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New here - My first wedding DJ
Steve Garris:
I've been a regular on the Lounge forum, and decided to move to also doing wedding DJ events this year. I've been mixing live rock bands for 30 years, on big & small systems. My freind asked me a year ago to provide the audio for his daughters wedding, and play some Spotify tracks for the reception.
This wedding was yesterday, and I learned a lot from this single experience. This was an outdoor ceremony, with a large 300 person tent-like structure for the reception. The venue was absolutely beautiful, exceeding my expectations. There was a no sub rule, and strict SPL limits, so after talking to the people in charge I left my subs at home.
For the outdoor ceremony I deployed a single Yamaha DSR112. I brought two, but due to cable running restrictions I only could use one, which turned out to be more than enough. I used my Mackie iPad mixer for the event, and played music for the aisle walk, and before & after. I purchased two medium quality wireless mic's for the ceremony; a Senn EW135 G3 handheld, and a Shure BLX W85 Lav mic. The lav was on the officiant, and the handheld on a straight mic stand between the bride & groom. My mixer and mic transmitters were a good 150 ft away. Both mics worked flawlessly and the ceremony was heard very clearly by everyone (we had about 200 people). For announcements I used wired SM58's.
Inside I had a pair of PRX615's running full range. The music sounded excellent inside with this rig. I was limited to 90 db at my mixing/DJ table with the meter pointing out to the crowd. The system was barely breathing at this level, and once the party got kicking I really wanted to give it more, but relented to the venue bosses (they were fantastic to work with).
Prior to the event, I was having major concerns about my preparedness. I was overly concerned about my MC capabilities, almost to the point of having a panic attack! Turns out, I was over reacting and I fell right in to it as the party went along - actually enjoyed it a great deal. The most satisfying part was being told by my friend that several attendees were asking "where did you find that DJ, he's really great"! Personally, I'm a perfectionist, and I give myself a B- for this first DJ gig.
What I got right:
Great sound - I know how to make a mic sound good - no feedback, nice warm audio.
I MC'd the entire wedding, and felt I did as good as many DJ's I've watched on Youtube.
Last year I purchased a giant LOVE sign with back-lit letters, 4 ft tall. This was placed in front of my table and was a huge hit. It's styrofoam, so lightweight but bulky.
I read the crowd, and ended up not playing much of the music given to me by the bride. The people dancing were 40 something year old moms & husbands, so I ended up playing disco dance classics. I kept the dance floor packed right up to the end. I received $200 in tips.
What I got wrong:
Spotify on iPads & iPod's. This is lame & I know it. Just didn't have time to put anything better together. I'm going to get a dedicated pc laptop for all future gigs, with a digital DJ player, and a much larger library of music. I do not feel the need for one of those DJ mixers to do weddings.
I used my live band light-tree pointed at the dance floor for lighting. While this thing looks great behind a drummer (it's sound activated), it wasn't right for dancing. I'm going to pick up a couple of disco lights for future weddings.
Jeff Lelko:
Congrats Steve! DJing can be a lot of fun, especially if the event is a good fit with your personality and preference for music. The funny thing is that once you get the hang of it and how to handle various situations, it's not hard and you can make some serious profit margin compared to the other lines of our work.
Regarding playing music off a laptop, that's what I do when needing to play background tunes or outright DJ an event. I have a pair of solid state media/CD players as backup, but I've never owned or needed a DJ mixer. If you plan on doing beat matching or remixing on the spot that might be a different story, but between primary DJ software and something like QLab to handle specialty parts of events I've never needed anything else. These days I primarily use Virtual DJ, and that was after finally giving up on OtsDJ after about a decade (and switching to all MacBooks). Just like with lighting, most programs have a free demo to play with before buying.
As far as DJ lighting goes, as I've said in the lighting forum numerous times I'm a big fan of the Martin Wizard-style effects. They look good with or without fog, fill the room nicely, and can run both fast or slow to fit the style of music. I've never found the LED effects to be a good fit for my type of work - they're either not bright enough or look too cheap - or both. All my effect lights are halogen or discharge. Good luck and have fun!
*Edited to remove the quote brackets - not sure why I wanted to quote myself...
Dennis Wiggins:
Steve-
...read the crowd, and ended up not playing much of the music given to me by the bride.
Hah! No comment. ::)
...a much larger library of music. You can't beat shopping for CDs at Goodwill, church resale shops, or buying whole collections on CL. Get you head around cocktail/dinner BG music. Keep it MOR, but always 'lovey' and happy (not sappy).
...disco lights for future weddings. First, get a pinspot (or 2, with gels) and a 16" mirror ball/motor.
...by listening to and observing the venue manager and guests, you are well ahead of the game.
You will quickly find that you will be "asked to" to keep the schedule moving. That can be very frustrating, or satisfying - it wildly differs for each gig. Your choice.
Jam On! -Dennis
<edit. Oh, and be prepared to constantly walk the floor, as EVERY recording is different. Levels an EQ are definitely not "set-it-and-forget-it". Also, you may want to introduce sub-harmonics (a little goes a long way) to helps recordings that don't have any real bass content.
-D
Steve Garris:
--- Quote from: Jeff Lelko on July 22, 2018, 08:29:51 PM ---These days I primarily use Virtual DJ, and that was after finally giving up on OtsDJ after about a decade (and switching to all MacBooks). Just like with lighting, most programs have a free demo to play with before buying.
As far as DJ lighting goes, as I've said in the lighting forum numerous times I'm a big fan of the Martin Wizard-style effects. They look good with or without fog, fill the room nicely, and can run both fast or slow to fit the style of music. I've never found the LED effects to be a good fit for my type of work - they're either not bright enough or look too cheap - or both. All my effect lights are halogen or discharge. Good luck and have fun!
*Edited to remove the quote brackets - not sure why I wanted to quote myself...
--- End quote ---
Thanks Jeff - I was looking at Virtual DJ myself.
Not sure if those Martin's are in my budget. I want a music-activated disco light that I can simply turn off/on when needed. I'm reading that lasers are a bad idea as they ruin wedding photo's, so if it has lasers I would need to disable. I'm looking for (2) lights at a $500 total budget or less.
Steve Garris:
--- Quote from: Dennis Wiggins on July 22, 2018, 08:48:47 PM ---Steve-
...read the crowd, and ended up not playing much of the music given to me by the bride.
Hah! No comment. ::)
...a much larger library of music. You can't beat shopping for CDs at Goodwill, church resale shops, or buying whole collections on CL. Get you head around cocktail/dinner BG music. Keep it MOR, but always 'lovey' and happy (not sappy).
...disco lights for future weddings. First, get a pinspot (or 2, with gels) and a 16" mirror ball/motor.
...by listening to and observing the venue manager and guests, you are well ahead of the game.
You will quickly find that you will be "asked to" to keep the schedule moving. That can be very frustrating, or satisfying - it wildly differs for each gig. Your choice.
Jam On! -Dennis
<edit. Oh, and be prepared to constantly walk the floor, as EVERY recording is different. Levels an EQ are definitely not "set-it-and-forget-it". Also, you may want to introduce sub-harmonics (a little goes a long way) to helps recordings that don't have any real bass content.
-D
--- End quote ---
Thanks Dennis. I read another post where someone was recommending thrift store cd's - probably you!
Pinspot & mirror ball on my list - thanks.
I had an anxious step-mother-in-law all freaking out about the schedule, LOL. I gave her the "kill her with kindness" treatment.
I did walk the room and EQ with most songs - agreed it was necessary at times.
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