With respect, as a future bride or groom, or event planner, or party booker, I have a question: - ‘How many times, or indeed, have you ever played as DJ  to a live expectant crowd for any event? I guess the honest answer is most likely ‘never’, and herein lies the issue.

The Playlist Trap

Let’s use the bride as an example for refence and context: You’re getting married, you’re excited, you’re planning your perfect and memorable day, you want and need everything to be perfect and rightly so, and therefore, quite naturally, you want to choose the music.

What Happens?

You create a playlist, sometimes a copy and paste of your Spotify playlist, then you add some more songs, then you may ask your friends what they would like played at your wedding in 6 months or a year’s time. In the blink of an eye, you could have 100-150 songs on that list, and at approximately 4 minutes a song, let’s call it 100 songs, that equates to 400 minutes of music, which is over 6.5 hours of music! So, whilst thinking that you may have planned the perfect party, in reality, you have turned your DJ into a robot just pressing play, and laboriously playing track after track. In reality, you have just taken away the very element of your party that will make it work and be central to the success of your wedding party, and the ultimate enjoyment of you and your guests:-the versatility of your DJ to play the right music at the right time for your ever evolving dancefloor and party.

A wedding dancefloor is definitely NOT a Spotify Playlist.

A packed dancefloor and that energy and atmosphere in the room is not created months in advance over a cup of tea in your kitchen, it’s created by the here and now, the ‘moment’.

A professional, versatile and experienced DJ with essential music knowledge  is constantly scanning and ‘reading’ the room, gauging the vibe and atmosphere, with constant awareness of who’s dancing, who are ‘table dancing’, who are leaving the dancefloor, who are entering the dancefloor, what age groups of guests are engaging, who are singing along, when does the energy and vibe need taking up or down, when does the DJ need to change the style of music and at what time of the night, depending on the mood of the crowd!

How does he use his skill, experience, expertise and music knowledge to lift your crowd, to take them onto a different level? Simply by a change of song or genre based on where the mood is right there and then. He is on it all the time, always looking to keep on creating that level of enjoyment that your guests can influence by being there, they are ‘in the moment’, and that’s exactly where your DJ is, for the whole 5 hours.

Timing is so important too.  

It’s not necessarily about what you play, but when you play it. Playing the right song, but at the right time can completely flatten the vibe and be a wasted opportunity as this huge tune cannot in all honesty be played again later at what may be perceived as the right time. It’s too late.  An experienced wedding DJ knows when to build the energy in the room, to take it to another level, when to throw in a singalong tune or 2, when to change the genre of music (and that will be very often), when to bring everyone together, when to engage with the happy couple and their guests. It’s simply all about playing the right song for the right crowd at the right time of the night.

This isn’t guesswork, this is something that comes from many years of experience, (48 years in my case and still loving it and treating every wedding like It’s my first), from DJ’ing at thousands of weddings, parties and events, calling on all my skill, expertise and knowledge to give you and your guests the best and most memorable party ever. That’s my simple remit.

Trust Steve Briers to do this for you. I know how to do it the right way. I’m not saying for you to not give me any requests, or song favourites, genre faves etc. In fact, I encourage it. Let me know what your favourite tracks are, what your favourite genres are, what your ‘must plays’ are, and indeed what your ’do not play ‘may be. This helps me understand your vibe without tying my hands behind my back with a 6 plus hour Spotify Playlist. Let me do my job, let me do what I do best, but with your blessing and a bit of refined guidance from you, and I will give you all the best night possible.

I also absolutely welcome requests on the night from you and your guests, and will always endeavour to look after your guests and play them. Requests on the night are often generated because they are in the groove and can sometimes also inspire me as a DJ and take me in a different direction. Versatility is the key word here, and that is possible because I am playing Live with a blank canvas to fill it with the best music to suit your vibe and your guests to help create the happy memories that your special day deserves.

At the end of the day, and long after your wedding party, your guests won’t remember exactly what songs were played, but they will remember what an amazing day it was, and likewise an awesome night party too.

If you want a wedding where the dance floor is full, the atmosphere is vibrant, the energy is exciting and fresh, and the night flows exactly as it should, trust your DJ. Trust me!