I’m not one to lavish praise on everyone I’ve worked with in the past. While I’m hard-pressed to give a negative review of a fellow vendor, especially to a client, rare is the day that I feel strongly enough to blog about someone who is not a photographer who’s work I admire. Today, though… is such a day. Or rather, Saturday was such a day, and two days later (it being Monday, now), I still feel just as strongly about this. And hence this post.
When you hire a DJ for your wedding, you are hiring one of the most important people that will take part in it, where your reception is concerned. A good DJ will know how to keep things moving when they need to move, and to keep things calm when they need to be calm. A good DJ will be respectful of your wishes, where the “do not play” list is concerned. A good DJ will be able to look at the crowd of guests, and be able to figure out what kind of music will get the party going and get people involved and out on the dance floor. It’s an art, just like photography is an art. As a photographer, the DJ is one of my biggest allies at the reception, because the reception runs according to their announcements. Aside from the wedding coordinator, if one is present, they are the ones that know what’s going to happen when, and a good one will let the other vendors know before things happen so that they are ready. I haven’t had a bad experience with a DJ, but I’ve had some lack-luster ones. Saturday, was possibly the best experience I’ve had.
Allison and Trever (who’s wedding will be the subject of a whole post of its own) had Joe Moser (DJ PER4RM) from DJ’s Available at their wedding this Saturday. This guy way top-notch! When we got into the reception site, just after finishing their Bride & Groom shots, we ran into him, and he quickly ran down the list of what was going to be happening, compared notes with us… and we quickly established a great chemistry. We were now part of the same team. This is huge! Because of this, I know the couple got better photos of their reception, because we weren’t guessing what was going to be happening and where we needed to be. WE KNEW! Most DJ’s will tell the photographer what’s coming next, but Joe went out of his way to make sure we were in the loop, and it was much appreciated. But that’s the logistical behind-the-scenes stuff that brides rarely think about. He’s there to play music… right? Read on.
Some of the complaints you hear floating around about DJ’s is that some of them are liberal with their own ideas about humor, and sometimes go over the top with it. Others might complain that they did not abide by the couple’s requests as far as what music to play and almost more importantly what NOT to play. I mean… if you don’t want the Chicken Dance… you expect not to hear the Chicken Dance. This was totally not a problem on Saturday! When he was talking, he was very professional, and totally not over-the-top. Allison and Trever asked for the usual 70’s disco-era stuff to be skipped entirely. I didn’t hear Brick House, Play That Funky Music, or any of the other stuff like it.
The dinner portion of the evening was fairly quiet, as dinner portions usually are. I had a bit of time to talk to Joe because nobody likes having their picture taken with a fork in their hand and a mouth full of salad. It was at that time that he mentioned that they had requested that none of the 70’s standards be played. He looked around the room, assessed the crowd, and said “I’m feeling 80’s. The way the room is split… I’m feeling 80’s.” So what was so amazing? When it came time to playing music for people to dance to, some DJ’s would have queued up song after song. It’s a valid approach. People expect to hear songs… and many DJ’s play them faithfully. But what did he do? He started mixing things together; more like something you’d expect from a DJ at a club… He took those 80’s songs that he figured (correctly) that people would really get into, and mixed them with dance stuff. You’ve heard The Percolator? Now throw Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics on top of it… The crowd ate it up! Take a basic dancy kind of techno groove, and throw Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey on top of it… and people hit the dance floor, and sing along! The guy was a font of energy, constantly mixing things in on the fly rather than just playing the same old songs. Joe was an artist of a high caliber, to say the least.
So. Bottom line. If you need a DJ, you should check him out. I know I certainly would be happy to work with him again.
