Uncle Ramone DJs First Wedding

For years, people have been telling me to DJ weddings, but I've always dismissed this because I didn't feel it was my thing.

Well, one of those people, my friend Samantha, got married over the weekend, and when she got engaged, she called me up and asked me to DJ her wedding. Samantha knew I had never DJed a wedding. She didn't care, wanted me, so I accepted the gig.

Let me tell you, DJing weddings is NOT easy!  First off, you're the first person to arrive, and the last to leave. I spent a total of about 1.5 hours (probably closer to 2, actually) hauling equipment to and from my vehicle, setting up and tearing down. Plus, being on stage talking into a microphone has never bothered me, but it's a lot different talking to a wedding crowd, than talking to a bunch of drunk rockers at a Pop Evil show.

Before my gig, I spent time with other wedding DJ friends learning the ropes and getting tips on how to execute a successful wedding. Different people told me different things on the proper formula: Some say play three or four fast tunes, and then a slow one; others say screw the formula, if everyone is up dancing, don't kill the buzz with a slow tune.

With that in mind, we did the first dance, daddy/daughter dance, mother/son dance, and then I opened up the dance floor to all the couples. At that time, the dance floor was full, and everyone was dancing and having a great time. So after that, I played some wedding staples, like "Celebration," "Shout," "Twist and Shout," and then played another slow song.  Dance floor still full. The father of the groom wanted "Play that Funky Music White Boy," so I played that, and everyone was having a great time.

And then I played "Billie Jean" and everyone left. And I mean, everyone.  And this was the trend for the entire evening; empty dance floor for two or three songs, and then people would slowly start trickling back to dance.

Was I doing something wrong?  Did people just want to chill and hang out? It's hard to say because people were dancing and having a good time, but why would everyone leave at the same time? I should have used this opportunity to say, "Screw it, no one is dancing, so I'm playing Motorhead."

Don't feel bad for me, because I would consider my first attempt a successful one.  Toward the end of the evening (when the alcohol kicked in), more people were on the dance floor and stayed there.

So, I guess that's the key to DJing a successful wedding: Get everyone drunk early and they'll dance all night long.