Help for a new DJ
I’m dj-ing at a wedding in a couple days for a friend of a friend and it’s my first actual gig besides the occasional party or my own senior prom.
If you guys have any pointers for me, related to music choice, professionalism, or anything like that, I would love to hear it. Frankly I feel a little over my head right now, and I know some of you might have some wisdom to share.
Thanks!
Roger
are they expecting normal wedding music? or you doing something more ravey?
in terms of professionalism, don’t over do it with the mic
100% normal wedding music. It helps I grew up on that stuff (80’s 90’s Dance but I’ve pretty much only ever practiced mixing house and electro stuff and some Hip Hop.
Should I abandon Traktor and my VCI and just do MixMeister?
Any tips on the normal wedding music?
man I would think a wedding has to be easy money.
The first hour is standard background music while folks show up and sit down, then you have the toast, the first dance, etc. People normally eat, order drinks, all the while you just have background music on. Then I would start with top 40 low bpms and just work my way up on bpms mixing up genre’s until everyones up and dancing. Then towards the end of the night start slowing it back down in bpms and call it a night.
Barry White, KC and the Sunshine Band, The Bee Gees, Prince, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, House of Pain - Jump Around, Rob Base - It Takes 2, Some Commercial classic hip-hop: 50 Cent - In Da Club, Will Smith - Gettin Jiggy, Nelly - Hot In Herre, Beyonce.
Think FUN ! FUN ! FUN !
Arrow - Hot Hot Hot, Clarence Carter - Strokin
Talk to the Bride and Groom and ask them to make you their personal request list. They might want some country music or some latin music. Remember that you need them to specify THEIR choice for The First Dance, The Father and the Bride dance, etc.
You really don’t have to mix at all. Just blend them like a radio mix. Concentrate on your song selection.
Bring a pad and pencil/pen. Try to take some requests. The requests will give you an idea of their taste in music. When you take a request tell the person “OK ! but if I play it you promise me that you are going to get your friends out there dancing with you.” ALWAYS say “yes i’ll try to find it in here.” to ALL requests. Even if you are sure you don’t have it. If they come back and bother you say you are trying to find it but it might have been misplaced in a playlist folder etc. Usually some technical mumbo-jumbo will cut them off. If they come back again say it must hvae been accidentally deleted. " I can’t believe it!" “Those damn back-up drives !”
Play funky mid-tempo stuff to get them going at first. Barry White - Just Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love is a lockdown groover.
Remember people will go crazy for cheesy pop fun tracks when they have a few drinks in them. Bee Gees - Staying Alive is a drunken floor killer.
Make sure you have the classic line dance songs. Marcia Griffiths -Electric Boogie (Electric Slide) , The Cha Cha Slide, etc. These will help you out immensely.
Good luck and remember fun.
Yeah man, it’s all about the 80’s 90’s top tracks dont get crazy, should be easy
Hey - huge help guys, any other floor fillers?
My wife and I started are walk down the aisle to Sir Mix Alot’s “Baby Got Back” and then had the DJ through the track over to the traditional wedding song. Got a good rise out of the crowd.
this is what annoys me about weddings.
i wanted something very breaksy at mine, but the dj we had was a rock dj (at bike rallies) by trade - and we had to have him beacuse he’s friends with the inlaws.
needless to say he can do the wedding thing easily.
refused to put on my tear-out breaks mix i put together for the day to 
knob, lol
That is bullshit. Make the bride and groom happy. It’s their day !
Especially the bride.
I secretly love playing weddings… They’re always for mates or mates of mates so generally everyone is into decent music and it’s about skating that line between cheese and just quality classics.
Truth is when you’re drunk at a wedding you want to hear guilty pleasures.
here are a few mixes that go well together:
indeep - last night a dj saved my life
into…
hall and oates - I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)
eurythmics - sweet dreams (i use the beat masher on this and peeps go mad for it)
into…
new order - blue monday
Daft Punk - Around The World
into…
Stardust - Music sounds Better with you
Some other big tunes:
Opps Up Side Your Head - The Gap Band
Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier (this surprisingly smashes it for a reggae tune)
Kim Wilde - Kids in America
Chaka Khan - I feel for you
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
End with these, and you will kill it
Prince - Raspberry Beret
Bill Withers - Lovely Day
Lionel Richie - All Night Long
i would pray that they have wifi access or if you have an iphone you can tether it to your laptop for free.. then just run the line out on your laptop to your mixer and youtube songs you don’t have.. you’re bound to get requests for things you don’t have at a wedding especially if you’re an edm dj..
You can’t tether an iPhone silly. At least not one that hasn’t been jail broken.
in my area Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ is a huge wedding track.
For the last wedding I did, it coincided with a great deal on a Turbosound rig… I decided to bring it to the gig… best sounding reception this city’s ever heard that’s for sure!
If you’re going to go the mobile wedding DJ route, you should invest in a Power Trakks set.
Not sure if you can get something similar in your area, but this set will have you covered. I was fortunate enough to pick up a used set then I ripped and tagged the entire binder. I don’t do many weddings anymore, but it’s nice to have the gig covered with a set like that.
To be honest, I used to hate on wedding gigs, but at $900 a night… there isn’t much to hate.
The dj never works quite as hard as the photographer that’s for sure 
, but I can pull in double that shooting a good wedding. I hate them with a passion though and don’t do very many.
And sadly,
at traditional weddings, no one is going to give a stuff whether your mixing is spot on or shite. Many ppl just don’t dance to what they don’t know, and weddings are often a classic case of this.
That said, when you do get one where they are up for something more, then it can be great, mainly because you aren’t expecting it.
One of my best trance sets came at the end of a wedding!
Umm… what? I’m typing this now via a connection from a tethered, non-jailbroken iPhone 3G.
The 1950’s called, they want their gender stereotypes back! 
You should announce that this one is dedicated to the Groom whilst hes chugging beer at the bar with his best man.
should’ve been mine wedding song, wasn’t too drunk to get a taxi to kebab shop though
(let’s leave the obvious/easy jokes alone shall we? 
)