As a DJ, I have a “bucket list” of venues I’d like to work in, and when Victoria contacted me about her wedding in The Poet’s House in Ely, I was able to cross another one off the list!
To say I’d been looking forward to this one would be an understatement! It’s a gorgeous venue in the shadow of Ely Cathedral and one of those you know you’ve just got to work in one day.
Having had a final planning email conversation with Victoria the week before, the initial timings were looking to run a little later than originally planned. Not a problem, it’s only three miles from my front door (another bonus). I still arrived a little early just in case things were running ahead of plan because that’s how I roll.
And on the day, things were indeed running a little earlier than planned so just as well I work this way.
The Setup
The room where wedding receptions are held is small compared to a lot of places I visit. This wasn’t a problem as I’m able to configure my setups to fit into just about any location needed.
On the day, it meant one pole of lighting rather than the usual two. Not an issue as the low ceilings allowed me to reflect the light down onto the dance floor, so no compromises were made.
The Party
What can I say?
It was every bit as awesome as I’d been expecting!
Victoria and Micheal had built up a small playlist selection using my online planning system made up predominantly of ’80s music….what’s not to like? I also had the freedom to add my own selections and take guest requests on the night. The only exception being “Oops Upside Your Head” (and I’m never going to disagree about not playing that one!)
The dance floor filled half way through the first dance and apart from a slight lull during the evening buffet – NEVER died!
Eventually though, all good things have to come to an end.
I’d agreed with Victoria and Micheal to do a “dummy ending” to prevent the chants of “one more song” when I’m not allowed to do it. It’s a system I use a lot and it works well!
Lots of thanks at the end of the evening, and I have a funny feeling I might be back there soon!
Some Photos
And the Playlist?
As already mentioned, it was a mixture of Victoria and Micheal’s pre-selected tracks mixed in with guest requests and just a smattering of my own picks, which is always the best way to run the evening.
- Songbird – Fleetwood Mac (First Dance)
- Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
- Jailhouse Rock – Elvis Presley
- The Power Of Love – Huey Lewis & the News
- Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
- Don’t You Want Me – Human League
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston
- Ride On Time – Black Box
- The Only Way Is Up – Yazz & the Plastic Population
- Cuddly Toy – Roachford
- Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns n’ Roses
- House Of Fun – Madness
- Uptown Girl – Billy Joel
- Blue Monday 1988 – New Order
- Summer Of ’69 – Bryan Adams
- Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi
- Chelsea Dagger – Fratellis
- Thubthumping – Chumbawumba
- I Predict A Riot – Kaiser Chiefs
- Crashed the wedding – Busted
- Going Underground – The Jam
- Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – Wham!
- Dancing Queen – Abba
- Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (SGT Slick Melbourne Recut) – SGT Slick
- Rasputin – Boney M
- Cotton Eye Joe – Rednex
- Man! I Feel Like A Woman! – Shania Twain
- The Time Warp – Damian
- Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
- Walk Like An Egyptian – Bangles
- Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners & The Emerald Express
- I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross
- Baggy Trousers – Madness
- Footloose – Kenny Loggins
- Y.M.C.A. – Village People
- Love Shack – The B-52’s
- Take on Me – Aha
- I Think We’re Alone Now – Tiffany
- Blue (Da Ba Dee) – Eiffel 65
- Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) – Backstreet Boys
- Everybody Get Up – Five
- Megamix – The Spice Girls
- C’est la vie – B*Witched
- Kids – Kylie Minogue; Robbie Williams
- Sweet Caroline – DJ Ötzi
- Stacy’s Mom – Fountains Of Wayne
- Teenage Dirtbag – Wheatus
- Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
- Place Your Hands – Reef
- Misery Business – Paramore
- Famous Last Words – My Chemical Romance
- Dance, Dance – Fall Out Boy
- Thunderstruck – AC/DC
- High Hopes – Panic! At The Disco
- I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift
- Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock
- Starships – Nicki Minaj
- Bad Habits – Ed Sheeran f./Bring Me The Horizon
- We Found Love – Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
- Invisible Touch – Genesis
- Voulez-Vous – ABBA
- You Can’t Hurry Love – Phil Collins
- Sex on Fire – Kings Of Leon
- Mr Brightside – The Killers
Are YOU celebrating at Poet's House in Ely?
If so, why not get in touch for a no-obligation chat about your plans?
