If you’re getting married, the easing of restrictions around dancing at weddings is enormously welcome news.
Along with the stress of deciding who is on or off the guest list, one of the worst aspects of Covid-era nuptials has been restraining guests who just want to get up and party.
The pandemic has also prompted brides and grooms to reconsider whether they really want a big, expensive celebration, and one way many are thinking of cutting costs is not hiring a wedding DJ. After all, you can easily make a playlist of your favourite songs and assign a member of the wedding party to handle requests. What could possibly go wrong? The answer, it turns out, is plenty.
A recent Kent wedding is a classic example. The couple were getting married at a leading wedding venue but, as dancing was still not allowed, the bride decided to put a friend in charge of the music in order to save money.
Have you ever been at a house party where a guest monopolises the music and only plays songs they like, regardless of protests? Well, then, you might be able to predict what happened next. After a few drinks, the novice DJ started skipping tracks not to his taste, repeating songs, and cranking up the volume to an irritating level. Other guests joined in, insisting on their requests, until the venue staff were forced to step in to avoid the situation turning into a row and spoiling the couple’s special day.
Avoid murder on the dancefloor
While your old school friend or maid of honour may think they have what it takes to be a wedding DJ, they often don’t realise that there’s more involved than getting people to dance.
Great DJing is about creating a vibe and being able to successfully read the room; skills that come from years of crowd-watching. It’s about amending the music flow depending on the type of guests, their energy levels, how much they have had to drink, and if they are enjoying a certain style. It’s about creating a central focus point for the entertainment, remixing on the fly, controlling the sound level and blending tracks to create the right atmosphere, enhanced with high quality lighting and sound systems (most hotels and bars have sound systems designed for speech, not music). And it’s about providing extras for that complete ‘Wow’ factor, such as a live saxophonist to accompany the DJ, starlit dance-floors, and light-up letters.
And, yes, it can also be about diplomacy and damage control. If tipsy aunt Martha insists on ‘I Will Survive’ for the third time, will your maid of honour know how to handle the situation?
To prevent a music feud on your big day, get in touch with Mint DJs, a group of award-winning, highly experienced professional DJs in the South-East who have played some of the UK’s top venues.
