Something completely different this weekend then….and I like a challenge!
Saturday night saw me at The Cambridge Union Society in, well…Cambridge for the evening reception of Alex and Henry.
The venue…WOW! Although it’s undergoing a LOT of major redevelopment work (half of it is currently rubble), the bits we used for the evening entertainment resembled the Houses of Parliament…and it’s ALWAYS nice to work in such historic buildings!
Historic buildings are hard work though…
Getting in and out of such venues with a metric tonne of disco equipment isn’t easy. In this case it was a case of parking on double yellows (and praying ‘plod wouldn’t show up at the wrong moment), and then a dash (well…several dashes) up two flights of stairs and along a passage to get the equipment into the building. No mean feat, believe me (especially on the way out at 2am!)
So, to the order of events….
Although originally booked from 11pm, I was in fact needed to set up a lot earlier. And indeed, introduce and play the first dance and provide the entertainment for the bouquet toss even before my allotted start time. Not a problem, I was already there – what harm could it do?
So, first dance (I Love How You Love Me by the Paris Sisters) dispatched with, and it’s time to introduce my co-entertainers for the evening, The Swing Ninjas.
I like working with bands
Well…most of the time. Some live performers can be real Diva’s (they’re “real” entertainment and I’m just a DJ apparently), but these guys were absolutely AWESOME, providing 90 minutes of a swing quintet which kept the dance floor full). They were so easy to work with as well…a really refreshing change!
And then it’s my go!
Now I must mention here that contact with Alex and Henry had been minimal on the run up to the wedding. I took the booking just two weeks before their big day due to issues with their preferred venue and as such, meeting up wasn’t going to be an option as the timings just didn’t work.
Everything was done via email either with Alex and Henry, or via their excellent wedding planner Vanessa Harness from R&F Wedding Planners (a real delight to work with and someone I’ve known for a while).
Whilst I don’t like going in “cold” on such a special occasion, I had enough information to make their dreams come true.
My brief was:
- Minimal lighting if any (and preferably only yellow and white)
- A minimal booth
- Play music Millennials and “oldies” would dance to
How hard could it be?
It was a really good night. I had concerns over the lighting, especially in such a big and historic room, but programmed it to Alex’s wishes non the less, and it worked a treat.
The playlist was never going to be a problem, and it worked an absolute treat with a full dance floor until around 1:30am, and still a handful of guests at the absolute death of 2am (2am by the way dear reader is very rare in this day and age for a wedding reception to still be going).
So, some photos then
Bear in mind I didn’t start until 11pm (when most wedding guests are starting to think about heading for bed) and finished at 2am (eek!), it was a pretty healthy dance floor for the evening. They definitely liked to party!
And so to the playlist
The majority of the songs requested were from a list supplied by Alex and Henry, and they got the mood of the party spot on in my book seeing the images above!
- The Paris Sisters – I Love How You Love Me (First Dance)
- Taylor Swift – Shake it Off
- OutKast – Hey Ya!
- Wham – Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
- Kenny Loggins – Footloose
- Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance
- With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
- Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ’til You
- Get Enough (2003 Edit)
- The Spice Girls – Megamix
- Various Artists – The Grease Megamix
- Michael Jackson – Beat It
- Earth, Wind & Fire – September
- Kool The Gang – Celebration
- Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King – Love Come
- Down
- Candi Staton – Young Hearts Run Free
- Barry Manilow – Copacabana (At the
- Copa)
- Bee Gees – Night Fever (Remastered)
- Abba – Dancing Queen
- Dolly Parton – 9 To 5
- Abba – Mamma Mia
- B Witched – C’est la vie
- Michael Jackson – Thriller (2003 Edit)
- Shania Twain – Man! I Feel Like a
- Woman
- Vengaboys – We Like To Party (The
- Vengabus)
- Vengaboys – Boom, Boom, Boom,
- Boom!
- Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe
- DJ Otzi – Hey Baby
- Darude – Sandstorm
- Wham – Club tropicana
- Los Lobos – La Bamba
- Gibson Brothers – Que Sera Mi Vada
- Bryan Adams – Summer of ´69
- Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer
- Queen – Dont Stop me Now
- Kings Of Leon – Sex On Fire
- The Killers – Mr Brightside
- The Fratellis – Chelsea Dagger
- My Chemical Romance – Helena
- Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
- Chumbawamba – Tubthumping
- Blur – Song 2
- Blur – Parklife
- Wheatus – Teenage Dirtbag
- Oasis – Wonderwall
- Cornershop – Brimful Of Asha(Norman Cook Remix)
- Blur – Girls And Boys
- Pulp – Disco 2000 (7′ Mix)
- Busted – What I Go To School For
- Busted – Year 3000
- Reef – Place Your Hands
- Taylor Swift – You Need To Calm Down
- Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life
So, to conclude
In short, Alex and Henry’s evening reception was a blummin’ BRILLIANT night, even if it was a very late finish and had its challenges (such as actually getting in and out of the venue).
Huge congratulations on your wedding Alex and Henry – and all the best for a very long and happy future together!
