it could be a good night.
Around 8.30pm, the best man asked to use my mic so he could do some speeches. He also wanted to announce the first dance....fair enough. He was pretty drunk and kept repeating himself and made a bit of a fool of himself but everyone laughed and it was ok in the end. Then we had more speeches from familt members etc. Finally did the first dance (All 4 One - I Swear) and then they asked me to stop so they could cut the cake etc... It was a bit stop/start/stop/start but I got on with it. Requests were coming in for stuff like Neyo, Rihanna, Britney etc and I was playing them but they weren't really having the desired effect so I thought "Cheese!"...It was about 9.45pm ish when the numbers halved because most of the people with kids were starting to leave. The remaining people all got up and danced right through until the finish to cheesy classics and action songs...they loved it. The first half of the night felt like it went in slow motion, I even texted my missus and said that I was getting bored. The second half just shot by.
So, at the end of the night they couldn't thank me enough. I gave out cards to the club manager and also a number of guests. To be honest, I can't see either of them actually booking me once they know of the price as....well, I get the impression that they would be in the £100.00 category if that makes sense? I don't mean to sound nasty.
Packed up the equipment pretty quickly and was loading it back into the van when out of nowhere appeared a group of 5 hoodies who all hung around by my van and by the doors where I was coming out with the equipment. You know the score...you're struggling and people don't get out of the way. I was hot and had a bit of backache and I wasn't in the mood for any idiots so I made my point as soon as someone got in the way but I did it politely and not aggressive (for once)... I simply said "Guys, mind yourselves, I don't want to bang into you with this because it will hurt"...To be fair to them, they were fine, no problems. My van had the side door opened and also the back doors and they didn't touch anything.
So, a half decent night, the customer was happy and that's what matters at the end of the day.
Here's a report from last nights wedding. This was only the 3rd midweek wedding I had ever done and it was all last minute.
I received a call on monday evening from an old mate of mine who asked if I was available. I told him I was and he passed me over to the bride who explained that they had been let down by a DJ friend of theirs (this seems to becoming more and more regular). I arranged to see the bride and groom the next day and get all the details including venue etc. I didn't discount the price because it was midweek and they paid me when I went to see them the next day.
Contacted the venue, sorted out access & setup times etc, sorted first dances, specific requests etc etc...all done and dusted.
Last night I arrived at the venue (a social club) where I was directed as to where to set up. I had a van load of equipment of which half stayed in the van. I was told that the room I would be in had a 200 capacity...I'd say half that in reality. The bride and groom had invited 120 guests but there must have been half that attending, mostly mums and dads with small kids. This was obviously a very low budget wedding. The buffet was laid out on the pool table and didn't look very appetising.
I set up as best as I could in a small corner with not much room to move. I've started to use the bass bins a lot more now to fill out the sound better so I set them up on a seperate amp with the JBL's running off the other amp. Yes, far too much sound for the small room but the quality was great. I set up the 4 LEDJ colour bursts behind me in blue so they gave a nice effect and on the goalposts I had 2 x Dynarocks, 1 x Mystic LED and a Kam LED Swingfire. It was more than enough light in there.
Duration was 7.30pm - 11.00pm so I guessed I would be in for a nice, easy (and early) night. I set up at 5.00pm, was done by 6.00pm and was relaxing in the bath when my mobile went off. I missed the call but the voicemail was from the best man who I had met previously who was asking if I could get there asap as people were already turning up.....it was 6.45pm. I wasn't that happy in rushing around so I took my time and eventually got there for 7.15pm so I just switched on and started playing some music. The kids went mad for the lights etc and I thought it could be a good night.
Around 8.30pm, the best man asked to use my mic so he could do some speeches. He also wanted to announce the first dance....fair enough. He was pretty drunk and kept repeating himself and made a bit of a fool of himself but everyone laughed and it was ok in the end. Then we had more speeches from familt members etc. Finally did the first dance (All 4 One - I Swear) and then they asked me to stop so they could cut the cake etc... It was a bit stop/start/stop/start but I got on with it. Requests were coming in for stuff like Neyo, Rihanna, Britney etc and I was playing them but they weren't really having the desired effect so I thought "Cheese!"...It was about 9.45pm ish when the numbers halved because most of the people with kids were starting to leave. The remaining people all got up and danced right through until the finish to cheesy classics and action songs...they loved it. The first half of the night felt like it went in slow motion, I even texted my missus and said that I was getting bored. The second half just shot by.
So, at the end of the night they couldn't thank me enough. I gave out cards to the club manager and also a number of guests. To be honest, I can't see either of them actually booking me once they know of the price as....well, I get the impression that they would be in the £100.00 category if that makes sense? I don't mean to sound nasty.
Packed up the equipment pretty quickly and was loading it back into the van when out of nowhere appeared a group of 5 hoodies who all hung around by my van and by the doors where I was coming out with the equipment. You know the score...you're struggling and people don't get out of the way. I was hot and had a bit of backache and I wasn't in the mood for any idiots so I made my point as soon as someone got in the way but I did it politely and not aggressive (for once)... I simply said "Guys, mind yourselves, I don't want to bang into you with this because it will hurt"...To be fair to them, they were fine, no problems. My van had the side door opened and also the back doors and they didn't touch anything.
So, a half decent night, the customer was happy and that's what matters at the end of the day.