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Gemma & Brian’s Wedding DJ Testimonial

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Gemma & Brian’s testimonial is the third and final post in my series based on the support I’ve received for my nomination in The Hampshire Wedding Awards. Yesterday I discovered I’ve made it to the Finals which is incredible news.

Gemma & Brian’s wedding was held at the beautiful Audleys Wood Hotel near Basingstoke. Gemma and Brian found me following Kat’s review of her wedding there on Trip Advisor ~ to find out more about Kat and Gareth’s CLICK HERE.

I’ve really enjoyed my two visits to Audleys Wood, it’s part of the Handpicked Group of Hotels along with Rhinefield House and the standards are excellent.

Gemma & Brian were great fun to plan with, they already had lots of great ideas when we first met and I was able to help them create their dream celebration full of memorable moments and lots of fun.

So, here’s Gemma and Brian’s testimonial of Paul ~ The Party DJ

Hampshire Wedding DJ

“My husband and I got married on Sunday 12th June 2016 at Audley’s Wood Hotel in Basingstoke. We found Paul through another brides outstanding review of the personal service he provided for her wedding at the venue we were getting married at a few years before. I had been frantically looking for a DJ and was having no luck so when I stumbled across his brides review I had to contact her and ask for Pauls details – I am so glad I did!”

“I sent Paul an email and he replied right away, he sent me over a pack full of information of the service he provides for weddings to allow me to decide whether I wanted to meet with him for a chat and get a quote for our wedding. Reading through the unique and personal service Paul provides I had no doubt I wanted to meet him. He arranged a time which suited us and he happily offered to come to our house (which is a fair drive for Paul) so we could meet him face to face and discuss everything he would do for us on the day and to give us ideas as to how to make our wedding unique to us and different.”

gemma-brian

“I felt so at ease from the moment I met Paul, he is very warm and bubbly but also extremely calming – which is exactly what a bride needs when planning her big day as it is a stressful time! He tailored everything to how we wanted our day to go, asked us questions regarding what kind of feel we wanted the day to have, what our theme was, colour scheme etc so he could really understand who we are as individuals and exactly the kind of day we were trying to achieve. Paul gave us a quote and left it totally in our court as to whether we wanted to book him, he did not ask us to decide there and then, he gave us time to decide on our own. AT NO POINT did I feel at all pressured to book Paul for our wedding, however I had already decided in the first 60 seconds of meeting him I wanted him to be a part our of day!”

“I got in touch with Paul a few days later to ask him if we could go ahead with booking him for our wedding. We were all extremely delighted he was going to be such a huge part of our day. Paul was happy throughout the whole 18 months of planning our wedding for me to contact him with questions when I was booking other parts of our day to ensure we were getting exactly what we wanted and just generally for ideas on things we could incorporate on the day to make it extra special.”

audleys-wood-dj

“We met several times over the course of planning the wedding, nothing was too much hassle for Paul. He was like having our own wedding planner there on hand whenever we needed him, he came over to our house to sit down with a pack which he has created as part of his personalised service for us to fill out to ensure we would have everything we wanted on the day and that everything would run smoothly, helping us to plan all our timings for our big day as we did not have a wedding rehearsal. Just knowing Paul was there on hand to organise everything on the day so we did not have to think or worry about a thing and we could completely relax was such a relief!”

“We were a little stuck on music for our special dances so Paul sent us links and offered suggestions to help us so nothing became stressful. He created a face book group for our big day where we added all of our friends who were coming to the wedding and allowed them to post youtube links of their requests for the evening disco and he took everyones into consideration and mixed in some of his own music he felt would suit the theme! There wasn’t a moment the dance floor was empty and that was our biggest fear so he did a cracking job!! Everyone had a fantastic evening and loved the music! There was something for everyone!”

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“On the day itself Paul was even more fantastic than I knew he would be. He was there from before all our guests arrived, he had all our suppliers contact numbers so he could contact them if anyone had not arrived at the time they said they would be so we did not have to worry about a thing! Everything was there on time and all set up and ready for our guests arriving! The whole day ran smoothly! It was absolutely perfect! There were no hiccups. Even when we had a downpour of rain this didn’t disturb the plans or throw anything out. We still had everything we had wanted incorporated into our day!”

“We wanted a relaxed feel to the day, we wanted our family and friends to enjoy themselves and feel at ease. Everyone who attended our wedding said thats exactly how they felt, and thats all thanks to Paul for making this happen! We have had SO many compliments from all our guests saying it was the best wedding they have ever been too. They loved all the special unique touches Paul added to our day and they just loved Paul as a person! He ensured he went round and spoke to all of our guests, got to know them, took the time to ensure everyone felt special and involved in our day (which as the bride and groom is difficult to do so just by Paul doing that just made it that bit more special!)”

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“Our day would not have been as perfect as it was without Paul! He is outstanding at his profession and I never thought I would find someone who gives you so much time to help you make sure everything is spot on! All the little extras he provides are just absolutely fantastic and quite simply invaluable!”

“Our wedding was everything we had hoped and a million times more, and thats all thanks to Paul. I don’t know anyone who deserves an award more! I would recommend him to all our friends in the future for their weddings! He is world class!”

“We would just like to thank him again for his support and for being a part of our magical day.”

Gemma & Brian

wedding-dj-basingstoke

Reading this now I feel truly humbled by Gemma & Brian’s kind words. I’m so lucky to be able to do this for my living, I get to spend my time helping couples like Gemma & Brian make the most of this special moment in their lives. Thank you to everyone for your support as always ~ mug of tea raised ~ Cheers!

The Party DJ July Newsletter

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Better late than never … it’s The Party DJ July Newsletter!

Did you notice I hadn’t posted … probably not, but I did, so here it is a few days late.

In fairness I have been busy, not always with work but there’s been plenty going on at Taylor Towers.

Looking back …
Weather-wise the Summer of 2016 has been a bit of a disappointment so far. It was hardly “Flaming June” but the weather was relatively kind for the two weddings I had at the beginning of the month. I was at The Domus, Beaulieu for Hannah and Dan’s reception on Saturday 4th June following their ceremony at Romsey Abbey. I first met Hannah and Dan at one of my “Creating Your WOW Wedding events in February 2015 and helping them to plan their wedding has been fantastic. I promise I will get around to doing a full post on this beautiful day, but for now here’s a snap I took of Hannah and Dan’s first dance.

Beaulieu Wedding DJ

Then, just over a week later, it was back to the stunning Audleys Wood just outside of Basingstoke for Gemma and Brian’s wedding. Audley’s Wood is one of my favourite venues, I really like the mix of the Conservatory Restaurant in the main building for the ceremony and the spacious Garden Room marquee in the grounds for the wedding breakfast and evening party. Gemma and Brian found me through a Trip Advisor review from Kat and Gareth following their wedding at Audley’s and again booked well in advance so I was very involved in helping them throughout their planning. Again, a full post will follow soon.

Audleys Wood DJ

On a more personal note I managed to surprise my wife, Ce, with a few days in Cornwall. We stayed in Porth Wenn (Port Issac), home of TV’s Doc Martin, at The Slipway pub next to the lifeboat station and visited many of the locations used in the series including Doc’s house, the School and Mrs Tychall’s Pharmacy. If you’d like to know more about the area and our tips please get in touch – just email or call, we had a lovely time and would love to tell you more.

The Party DJ July Newsletter

We also visited The Eden Project – I can’t believe we’ve never done it before. It’s a very well run attraction full of great art, good food as well as the amazing collection of plants. There is also an outdoor concert facility and Lionel Richie was there for the two previous nights, we hope to go again and it would be great to combine the visit with a show night. You can also get married at The Eden Project … I’d love to do one! If you’ve never been we totally recommend it.

Eden Project Wedding DJ

We also took in a couple of concerts – typical that they were just a few days apart! We went to Brighton to see Ben Folds perform in The Dome – a venue we had never visited before. CLICK HERE to see Ben Folds performing One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces. This was the second time we’ve seen Ben, the last time was eleven years ago on 10th June 2005.

Then, after a days break, it was off to Bath to see the legendary Art Garfunkel. One of the first concerts Ce and I went to together was Simon & Garfunkel at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 19th June 1982 (34 years ago!), so this was an opportunity not to be missed. This rare opportunity to see Art was a warm-up for the Glastonbury Festival where he was playing the next day. He did not disappoint, even at 74 years old. He performed for about 90 minutes with a set of classic songs and fascinating readings about his observations from his life – it was magical. CLICK HERE to see a video of Art performing Kathy’s Song in 2014.

The month ended with a 50th party for Angela just outside of Warminster. I was the DJ for Angela’s son’s wedding back in 2013 – CLICK HERE for my post about Kyrah and James’ wonderful Wick Barn Wedding! It was really great to see the family and their friends again. A good time was had by all and I couldn’t resist getting everyone in a “Circle of Love” ending – here’s another snap.

Warminster Party DJ

Looking forward …
So, to come in the next few weeks there will be plenty of new content here including more detailed posts about Hannah & Dan’s wedding at Beaulieu and Gemma and Brian’s wedding at Audleys Wood, as well as a review of our July trip to Liverpool and a quick look at how the City changed the World.

I’ve also been challenged on FaceBook by my good friend, colleague and UK Wedding DJ of the year total part in the “8 Day’s of Eighties”, and I’ll be posting more detailed entries here about the tracks I’ve picked and what they mean to me.

Plus … well you’ll have to wait and see.

Kat & Gareth’s Wedding at Audleys Wood

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Basingstoke DJ

 

Back in March I was privileged to provide my services for Kat and Gareth at the beautiful Audleys Wood Hotel just outside of Basingstoke.

Before you read on please accept my apologies for the dodgy photography in this blog post. I’m no photographer, I just snap away when I get a moment in-between my other duties.  I usually get a few lucky shots but I’m never going to win any awards ~ unless it’s the wooden spoon!

Their ceremony was held in The Conservatory Restaurant, a beautiful room with high vaulted ceilings and large windows with great views of the gardens and grounds.

DJ Audley's Wood

Kat and Gareth are really passionate about their music and together we created an amazing soundtrack to their day.  For their ceremony they included music by many artists I hadn’t heard of before, that’s one of the things I love – being introduced to new music.

While the guests took their places and Gareth waited for Kat they chose tracks by Mooncake, Maybeshewill, Alt-J, The Music and The Knife.  The bridal party entered to “With Love” by Ex Confusion and then “Outro” by M83.

For the signing of the register family and friends were treated to “30:55” by Olafur Arnalds and “A Thousand Paper Cranes” by Mono.

Finally the newlyweds made their exit to “The Touch” by Stan Woods.

All the ceremony music worked really well and everyone was in no doubt that this really was a very personal celebration that they’d been blessed to share.

After the ceremony it was outside for the photo’s with another personalised soundtrack from ambient artists including Ex Confusion, Stray Theories, Neil Frahm and Brian Eno.

Audleys Wood Party DJ

The wedding breakfast and evening party were held in The Garden Pavilion, a stunning facility hidden away in the grounds.  After the photos Kat and Gareth and their parents formed a receiving line so that they could meet and greet everyone as they entered the Pavilion and took their places for their meal.  They also included “extended grand entrances” so that I could introduce the members of their wedding party to everyone.

There were so many special touches throughout the day including an amazing wedding cake ~ this picture (like all of my snaps) really doesn’t do it justice.

Wedding DJ Audleys Wood

 

Wedding Tip …  If you want a full dance floor be on it!  

This was never in doubt with Kat and Gaz, from the first time we met and I mentioned this tip to them they were 100% committed.  They danced, they sang along, they didn’t stop until it was time to wrap things up.

For their first dance they had chosen “Hoppípolla” by Sigur Rós and then it was onto their party playlist which was full of 90’s floor fillers and they danced and danced and danced!

Party DJ Audleys Wood

 

DJ Basingstoke

Kat posted a review of the hotel on Trip Advisor CLICK HERE TO VIEW and one couple who have booked there next year used the “ask reviewer” facility to ask about me – and I’m delighted to say I’ve met with them and they’ve now booked me for their wedding next summer.

Kat and Gareth sent me a lovely thank you card with this message …

“Thank you so much for all your hard work in making our day such a special one, and for tearing the roof off come disco time!”

Audleys Wood DJ

Party DJ!

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Party DJ Hampshire

I just wanted to say … I’ve still got it!

When I first purchased the Party DJ domain I had no idea I’d still be DJ’ing in 2015 and loving it more than ever.

I’ve categorised this post as “soap box” and I guess it’s a bit of a rant. The problem is anybody can call themselves a DJ – there are no qualifications that you need to have. The only criteria anybody calling themselves a DJ should meet is holding public liability insurance, and many don’t even have that! The market locally, nationally and globally is flooded with people who call themselves DJ’s although they have no little to no experience, they’ve cobbled together some cheap equipment and downloaded illegal music. People expect to pay a couple of hundred pounds for a DJ because they’ve never seen one worth more than that – when they actually see a proper DJ they are blown away.

So far this year I’ve done three weddings, I spent time in advance with each couple finding out what they loved and hated to make sure their party was as good as it possibly could be. Each of them have been great fun and I’ve received some amazing feedback both from my clients, their guests and even the staff at the venues. Each of these three couples took my advice and set up a FaceBook page in advance and invited their friends and family to make suggestions for the reception playlist, it worked really well.

First up was Kat and Gareth’s wedding at Audleys Wood. The golden rule for a busy dance floor at a wedding is wherever the Bride and Bridegroom go their guests will follow ~ Kat and Gareth spent the whole night on the dance floor!

Audleys Wood DJ

This one’s from Tara and Rob’s wedding at the Bartley Lodge ~ not one of my photos, this one turned up on FaceBook ~ thanks Nik and the ladies for wanting a selfie with me!

Party DJ Bartley Lodge

Finally for now, on Friday I was at New Place for Emma and Simon’s wedding, their friends and family had suggested nearly eleven hours of party music and I think some of them would have danced to the whole lot. You’ll find plenty of pictures from their party HERE on my The Party DJ FaceBook page .

New Place DJ

There are plenty of DJ’s out there, wherever you are, but not all of them really know what they are doing. NEVER book a DJ without having a good chat with him/her first, ask them about their experience, check they have insurance, don’t waste your money on a muppet wannabe … well I did say it was going to be a bit of a rant didn’t I.

I’ve been a DJ for a very long time and I won’t be giving up any time soon.

Friday Thirteenth Wedding!

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Friday Thirteenth Wedding Friday was my first 2015 wedding and what an amazing start to the year at the brilliant Audley’s Wood.

Friday Thirteenth Wedding

Two fabulous people who are so in love surrounded by their nearest and dearest in a beautiful setting – it was such a privilege to be part of it. These are just a couple of phone snaps, hopefully when I find my camera I’ll have a few more I can share with you. A huge thank you to everyone who made it a great day for two gorgeous people.

Audleys Wood DJ