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Thank you Nancy!

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Back in July I was proud to DJ for Phil and Nancy’s wedding at the fabulous Larmer Tree Gardens. You can see my post on my pre-event visit to the Larmer Tree Gardens HERE.

Nancy has just posted this review on Google …

“Paul the Wedding Party DJ made our wedding experience all the more gratifying. The bespoke service he provided leading up to the wedding, and on the day itself, was over and above everything we could have wished for. It’s easy to pick a DJ but we were so fortunate that we found Paul due to the unique service he provides. We knew nothing about Paul beforehand and found him via Google, then enjoyed watching his blogs at the weekends and decided to make contact with him.

We met Paul twice in the run up to the wedding. Off his own back Paul visited our venue to get a feel for the place and how he would set up on the day itself. He offered a service for our guests to submit song choices to him during the lead up to the day. Paul also ran through a few ideas he had for reacting to lack of activity on the dance floor e.g to get people engaged if the atmosphere was lacking. I really liked this as usually a DJ will just play the songs regardless of the audience’s interest. Most of our guests never left the dance floor all night.

Paul also familiarised himself with the names of our wedding party beforehand so that he could personalise the special songs we had requested e.g. the dance with my Dad. Finally, after our last song, Paul played a cheeky number which was a surprise to us, and was relative to our ceremony earlier in the day. The whole room joined hands and sang along. I will be eternally grateful to Paul for doing that. It was just brilliant!

Oh yes… and Paul was away on holiday the week before our wedding, but had lined up a friend who was to step into his shoes should another ash cloud have prevented him from returning to the UK!

So, if you are looking for a disco for your wedding reception – look no further. Paul really cares about your day and comes up with loads of ideas for different scenarios. He is not at all cheesy. Had we not proceeded with the disco theme – we certainly would have had him there
as a guest – he’s great!

I cannot justify enough, in words, Paul the Wedding Party and the service he provides!”

Nancy

Thank you so much Nancy, your kind words blew me away!

To see my Google review page CLICK HERE

Kirsten & Matt’s Wedding

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Yesterday was Kirsten and Matt’s wedding at the Woodland’s Lodge Hotel just down the road from my house. Despite the fact the Woodland’s Lodge is that close to my home I’ve never performed there before. It is a really lovely venue and they provided excellent service for the happy couple, their families and guests.

For more information about weddings at the Woodlands Lodge CLICK HERE

I was booked for the evening party and when I met with Kirsten and Matt earlier in the week they were still undecided on a first dance … actually they were still undecided at 8:30pm! Kirsten made the decision and we went with Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without U”

The party was great fun, I got to mix up all kinds of stuff including many tracks we’d talked about in our planning meeting. The evening ended with a packed dance-floor and AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”.

Last night …

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I had a great time at Carey’s Manor!

I love my job ;o)

Out NOW!

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I love this version of the classic Bob Hilliard and Mort Garson song. The original hit version in the States was by Ruby & The Romantics and made number one in March 1963. It was released in the UK and made number 38. Julie London, Doris Day, and Patti page also recorded versions, but this one … wow!

It’s Monday, it’s now out, I purchased my copy before I got out of bed this morning! 99p for the track or £7.99 for the new “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” album – go on, treat yourself.

Amy Winehouse ~ Our Day Will Come


Amy Jade Winehouse, 14th September 1983 ~ 23rd July 2011

Things I hear at Wedding Fairs ~ Number 1 in a series

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As regular readers will know, I’ve done quite a few wedding fairs over recent months and will be doing more in the New Year. I’ve decided to do a couple of blog posts on some of the things couples say as they make their way past my table – please don’t take this as sour grapes, I’m just trying to help couples make sure their reception is everything they want it to be.

So, I frequently hear “We’ve got a DJ in our package” and/ or “We’re using the resident D.J.”

First please let me point out that there is nothing wrong with DJ’s that work with/for venues – I’ve done it in the past myself. Obviously if you are working on a strict budget this can seem very appealing and many resident DJ’s are excellent. However I’d recommend that you ask to meet the DJ before you confirm you want that part of the package. Find out if there is actually a resident DJ or are they just using anyone of several DJ’s that an agent might supply?

If you are booking with a hotel in the previous calendar year perhaps they will supply you with a discounted table at one of their Christmas functions so that you can have a look at their recommended entertainer and check out the food and service. If you don’t want to use their DJ they should be able to reduce the cost of the package or substitute something else, for example soft drinks on the tables, to balance the price of the package. Getting to know the team at your chosen venue can only be a good thing and, if it is a hotel and open to the public, I’d always recommend having at least a couple of meals in the restaurant to get a real feel for what you can expect on your big day.

I feel awkward about writing this next bit but I really need to share this with you, some venues will charge you, or allocate from their package price, £400 or £500 to the entertainment and actually only pay the DJ between £200 and £250. That is not to say that every venue does this, or that the DJ they are supplying isn’t worth the full fee they are charging, but I do believe it’s not an uncommon practice.

If you are booking direct with the venue it will also mean you will have to pay V.A.T. on the fee, resulting in an additional 20% to your total.

In conclusion, a DJ supplied by a venue may well be excellent but you really need to be happy that he’s the right person for the job. The DJ at your wedding is the last piece in the production of your greatest day, you need to be really comfortable that he understands exactly what you want so that you can relax and enjoy it. Please remember a DJ is a service not a product, not all DJ’s are the same and it’s worth taking time to find the right one for you and not just accepting what’s offered.

Caroline’s Birthday Party

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Another Gold gig with Steve this weekend.

This time we were in the function room at The Salmon Leap in Totton for Caroline’s Birthday Party. As you can see it was fancy dress, Steve and I went as two radio DJ’s on a night out, and if that was Caroline’s old school uniform I’m Tony Blackburn. Caroline’s husband Rob was dressed perfectly for a Gold night out with his flared suit,’fro and platforms! It was good to see many old friends again – thanks everyone.

Adam & Fern @ The Clock Barn

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Last week saw my first visit to The Clock Barn – what a stunning venue! It’s located on the outskirts of Whitchurch on Tufton Warren Farm, about 5 minutes from the A34 and 15 minutes from Winchester and Newbury. The service and attention to detail provided by Helen, Emma, and the Clock Barn team was fantastic.

Once again I provided music for the ceremony, you can see my laptop and controller at the back of the room (but you can’t see the speaker). Fern’s Bridal party entered to Bryan Adam’s “Everything I Do”, and newlyweds Adam and Fern made their exit to the chorus of Florence & The Machines version of “You’ve Got The Love”.

After the ceremony the guests went outside for photos with Lee, their photographer, then back into the barn for drinks before being seated for the speeches and wedding breakfast.

After the meal the Bride and Groom took to the dance-floor for their first dance, “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol.

Then the party began! I’d suggested to Fern and Adam to start a “music for our wedding” group on FaceBook for their guests and we had plenty of suggestions. We’d sat down a couple of weeks before the big day to sift through all the posts and decided what should be included, the results were fabulous and we had a great mix of rock, pop and dance. For later in the evening Adam and Fern had suggested a rave party set and they broke out the glow sticks for tracks by artists including The Chemical Brothers, Pendulum and Kasabian.

The night ended with everyone on the floor for Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” and Kings Of Leon’s “Sex On Fire” – and all of this on a Thursday night in rural Hampshire! Thanks to Adam, Fern, their family and friends and the team at The Clock Barn for a really great day.

For more information about The Clock Barn CLICK HERE

The Evening Reception

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Whenever possible I like to add something unexpected into the event and I had a couple of things planned for Kirsty & Jason. The first was this moving gobo projected on the ceiling with their names and the date of their marriage. You can see I used their colour-scheme for the lighting in the room and the angles and surfaces available to project the image on to worked really well. The gobo just turns slowly.

We had talked in advance about playing my Getting To Know You / Mr & Mrs / Shoe Game, which went down very well.

Kirsty, her Bridesmaids and friends from the Hen Weekend gave us their fantastic dance routine to the Grease Megamix, which actually ended with them raising Jason right up in the air!

The Brides family are Scottish and we played a good number of tunes to get the kilts swirling including one from the Red Hot Chilli Pipers!

The end of the night was again well planned with a selection of “anthems” including “You Got The Love”, “Wonderwall, “Loch Lomond”, “500 Miles”, “The Time Of My Life” and “Never Forget”. Finally the guests maid a guard of honour, and Kirsty and Jason left the room to a remixed version of Katy Perry’s “Firework”, taking time to say goodbye to each guest in turn.

What a fantastic day! My thanks again to Kirsty, Jason, their family and friends for allowing me to share in their special day, and to all the team at Rhinefield for making me so welcome. Have I mentioned how much I love my job!

Back to Saturday’s Wedding

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Here are some more pictures from Saturday’s wedding of Kirsty and Jason.

After the ceremony the guests made their way out onto the terrace and lawns for photo’s and drinks.

The weather forecast had been terrible during the week but, in the end, was much nicer than expected.

To be continued …

Saturday’s Wedding

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Yesterday I was privileged to supply the music for Kirsty & Jason’s wedding at Rhinefield House, in the heart of the New Forest.

I provided music for the ceremony – if you look closely you can see my laptop and control desk at the rear of the room – almost in the centre of this picture.

The venue is absolutely wonderful and Michael and the Rhinefield team delivered a fantastic day. I’m going to post a few more pictures over the next few days, so keep an eye open for more soon.

If you’d like to know more about weddings at Rhinefield CLICK HERE, and if you’d like a personal view feel free to call me.