My 2020 weddings have been off the charts successful!

[DJ Wes]

All I can figure is that people have a lot of pent up energy (and frustration) with 2020 and are ready to let loose. I had my first wedding of 2020 in August. I've done three more weddings since then. All of them have been super high energy and successful, imo. My Oct 3rd wedding was 7-1/2 hours long! Here in the south, that is unheard of. It about killed me. It was a hour away. Two separate sound systems - one for the ceremony and the other for the reception. They also opted for my big lighting system - totems, movers, facade and uplights. I was onsite for 12 hours. I was literally playing the last song of the night at midnight, when they came up and asked me to stay another hour! With my biggest fake smile, I said "Sure!" Lord, I wanted it to end then. But I'm glad we kept going. The last hour was the best. Nobody left when it was over at 1am. They brought out a boom box and kept going! I don't know how they had the energy. Last Saturday's wedding (Oct 10th), we were dealing with Hurricane Delta outdoors under a pavilion. I thought for sure this was going to be a dud. NOPE!! We partied like it was 1999! Great crowd. Everyone was so in to it! I hope my wedding this weekend will be like these others. I have no reason to think they will not. As you may know, I take a LOT of candid photo shots at my gigs. Here's a link to the picture page on my website if you want to see what I'm talking about. Enjoy!

Pictures

Memphis DJs for Weddings, Corporate Events, School Dances, Parties. Experienced, classy, fun Disc Jockeys with a great music selection

www.mobiledjwes.com

 

[Handinon]

As you may know, I take a LOT of candid photo shots at my gigs. Here's a link to the picture page on my website if you want to see what I'm talking about. Enjoy!

You certainly do! Very nice, but how do you have the time to do that? Do you work with a partner?

 

[DJ Wes]

You certainly do! Very nice, but how do you have the time to do that? Do you work with a partner?

Actually, I bring a roadie to help with setup and breakdown. But the 'show' itself is all me. I've always wondered why people ask me this very question. What do you do while songs are playing? Don't you have a minute or two to kill? I use every moment I have to the benefit of the crowd and my business. This includes picking up a camera and snapping a few pictures between songs. It's so easy to do.

 

[steve149]

Actually, I bring a roadie to help with setup and breakdown. But the 'show' itself is all me. I've always wondered why people ask me this very question. What do you do while songs are playing? Don't you have a minute or two to kill? I use every moment I have to the benefit of the crowd and my business. This includes picking up a camera and snapping a few pictures between songs. It's so easy to do.

I think sometimes it comes from high energy folks that are constantly on the controls mixing into/out of songs.

 

[DJ Wes]

I think sometimes it comes from high energy folks that are constantly on the controls mixing into/out of songs.

I guess. My clients give me a long list of songs beforehand. I ask for must-haves, nice-to-haves, and do-not-play lists in advance. I spend hours premixing these songs in Virtual DJ a week before the gig. Then I can just focus on mixing only requests the night of. Gives me time to interact with the crowd instead of keeping my head down and being somewhat disengaged with my crowd. Yes, the music entertains, but so do we. Or we should. I also do magic tricks for the kids all night long - while the music plays from one song to the next. Sometimes I don't have to touch a thing for 4-5 songs at a time!

 

[steve149]

I guess. My clients give me a long list of songs beforehand. I ask for must-haves, nice-to-haves, and do-not-play lists in advance. I spend hours premixing these songs in Virtual DJ a week before the gig. Then I can just focus on mixing only requests the night of. Gives me time to interact with the crowd instead of keeping my head down and being somewhat disengaged with my crowd. Yes, the music entertains, but so do we. Or we should. I also do magic tricks for the kids all night long - while the music plays from one song to the next. Sometimes I don't have to touch a thing for 4-5 songs at a time!

I'm with you .. I don't premix sets, but I plan multiple playlists ahead of time so it's easy to pick requested/preferred songs live. I take pictures from the booth area .. I generally don't have enough time to mingle and shoot from the floor unless I use automix (and I do as necessary).

 

[Handinon]

What the heck is Virtual DJ and AutoMix??

I play for the same group weekly, so to keep things fresh, No Playlists, No Premixed Sets - everything is done on the fly from reading the floor.
I'm going to have to start doing some of these 12 Hour Wedding Gigs - sounds like it's easier !

 

[DJ Wes]

What the heck is Virtual DJ and AutoMix??

I play for the same group weekly, so to keep things fresh, No Playlists, No Premixed Sets - everything is done on the fly from reading the floor.
I'm going to have to start doing some of these 12 Hour Wedding Gigs - sounds like it's easier !

You can still premix each show beforehand. And then insert songs as you read the crowd. Unless you don't like to get out from behind the booth and entertain them yourself.

 

[dunlopj]

All those guests and very few masks. I heard a venue in NY was fined for having way over the maximum head count for a sweet 16 event a week or so ago.

 

[djtaso]

I’ve done about 7 events since August... all have been awesome in terms of energy! The reality is, the people that are uncomfortable with being out aren’t going to the events... so the guests in attendance are there to have a good time... and yeah, there won’t be masks, there won’t be social distancing as a result.

This also applies to the hosts... hosts that are uncomfortable are postponing... the ones that don’t care are having their events now. In my conversations with my couples... they all tend to be the same... postponement couples are afraid and cautious... couples having the event all say they’re not afraid, neither are their friends, and if someone is, they can stay home. The division in the thought process is very obvious.


As far as the sweet 16 that got fined, they had 86 guests when the cap is 50. The owner in an interview said he thought it was 50% capacity. NY is a region by region situation, so the rules vary based on where you are and can be confusing from what businesses are saying.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

As far as the sweet 16 that got fined, they had 86 guests when the cap is 50. The owner in an interview said he thought it was 50% capacity. NY is a region by region situation, so the rules vary based on where you are and can be confusing from what businesses are saying.

I would argue that local governments/municipalities are overstepping their bounds by proclaiming these rules! Events up to 50 guests is stupid. It does not matter what the number is if people are not social distancing or wearing masks any way.

Forcing businesses trying to stay open with such stringent rules has been ridiculous. Then, fining them when they are already down also shows how little government officials care. These politicians are destroying the economy on purpose, and it shows!

WIth all that said, I believe that restaurants, businesses etc. should have never been forced to close. Also, any restriction below 50% capacity is also rediculous.

Closing Schools down to keep the children safe last school year (They should really be getting back to school at this point with limited capacity). Lock down Nursing homes. No large indoor events over 1,000 people. 50% capacity for businesses, social distancing, wearing masks, use hand sanitizer frequently, wash your hands, don't shake hands or kiss strangers...that is all the requirements/recommendations that should have ever been put forward.

No doubt in my mind that at this point that democratic politician power mongers are what made 2020 what it has become for the USA.

 

[dunlopj]

It does not matter what the number is if people are not social distancing or wearing masks any way.

Good point!

 

[DJ Wes]

I would argue that local governments/municipalities are overstepping their bounds by proclaiming these rules! Events up to 50 guests is stupid. It does not matter what the number is if people are not social distancing or wearing masks any way.

Forcing businesses trying to stay open with such stringent rules has been ridiculous. Then, fining them when they are already down also shows how little government officials care. These politicians are destroying the economy on purpose, and it shows!

WIth all that said, I believe that restaurants, businesses etc. should have never been forced to close. Also, any restriction below 50% capacity is also rediculous.

Closing Schools down to keep the children safe last school year (They should really be getting back to school at this point with limited capacity). Lock down Nursing homes. No large indoor events over 1,000 people. 50% capacity for businesses, social distancing, wearing masks, use hand sanitizer frequently, wash your hands, don't shake hands or kiss strangers...that is all the requirements/recommendations that should have ever been put forward.

No doubt in my mind that at this point that democratic politician power mongers are what made 2020 what it has become for the USA.

It's the exponential spread from larger numbers. If 50 people come down with it, they then expose another 10 people each, that means 500 people could come down with it. If 150 people expose 10 people each, then you have 1,500 people. The idea is to keep super-spreader events to a minimum so as to help quickly contain it should there be a breakout. This is all in theory, of course. Pandemics don't have any political party affiliations.

 

[IceBurghDJ]

pre mix sounds like twice the work...

I had one fantastic wedding and 5 where it was near impossible to get folks to dance.

I have a school dance this weekend..hs homecoming, we'll see how that goes.

 

[DJ Wes]

Mix now, mix later, it's the same amount of work, imo. I rarely have trouble getting people to dance. That's because I'm engaged with them directly. I do not stay behind my booth. Look at my 500+ picture pages. Nearly all of them have lots of people dancing. I did do a Christmas party last year for a Christian (Baptist) owned pet grooming place with about 15 people there. That was a challenge!

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Actually, I bring a roadie to help with setup and breakdown. But the 'show' itself is all me. I've always wondered why people ask me this very question. What do you do while songs are playing? Don't you have a minute or two to kill? I use every moment I have to the benefit of the crowd and my business. This includes picking up a camera and snapping a few pictures between songs. It's so easy to do.

That's great. The only problem I have with this if the client doesn't want you taking photos at their event. That's why in the contract I ask the question is it OK or not. Most don't mind but a few do.

 

[DJ Wes]

That's great. The only problem I have with this if the client doesn't want you taking photos at their event. That's why in the contract I ask the question is it OK or not. Most don't mind but a few do.

It's a huge selling point for me. I never surprise anyone with it. They know before they hire me that I'm going to do this. Over 500+ weddings and counting and I've only had a couple clients ask me to delete certain (unflattering) pictures, but not not the whole lot.