Surprise parties - the grand entrance

[DJ Jules]

I'm not sure if this has been covered before (I don't think it has in my memory), but I'm doing a surprise party on Friday and I was wondering what other people do around the grand entrance. I've done quite a few parties before and I've supported the organiser with the "surprise" bit by cutting my lights and making sure everyone stays quiet and then when the birthday guest enters, flipping all my lights back on with a static colour and playing a fanfare for their entrance. I've then always just gone back to general background music while the birthday guest gets over the shock and says hello to people, but I've always felt like it's a bit of an anticlimax.

I was wondering if I should line up one of the other guests to say a few words after the fanfare or something, or if I should say anything to announce their entrance? What do others do?

Julian

[yourdj]

I'm not sure if this has been covered before (I don't think it has in my memory), but I'm doing a surprise party on Friday and I was wondering what other people do around the grand entrance. I've done quite a few parties before and I've supported the organiser with the "surprise" bit by cutting my lights and making sure everyone stays quiet and then when the birthday guest enters, flipping all my lights back on with a static colour and playing a fanfare for their entrance. I've then always just gone back to general background music while the birthday guest gets over the shock and says hello to people, but I've always felt like it's a bit of an anticlimax.

I was wondering if I should line up one of the other guests to say a few words after the fanfare or something, or if I should say anything to announce their entrance? What do others do?

Julian

I have always made everyone very quiet, and gone with the clients to the door or entrance (whispering in the mic "shhh" very quietly as people may start to chat. I usually have someone on the decks ready to press play and deal with the lighting - so it goes onto a fast chase etc. Worth bringing some air confetti canons with you too for added effect.

I would line up a track that the person likes, happy birthday, or find an in joke track that everyone may know the guest likes would be my guess. :)

Obviously get the client to have a good look through the surprise persons iTunes for an idea of this music tastes.
If its a birthday then a candle blow out is always a good way to move the shocked person from the door into the room, and that then moves into the party background music.

[JTRS]

I usually try to get the person bringing the person who is having the surprise party to send me a quick text when they are setting off, so I know how long it will be before they arrive, and then when the car or taxi pulls in I get the guests to go quiet and kill all the lights.

I tee up the people there to shout SURPRISE as loud as they can when they enter and then play Happy Birthday (or some suitable music) because that 15 or so seconds when the music is playing gives the person chance to take in what is happening without having to say or do anything.

The worst reaction, and it's only happened once was when the guest of honour walked in, I played Happy Birthday and when it finished he said very loudly "I told you all I didn't want a party" and he walked out, I thought he was joking but he wasn't, he went home and everyone else stayed for the party, which was a bit strange DJing a birthday party when the person having the birthday wasn't there.

JTRS

[yourdj]

"I told you all I didn't want a party" and he walked out, I thought he was joking but he wasn't, he went home and everyone else stayed for the party, which was a bit strange DJing a birthday party when the person having the birthday wasn't there.

JTRS

What a miserable sod ;)

[Pe7e]

What a miserable sod ;)

I've come across several over the years, I think some folk are born totally lacking the fun gene, or the ability to smile for that matter.

[yourdj]

I've come across several over the years, I think some folk are born totally lacking the fun gene, or the ability to smile for that matter.

You can only feel sorry for people like that, what a crap existence.
Perhaps they are happy like that however and its not a product of their upbringing.

Thats OK, it would be boring if we were all the same. :)

[DJ Jules]

Thanks for all the advice, it turned out it wasn't needed on Friday night. I approached the organiser to start getting the guests set for the grand entrance about 30mins before the birthday boy was due, only to be told he'd been there for 5mins already!

Whole thing turned out to be a complete anticlimax. The party had been booked with me by a friend of my wife's back in Feb only to be cancelled as one of their cousins is also a DJ (we know where this is going...) Three weeks ago I was contacted by another member of their family to see if I could cover it as "a few people had fallen out" and the cousin was now refusing to attend - so I duly obliged for a slightly reduced fee and two amazing cakes for my children's birthdays'.

Anyway, at 11:00 on Friday I was told to pack up and go home as the birthday boy and half his family had left 30mins ago - and I was also then informed that the "falling out" was him breaking up with his missus - who he had a blazing row with in the car park half way through the party. 11:00 finish and home in bed by midnight :D

Julian