First Wedding

I'm proud to say that at 15 I just received an inquiry, and probably a wedding date. I got a call from a lady about a wedding in 2 weeks! Immediately I was thinking she must have had a major cancellation, and this would give me much leverage in my price point. I have never done a wedding before, and because the majority of events I DJ are teen related events, I wasn't sure my music library was quite up to par. In the end, I worked out something with a local DJ here who originally got me started to come with me and help me through my first wedding, and provide me with the necessary music. With luck, I'll be getting a call confirming everything and mail out a contract in a day or two!

I just want to say to any teens, that it is possible to become a great DJ at your age. I'm 15 and I book everything from mitzvahs, to middle school dances, and now weddings!

I'll keep you guys posted on the developments!

BTW: I quoted her $799, which I think is a fair price for a 4 hour wedding 45 min away from me at a 2 weeks notice!

Wow, that is very short notice for a wedding.... you don't have a lot of time to prepare for it...

Do you have any sort of planner or timeline form to work with?

If not let us know I'm sure anyone of us could throw one to ya to use.... along with as much advice as you need.

First of all get a list of the bridal party for the grand entrance introductions....

which ususally runs

Parents of the bride
Parents of the groom
ring bearer/flower girl
Ushers
bridesmaid/groomsmen (if more than one set announce each as couples)
maid,matron of honor/best man
bride and groom

Find out what music they'd like played for the intro.... usually something like "Rockey's Theme" or simular song.... I have a list of music that you could use to select from if they haven't decided on that.... I'll post it here for you.

I usually play two songs one for the bridal party intro's and one for the b&G

After the intros you'll need to follow a decent timeline of events.... most of the time you'll want to get the traditional things done early or shortly after dinner before opening the dance floor...

See the timeline thread for more details on that... I hope this helps.

Good deal. :)

To be honest, many wedding parties are dance parties. Once ya get all the fluff and dinner out of the way you can open the floor. You may find that there are several teens in the audience.

Get every song needed and have it ready at a moment's notice. I've been DJing reception parties since '93 and not one has ever been just like another. No dead air... that's a no-no. If you don't know what to play next, put on some jazz or background music. Some B&Gs don't go through all the itinerary all at once.

Just be sure to keep the focus on the bride if that's what they prefer. She's the star. :)

Brian

I did my first wedding at 13. I will be 38 this year, I'm starting to learn the ropes :sqlaugh:

Wolfie gives some good advice there and so does Rob. Learn all you can about the Bride and Groom and detail everything. Remember it's thier day they are the stars of the show not you. If possible meet in person with them.

Keep your setup as neat as possible and remember you will have a crowd from small kids to 85yr old Grandmothers there. Learn the music, listen to the music, and know when to play the music. keeping the party rolling at a wedding is much more important than beatmatching. If you look through the forum here some of the guys post thier lists it wouldn't hurt to look them up.

You young guys today have a great advantage over us old dogs. Music is relitavly cheap now. When I started 45RPM records were 4 to 5 bucks and albums were 15 to 20. Nowadays you can purchase the tunes for a buck or less so if you intend on doing some weddings start buying

Best of luck and keep us posted. If you can post a playlist after the event also even us old guys can learn a thing or two :sqwink:

45RPM records

What are those? You mean those black things that do nothing but skip and sound scratchy all the time?

Good luck, Brian!

What are those? You mean those black things that do nothing but skip and sound scratchy all the time?

Good luck, Brian!

LOL Yup and there are still thousands hanging around here in the basement :sqbiggrin:

Ok little brother here is my planner. It was given to me and edited by me so you can do the same if you like. I hope this helps anyone it helped me. To edit out the logo in word double click on it and then either delete it or add your logo over it.

Way to go Brian

Some insights Ive learned....weddings give you a varied age group....and in most cases a wide variety of music to have on hand to play.

There will be little kids there....make the set up as kid free as possible....nothing loose for them to grab onto.

Speaking of kids ....they have parents who many times dont get out very often..and now that they are out they do like to hear things that are important to them or that they like to hear....yes sometimes we think its lame and we hear it all the time....just remember they dont.

Besides your first dance songs for the parents ...bride/groom...wedding party....be sure to ask the bride/groom for about 7 must play songs for the evening....and then ask for 7 songs they would like to hear if time allows....and any songs they dont want to hear under any circumstances. This will give you some insight as to what you will need to play...based on what they choose.

Remember requests are just that...requests.....if you think it will clear the floor chances are it will.....no offense here but teenage boys like to hear what they like to hear....and at a wedding some of this music though good will kill a wedding dance floor...been there done that....im in charge of music now.....

And above all have fun.....smile alot and be friendly....yeah i know this seems like a no brainer....but being your first wedding it will make it seem natural to the folks watching you.

Write down things for you to look back upon....ideas notes anything for you to evaluate yourself......

You will do great just have fun

Wow, thanks for all the replies! Those PDF planners are a big help, kudos to you guys! I'm actually in the process now of putting all my CDs on an external hard drive. I want to be able to get requests fast, where as I've had trouble finding some stuff in my 600 CDs at past gigs. I'm really looking forward to this, and I'll keep you guys posted!