Eeerrrrrgh....wedding DJ'ing...

There are professional and experienced wedding DJs available out there, you can hire one if you are not interested n doing it yourself. I think internet is the best place to look for affordable and experienced wedding DJ; you will find lot of options to choose from.

 

Sebastin01 with 01 posts... please READ. the wedding is on a budget. Scrambled_egg_guy is not even gonna charge them. and you're suggesting "hire a DJ"?

dude... READ.

S-egg-81, good to know you're not using your speakers! Hope it goes well! let is know how the planning is going with Bridezilla! We wanna have something to laugh about! ehehh

best of luck mate!

 

No matter what you decide, get it in writing. He will no longer be your brother. He will be Her husband. Get it in writing.

 

scrambled_egg81, love this post, real dilema for you, a real good get would be to sit down with them and ask them to provide a playlist which you could record onto disk and play using your system with rented speakers, because as its your brother you want to enjoy the day with him and the family, you could have your mic available for speeches and announcements. On the other hand, imagine if another DJ were to do the gig and you were sat there, you would be critisising and wanting to get on the decks and do your stuff.
you may want to ask Bridezilla if you could do an hour set at the end playing your stuff, and let them know that it is your wedding gift to them.

Good luck and keep us posted

Tony

 

Alternatively, at the after-party/reception/whatever you do, for those that really want to party.

 

i had the same coming last year, my cousin.
i really love her, since we were kids, and it broke my heart to tell her no way!
so, i decided to tell her the following:
listen, i have a gig coming up that night. they pay me 500.- so, think about once more. either, you pay me 300.- and i let go that gig, for the family and all the rest,
or you let me do my gig and hire a pro for about 300.-, he will do his job much better, the guests are happy, i am happy, you are happy and will be all your life.

how bout that?

honestly, talk yourself out of it by any means.
it can be tough, standing there, NOT able to play everything requested, from ABBA to Queen, Alphaville or even Dr.Alban - or what rude mood some of these folks are into, sometimes. (especially, if there`s no booze) !

what i did for another couple, (sister of my ex-girl) was:
offer her to fill up her iTunes library with all of the eventually needed songs,
preparing playlists for all different needs, as:
(dancing / soft background tracks / fun tracks ...ect ).
so, she could just plug the laptop into a pa, choose one of the playlists, and let it roll.

now, it`s up to you

good luck

 

Meh...wish my family was as forgiving, Miles. I'm a bit less worried/stressed about it now (the Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale might have something to do with that...), and details are finally starting to fall into place. After explaining the improvement in mixing that happens with "mild" alcohol consumption, I even got the OK to bring a few brewskies for myself.



What...you don't mix better after a few beers?

 

Just get bridezilla to get all the songs that she wants, throw out the ones that clearly wont work, add some of your own party favourites, do a few play-lists eg dinner, speeches, dancing, hit that wonderful button cruse mode and go have a drink with that bottle you stashed in your Dj bag.

 

Thought I'd throw in my .02, considering most of my DJ gigs are weddings! Being a wedding DJ is just so much different than most in here do. I tell people all the time, I'd be horrible in a club setting, I don't practice enough, (don't have the time) and don't play that kind of music. (House/Techno) I've yet to do a wedding where they requested that type of music.

Being a wedding DJ is 80% running the show. Making sure the wedding moves along, (cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc) and being a good host on the microphone. I tell people, a club DJ, hell, a bedroom DJ, will embarrass me with mixes and scratches, etc. However, on a mic, in front of 300 people, with a bride counting on me to say every name in the wedding party correctly, to be able to know when to tell a joke or when it's inappropriate, all those little nuances, I'll do a better job. Most of the music is by request, I do the best I can to mix it. Most of it is hip hop and current stuff, you do more cutting than mixing.
I put more time into prepping for the wedding than the event itself. Getting the info from the couple to make things run smoothly can be a real pain. After all, a wedding is a stressful event to plan, and the couple is dealing with many vendors, not just a DJ. There's some tact involved, knowing how to push them along, make them feel at ease, and not have to worry.


With all that said, ugh, I feel for you. I've been asked to do something like this in the past, and got out of it by saying I wanted to enjoy the wedding and have fun, not work. In another instance, I agreed to do it, but did more of what someone else suggested... made up a playlist and just let it roll, and still walked around and was part of the wedding. Didn't charge, but was tipped by the parents, and quite nicely.

 

I think the OP needs to lighten up a little bit in regards to the music choices; I'm a reasonably successful DJ in the "real" music world, and along with several pretty big acts I played at a wedding reception at Fabric for a friend. We just threw ourselves into it and played cheesy wedding classics that are actually good songs too, my highlight was seeing one of the coolest tech house DJs around drop Madness - Baggy Trousers. Just embrace it for what it is - there will be grannys and grandkids and all sorts there, so you want music that brings everyone together.

And the idea that you should see this as this totally outrageous request that has been foisted on you; its your brother's wedding and you feel this way? When my brother asked me to do the same I even went away after the wedding and made up a CD of all the songs that had gone down best on the night, the track they walked down the aisle to, their first dance etc, made a mix, printed out some photos from the wedding and made a proper CD as a nice memento. This is a really great opportunity to do something for your family, which will be remembered and appreciated long after you have got over any annoyances about the day.

What you need to do though is be firm about what such an undertaking requires; the fact that you will need an extra few pairs of hands on the day, that you will need a certain standard of equipment for it to be worth a damn.

The best way to get them to listen is to point out the things that people remember about a good wedding; the dress, the speeches and the dancing later on. Get those 3 right and whatever happens it will be remembered pretty well as a good day, so the last thing they need is to have a pair of tiny speakers farting out music to the nearest dozen people while everyone else wonders what the hell is going on!

And anyone thinking they are too cool to DJ at a wedding - well, Erol Alkan didn't mind!

 

lol, awesome picture! although it looks like there was some alcohol involved... ^^

 

[ame="www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZP4Ugev82I"]www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZP4Ugev82I[/ame]

 

If I ever behave like that at a wedding gig, take me out back and shoot me.

 

HAHA, WHAAAAAT 0.o

I realise that his terrible behaviour at the end was the point of the video, but I think there's a much worse crime afoot: that hideous cruise-control mix at 19 seconds.

 

http://tf2chan.net/offtopic/src/130426672173.jpg

 

http://youtu.be/1hCJADuyp4A

Clearing out the floor, for his solo performance.

 

Enable cruise control in Traktor and join a more interesting party next door.

 

Not as bad as this guy!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NospIS8mpKo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NospIS8mpKo[/ame]

 

Woof-how should I say this politely:

I've been a "club" DJ for as long as I've mixed. I've worked hard enough to where I was asked to open for Sandra Collins on 2 occasions in Mexico. My family is well aware of what I do and what I'm capable of. After being told that I "need" to do this because it's family, I was resistant because it requires equipment that I don't have (and Bridezilla was hesitant to acquire) and a mixing/presentation style that is 180 degrees from what I normally do.

And no, I'm not trying to play the "too-cool" card here. The way I look at it is akin to forcing an experienced sushi chef to go work at a restaurant which only serves southwest cuisine. Foreign waters=bad times.

 

No offense to You...

But it sounds like You are taking yourself way too seriously.. Maybe I'm reading into it the wrong way though…

This could be a really easy & inexpensive way to give Your Brother a wedding gift..

If you're a quality "DJ" you should really be able to take on any sound and embrace it for what it is - a 4 or 5 hour party? Really not that big of a deal.

Right - You hate most pop music, some of us do, I get it. Have a look at www.billboard.com and most local radio stations websites, for what's current. You can get it all off of Itunes. and that should be good for the young people, old people may or may not follow along. Just have some hits from all era's - 60s, 70's, 80's, 90's - current and some good background / dinner music, and a few Classic Slow songs - and You should be FINE. Look online, google Wedding playlists and popular wedding songs and titles such as that and You will find TONS of resources and tips. Play songs that are similar bpm's together like dance music with other dance music (just beatmix it) and hip hop with hip hop, etc. You'll have to get used to not having intro's & outro's who cares, just slam mix them. Nobody will care once they are drunk, and having a good time. If they are requesting too much music, tell them to pick 10 "must play" songs and fit them in whenever you can, if they are songs that suck and people won't dance to, then play them during dinner or for background. Play "peak hour' stuff for when you want to dance people. use super popular stuff to dance people, please whatever the majority is and you should be fine.

And make them spring for whatever You need! Get the right amount of wires, Tape, Speakers, whatever. Don't agree to do it unless You have the right equipment. Or just get it yourself and make it your gift.

Good Luck!