It finally happened! Just 1 year and 1 day after my equipment arrived and I decided I wanted to try dj'ing, I did my first solo wedding. (I've done several others while working for the company that helped me get my feet wet, but those were mainly just helping set up, tear down, and maybe playing a few songs while the primary dj took a potty break).
This was a pretty small reception in a small, older venue. Setup was easy and I was ready to go about an hour before guests arrived (that's my plan so I can allow for the unexpected). Cocktail hour and dinner went smooth. They had more guests show up than expected so they had to set up tables on the dance floors to accommodate everyone for dinner. Relocating guests and tearing down tables after dinner caused a little blip in my timeline but I just went with the flow, communicated with the photographer and bride/groom, and kept things moving.
I've got a handful of messages and texts thanking me and saying how happy different people were and I had several folks ask me for cards during the event.
The Bad:
1. I made the announcement for the cake cutting. It was kind of set back in a corner, and I still had some soft quiet music playing and nobody was paying attention to the bride and groom, so the couple asked me to announce it again.... still no response. They had to ask me a second time... that time I killed the music and asked for everyone to please turn their focus to the bride and groom.... that worked. It was a learning point for me. Totally not a big deal to anyone else, but I'll never forget it.
2. One of my wireless dmx dongles died on one of my wash lights about an hour before the reception ended. I had a spare, but it was in a spot that wasn't easy to get to so I left it. It turns out, that wash light jus stayed on the UV color step I had programmed, and the other one was doing it's thing... so it sort of worked out. Small area, so one was plenty bright enough, and the UV added a little bit of cool factor... so they thought it was by design. lol.
Overall, it was a really good day. I was told ahead of time there wouldn't be much dancing except for the bride and her friends. I had the dance floor full for slow songs and a few dance songs, but about 70% of folks left right after dinner... so I didn't expect much. They had a good time, I had a good time, and they were all very happy. I guess that's about as much as I can ask for. Next wedding is in 2 weeks!
This was a pretty small reception in a small, older venue. Setup was easy and I was ready to go about an hour before guests arrived (that's my plan so I can allow for the unexpected). Cocktail hour and dinner went smooth. They had more guests show up than expected so they had to set up tables on the dance floors to accommodate everyone for dinner. Relocating guests and tearing down tables after dinner caused a little blip in my timeline but I just went with the flow, communicated with the photographer and bride/groom, and kept things moving.
I've got a handful of messages and texts thanking me and saying how happy different people were and I had several folks ask me for cards during the event.
The Bad:
1. I made the announcement for the cake cutting. It was kind of set back in a corner, and I still had some soft quiet music playing and nobody was paying attention to the bride and groom, so the couple asked me to announce it again.... still no response. They had to ask me a second time... that time I killed the music and asked for everyone to please turn their focus to the bride and groom.... that worked. It was a learning point for me. Totally not a big deal to anyone else, but I'll never forget it.
2. One of my wireless dmx dongles died on one of my wash lights about an hour before the reception ended. I had a spare, but it was in a spot that wasn't easy to get to so I left it. It turns out, that wash light jus stayed on the UV color step I had programmed, and the other one was doing it's thing... so it sort of worked out. Small area, so one was plenty bright enough, and the UV added a little bit of cool factor... so they thought it was by design. lol.
Overall, it was a really good day. I was told ahead of time there wouldn't be much dancing except for the bride and her friends. I had the dance floor full for slow songs and a few dance songs, but about 70% of folks left right after dinner... so I didn't expect much. They had a good time, I had a good time, and they were all very happy. I guess that's about as much as I can ask for. Next wedding is in 2 weeks!
