Alex & Jeremy ~ Thursday 29th June 2012

THIS is the reason I came back to DJ’ing!

I stopped DJ’ing in about 2000 when I opened another business that needed all my focus and if I had continued DJ’ing I”d have had no time left to spend with the family. Our new enterprise was a fabulous experience and was initially very successful but as time went on things got harder the pressure sucked out any enjoyment we gained. About 4 years ago Ce, my wife, suggested that I consider returning to DJ’ing because I was always passionate about it. I had been asked to play at a number of events in the interim and had to decline because I had no equipment and my music library wasn’t totally up to date – we often attended these events as guests and I frequently regretted the fact I couldn’t help. This wedding really confirmed to me that I made the right decision to come back.

I’ve known Jez for around eight years, he actually worked for us for at least five years and is a really lovely guy, so when he contacted me and asked if I’d be available to DJ for his wedding to Alex I was absolutely delighted.

The wedding was held at the Langtry Manor Hotel in Bournemouth and was my first outdoor ceremony. The whole day was full of beautiful touches reflecting Axy and Jez’s characters. The Bridal Party entered to “All I Want Is You” by Barry Louis Polisar, their ceremony featured a lovely poem about two dinosaurs, their family and friends sang “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” accompanied by a friend on the ukulele, and there was a lovely rendition of the Etta James classic “At Last” sung by a member of the family. The new Mr and Mrs Hood and their wedding party came back down the aisle to “One Day Like This” by Elbow.

Their were numerous special moments throughout the day and their evening reception really rocked, but for me it was all about doing what I really love for people who, five years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to help.

Axy and Jez, thank you so much for allowing me to take part in your very special day. I wish you all the happiness in the World! To the Blatchford’s, the Hood’s and all their extended family and friends, thanks for making me so welcome and for making my role so easy.

Here’s a video I’ve cobbled together from my snaps – you can see why I’m a DJ and not a photographer or a videographer!

Ceremony Music

One of the services we provide is music for the Wedding Ceremony for civil marriage services. This is something I’m really passionate about because it’s so important and sets the tone for the whole day.

If you get married in a church the organist will be playing as your guests arrive, he then plays your entrance music, the hymns, something while you are signing the register and finally your music to leave the church.

For a civil ceremony you are not permitted to use any music that mentions God, outside that restriction you can have almost anything you like. You’ll probably need about 15 minutes for the guests to enter and take their places (that’s usually 4 or 5 songs). Then a song for your entrance – we will look at the timings for the distance from the doorway to the front of the room and edit the music if required. Next, a couple of tracks to play in the background while you sign the register and the photographs are taken. Finally a piece for your exit as Husband and Wife.

All the time, we are ready to raise the volume, for example to add impact to your entrance, or lower it so that the registrar can speak to your guests. I had a chat with the two registrars officiating at Saturdays wedding and was so pleased to hear their kind words regarding the service we provided.

We were located at the back of the room with a speaker under the table cloth out of sight. You can see the venue had supplied a small system which obviously would have played whatever was required, but whoever was operating it wouldn’t have had the same control that we had with our professional equipment that you can see on the right of the table.

Keep an eye on this blog over the next few weeks as I’ll be posting some ideas for ceremony music.

CLICK HERE for the article on the Hampshire County Council website on civil marriages.