Video by Buchholz Film & Co.

After the ceremony, everyone moved down to the bar at the main level of the restaurant where I had a nice mix of indie folk and pop music playing, and when it was time for the grand introductions and dinner we invited the guests downstairs to the outdoor area behind the restaurant where beautiful white tents covered dinner tables. The mid-March air was cool and the music gave the city atmosphere a chill, upbeat vibe with songs like Ritt Momney’s version of Girl Put Your Records On, and Passion Pit’s Sleepyhead. I rounded it out with a little Fleetwood Mac and Rolling Stones’ Beast of Burden, a little old school Drake, and I could see from people mouthing the words and a few folks bobbing their heads in the buffet line that people were feeling it.

Then, as dinner wound down, things started to break from the norm. A lot of people get nervous giving toasts, but the maid of honor was especially so. The best man too -- He told me he needed to get a shot before taking the mic. The Maid of Honor followed, and a few minutes later, someone came over and asked me to play Shots by LMFAO. Turns out a pretty sizable group of guests had headed over to the bar for shots and though it wasn’t quite dancing time, I obliged.

As you might guess, the party started to get pretty hyped at that moment. People started getting on the dance floor. Going back to laid back dinner music didn’t feel like an option at that point, so I played two or three more upbeat songs and let the people keep dancing while the maid of honor built up her courage. When they were ready they delivered excellent toasts to the bride and groom. What the maid of honor lacked in length of time speaking, she more than made up for in heartfelt emotion. The bride and the groom’s stepfather had coordinated with me earlier for a surprise toast, and he really got the crowd going with funny stories and a moment where he teared up and hugged the bride who, as he said, had really become like a daughter to him. Even as I’m writing this, I’m about to tear up. It was so sweet. After that, I encouraged everyone to follow the bride and groom to the cake for the cake cutting and then we really got the party going.

The best man let me know they wanted to lift up Colby, the groom, to Shout! by the Isley Brothers, so after a few songs, when I got the signal that they were ready, I put it on and everyone loved it. They were literally just bouncing him up and down in the air, like a crowd-surfer with about three more sets of hands needed, but it was a blast. Everyone was laughing and when Colby’s groomsmen and best buddies set him down, the guests kept singing along to the song and getting real low when the “little bit softer now” part came on. From there, taking my cues from their response to some of the stuff I’d played earlier and from their requests, we moved from stuff like the Cupid Shuffle and Yeah! to Mr. Brightside and Dua Lipa’s Levitating. I asked the staff at the Edison to move the heaters over to the dance floor so that if people felt like huddling around them (which they were doing), they’d at least be close to the music and the energy of those who were dancing. I worked in a little country, as requested, and then transitioned to rap and hip hop. A little Pitbull, V.I.C.’s the Wobble, and the Weeknd.

So far so good and we had the heater people now too, so pretty much all of the guests were up dancing! I figured I’d better work in a couple slow songs before it got too late, so I played the two the bride had specifically requested when we talked the week before during our final review. The floor was packed with couples. I’d like to think it was the music, but I think the dropping temperature had something to do with it too. After that, it felt like the right time to play a couple other requests. They’re not for every crowd, but ABBA’s Dancing Queen followed by We Are Family was right on point for this group. I thought we had a full dance floor before that, but when those songs hit, people started rushing over from the bar to hit the dance floor. From there, we got into some Lil’ Jon and Trick Daddy (favorites of the groom and many others there) after a few more rap songs like that, I decided to take a chance. “Do you guys remember this one?” I called out as Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping started pumping out of my speakers. Not only did they start yelling with enthusiasm for the song, pretty soon they were all singing along, “I get knocked down, then I get up again, you’re never going to keep me down.” This one dude, must have been in his late 40s was literally jumping up and down and all around his little section of the dance floor. It was so unexpected, I couldn’t help but to laugh. I followed that with Sugar We’re Goin Down, and AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long. This crowd was seriously lit. By the end of the night, they had been dancing for nearly three hours and I think I could have kept them going for at least two more. So many songs I just know they would have loved. I was getting high fives all night. People were making eye contact with me from the floor, or even from the seats (for the older folks who weren’t dancing, but were singing along, nodding their heads and giving me that look like, “you know what it is.” The bride and groom, in our planning forms, had anticipated a dancing crowd of about 7 on a 1-10 scale. After that night, I recommended this group be given a 10. I had SO much fun and loved being their DJ. It was an epic night.