Sunday, March 11, 2007

DJ or not to DJ…

by Steve Sargent

It’s that time. Your wedding is upon you and it comes down to that fateful decision, DJ or wedding band? Both conjure up images of Disco Stew or “Afternoon Delight” sung by Mr. “Wave Your Hands in the air, wave ‘em like you just don’t care.”

DJs are always an option. However, finding one that fits your taste and who can cater to your crowd isn’t always easy. With a 1001 things to do, you wonder, “how you could possibly find the time to do it yourself?”. Just about every DJ these days has the same old trick. They might have two turntables and a microphone, but I can guarantee they’ll also have a Powerbook in tow. Don’t have a laptop? Believe it or not, an iPod can do it quite nicely. Regardless of whether you opt for a DJ or do it yourself, here are some helpful tips to consider.

Get a schedule

If you’re renting a hall, consult the event coordinator/manager. Most likely, you’re not the only wedding they’re having that day. Often, they’ll keep you on a tight schedule. Get a copy of that schedule. If they don’t have one, make one. A schedule of events will be your friend. Quite simply, you need to know what to play and when. For example:

• Cocktail Hour,
• Introduction of the Bridal Party,
• First Dance, Father Of the Bride Dance, Open Dance
• 1st Course Dinner (or just Dinner)
• Father of Bride Welcome
• More Food
• Best Man Toast, Maid Of Honor Speech
• Dancing
• Cake Cutting
• More Dancing and exit

Using this schedule, create playlists for each event. It’s important to know all of the events including speeches. A blank playlist for a speech will keep it silent for the speaker and automatically queue up the playlist for the next event. This will help to pace it and allow you to have anyone run the player. However, the more explicit you are about naming the playlists, the more you’ll be able to let go and enjoy the event!

Map out a timeline for the events. You’ll need to estimate how long each event is so you know how many songs to fill in each respective playlist. Be sure to pad and in order of favorites. You’ll be surprised how quickly things can go. Extra songs will help fill in whatever gaps may arise during a particular event (e.g., in case dinner runs longs). Things don’t always stay on track so extra songs will help!

Play it

Just about every music program out there has the ability to cull songs into playlists. Personally, I recommend iTunes. It does just as well on a PC or Mac. If you can get a laptop, do. It’s much easier to move between playlists on a 12” or larger screen vs. a 2” Ipod screen.

Have contingencies! Get a separate ipod for these playlists. It makes for a nice memento as well as leaving your current ipod intact. Most halls will have a sound board you can plug into. If not, you can plug your laptop or ipod into your own set of speakers, I recommend this brand which are nice and LOUD.
Does the place have internet access? For my wedding, we used their WiFi connection to download requests on the fly.

CDs got your back

Make CD backups. This may sound archaic, but it’s a lot easier to find a CD player if your laptop or ipod dies. You may want to simply go with CDs. You can have one for each playlist. Labeled accordingly, it can take the guess work out for the one in charge of the player. Give them a copy of the schedule so they can follow along. It also makes it less of a favor to ask.

Speaking of favors, a CD of selected tracks from your wedding makes a nice hand out in lieu of matchbooks or a keepah. There are a ton of dupe houses out there that can turn around multiple copies (100s if you need them) in a couple of days. www.screamdvd.com is one I used. Their prices are good and they actually QA their product. Trust me. You’ll spend more on printer ink if you try to print the labels yourself. Besides, you’ll have plenty of other things to prepare. Ask for slimline cases for inserts. This will allow for a nice complement to the invites and table cards. We had a letterpress printer produce the CD cover to match our invitations. They also designed a nice CD label from the dupe house’s template for the song selection.

Building the playlist

Some basic songs you’ll need:

• Introduction of the bridal party: Maybe you want Disco Inferno, maybe you don’t. Choose something that fits your crew. Keep it playful. Perhaps, some “White Riot” Clash? Maybe your alma mata’s fighting song?

• First dance: Any special songs from your first date? Or your proposal? Or do you just have a special song? Can’t think of one? Go for something classy. In my case, I had The Inkspots “I don’t want to set the world on fire” playing on bended knee. There’s always Flamingos “I only have eyes for you”. How about, Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight”?

• Father of the bride dance: Is he a Rockabilly man? Ask him. They might surprise you. My father in law wanted Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Be bop a lula” (I didn’t even know he’d done a version of this).They might surprise you.

• Open dance: Remember, it’s for you family as much as it is for you. What are their tastes? Do you know your parents’ wedding songs? After the first dance and father of the bride, why not play their songs? Keep it fun. A little “Shout” doesn’t hurt (and may help to lighten things up after getting all teary).

Remember, you can do eeet! J Any questions? Feel free to drop me a line.

steve@sargent.tv
www.sargent.tv


Steve Sargent is a producer and self-professed geek. He’s worked for Chris Blackwell (founder of Island Records) on videos and websites for award-winning films, viral campaigns as well as Webby award-winning music/film/anime site. Steve produced his own Japanese film festival. Most recently, he created a series of commercials for Atari’s XBOX 360 game, “Bullet Witch”. Above all, Steve is an avid music-lover and started his career as a DJ for an NPR affiliate.