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Wedding DJ Disaster Stories – And How To Avoid Them

Wedding DJ Disaster Stories – And How To Avoid Them

Wedding DJ Disaster Stories: Do you want to hear some wedding DJ horror stories?  Over our 30+ years doing weddings throughout the Berkshires, Hartford CT, Boston MA, and Newport RI areas, we have had the misfortune of seeing some horrific wedding DJ’s while we were providing our custom wedding lighting or photo booth rentals.  Want to hear some of the best of the worst ones? (All the names have been changed to protect the incompetent Wedding DJs)

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DISASTER: First Dance Won’t Play

John & Rachel were introduced down the elegant staircase at the Society Room of Hartford as their family & friends circled the dance floor.  They took their place at the center of the dance floor for their first dance.  The room went silent, you see their budget DJ couldn’t find or get their first dance to play.  30 seconds, then a minute… finally after over 2 minutes of silence, they got the song to play.  It was a beautifully staged moment at their wedding and it fizzled and lost its importance.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

At Rob Alberti’s Event Services, we use two redundant music sources running at all times.  If there were a problem with our main laptop, we would have instantly switched to our 2nd laptop. (and we have a 3rd backup source on standby).  The success of your wedding is worth the price of a backup laptop, don’t you think?

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WEDDING DISASTER:  No Music During Social Hour

It was cold as Steve & Meghan were married outdoors in November on the Cape.  Their Boston based wedding DJ didn’t care, he had his black skull hoodie and jeans to keep him warm outside during their exchange of vows.  I’m sure he looked great in the background of their wedding photos.  Guests hurried inside after their ceremony to grab a drink and mingle.

Unfortunately, their Boston Wedding DJ only had 1 sound system (and no backup at all with him) so most of the cocktail hour was in silence as we watched him carry one piece of gear at a time in from outside.  (Guess he never heard of using a cart so he could do it one load).  Hey, he had only been a wedding DJ for 15 years.  Maybe he didn’t realize people wanted music during the social hour.  This same DJ messed up their introductions by playing the wrong songs, the bridal party came in confused as they were never coached where to go and then Steve & Meghan first dance cut out 30 seconds in with a loud screech.

Meghan was so embarrassed by her poor choice of wedding DJs, that she asked us to take down our blog post warning others to avoid such disasters at their wedding.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

At Rob Alberti’s Event Services, we always dress in formal wear to blend in with your wedding and guests.  No jeans.  We provide separate sound systems for both ceremony and dancing so that we do not have to move gear or sound check during your event.  What is needed for a ceremony is very different than for dancing and our systems are set up just for those needs.  We also have back up gear in our truck/trailer above and beyond these two systems in use.  After all – the success of your wedding is worth the extra effort and cost.

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WEDDING DISASTER: Wrong Parent Dances Played

It was at Hancock Shaker Village under their enormous tent where this happened. We provided the tent lighting, but they opted to hire their OPEN MIC NIGHT DJ/MUSICIAN FRIEND to DJ their wedding. The first warning sign of impending issues was him only having 1 laptop, no DJ controller and he was running all his music off of ITunes and not professional DJ Software (PC DJ, Virtual DJ, Serato, Tracktor, Recordbox). When dinner has wrapped up, he introduced the parent dances and started to play the WRONG PARENT DANCE SONG not once, but for BOTH OF THE PARENT DANCES. It was embarrassing and ruined a perfect moment for our couple and their parents. No amount of money saved will erase that from their memory every time they think back to their wedding day.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

We always use professional DJ Software which allows us to see exactly what we are about to play and allows us to instantly start/stop songs for a perfect moment for both you and your parents dance. If something went wrong with our main laptop, we would just look to the right and press play on our backup laptop that is sitting there with the same song already cued up and ready to play in case of problems.

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WEDDING DISASTER: DJ Scares Away Older Guests Right After Dinner

If you’ve invited older guests, grandparents and aunts/uncles, you need to remember that you need to entertain them as well as your friends and co-workers. Those older guests are also the ones that have known you the longest (and probably got you a nice wedding present).

We have seen countless wedding DJs completely forget about the older guests at a wedding and scare them away with rap tunes and heavy dance beats in their first dance set right after dinner. Those 150 guests quickly turned into 50 guests in less than 20 minutes playing Lizzo or Kanye at FULL VOLUME.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

We completely understand that you may want to play Top 40 and Rap at your wedding. That’s not a problem, but we always recommend that the first hour of open dancing at your wedding should be more ADULT CONTEMPORARY in style. That means, we hold off on the rap and EDM until Aunt Milly has been tired out on the dance floor. You can still play more current music that first hour, but you just want to lean more toward music that appeals to their age. Check out the current ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC CHART HERE.

This helps us guarantee a great time for all – whether they be young or young at heart. It’s always about happy guests with tired feet. The reality is – guests just don’t dance to music that they don’t know, so playing Post Malone just won’t connect with your older guest and they will use it as an opportunity to say goodbye and leave early. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have more than enough time to hear your favorite hits – be patient and give us a short time to entertain the older guests – they will tire out fast and then we can get to your Rap and Dance tunes as your wedding day unfolds.

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WEDDING DISASTER:  Microphone Feedback (Times Twelve)

We were up in Southern VT for Becky & Sam’s wedding a couple years ago.  They were at one of the ski resorts for their reception.  Cocktails were on the balcony overlooking the ballroom (where their VT wedding DJ was set up on the main floor).  As guests mingled upstairs for food & drink, no music was playing.  (Even though guests would have heard had the DJ pressed PLAY).

Even as guests came down for dinner on the main level – still the room was silent.  No music playing.  Their VT DJ just stood there behind his gear.  It wasn’t until introductions that we finally heard the music.  The acoustics were a bit funny in this round ballroom and guests on the far side really couldn’t hear what was being said over the microphone.  They did, however, hear every time the mic fed back with a loud screech.  We counted over 10x that it happened over the course of the reception.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

At Rob Alberti’s Event Services, we would have had music playing during the social hour.  We would have placed wireless speakers both up on the balcony and on the far side of the room to even out the sound and take care of the acoustics in the room.  Toasts would not have been staged IN FRONT OF THE SPEAKER and mic feedback would not have been an issue with our feedback suppression system.

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WEDDING DISASTER:  Scratch Master Wedding DJ

Bridget & Marc held their Berkshire Mansion Wedding at one of the best venues available in The Berkshire area.  They spared no expense.  The wedding decor and our custom lighting made their wedding photos just stunning.   It was such a beautiful wedding that I believe it was even published in one of the wedding magazines.  Their 5-course meal service and wedding planner were on top of every detail except one – they didn’t play much attention to their choice in DJs.  After all – aren’t all wedding DJs pretty much the same?

They quickly realized that their club DJ who said he did weddings – just didn’t know how to make announcements.  No one paid attention to what was mumbled over the microphone.    Bridget’s mom completely missed the cake cutting.  Their club DJ thought it was cool to “scratch” mix throughout dinner as guests continued to glare in his direction.  He never got the message.  Inappropriate for high-end end wedding and venue.

Once the dancing started – it only took their DJ 20 minutes to scare away most of Bridget and Marc’s older relatives and the ballroom cleared out fast.  “DJ No Clue from the Club” turned up the volume so high that the older guests could not carry on conversations with people sitting right next to them.  Their Club DJ also didn’t play appropriate slow songs or songs from the older generation’s time.  A wedding DJ needs to play a blend of music (and work their way up to EDM club remixes – not start with them).

Bridget forced a smile and danced with her 3 bridesmaids… almost everyone had left or flocked to the bar outside to avoid this DJ disaster.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

At Rob Alberti’s Event Services, knows the importance of keeping ALL of your guests, no matter whether young or young at heart entertained.  We will work with you and help balance your musical vision with the reality of your 14-80-year-old guests. A club DJ doesn’t have the behind-the-scenes skills that a polished wedding DJ does.  We not only make sure that you and your partner are ready to go for any special moment –  we are also ensuring that your photographer is ready to capture that moment and that your parents and other vendors are keyed in so nothing is missed.  It’s all about staging those moments and making amazing memories to last a lifetime for you and your guests.

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WEDDING DISASTER:  DIY Wedding Meets Reality

Jesse & Chris went the DIY wedding route.  They thought that they had everything covered.  Her aunt was baking the cake.  Chris’ cousin had a nice camera from Costco so she was taking their photos.  They rented a tent for their backyard and they spent hours working on the perfect Spotify playlist.

The day of their wedding, they and most of the bridal party spent all morning decorating and setting tables.  They barely had time to change before the ceremony started.  It was a mad rush!

They had gone to their local rental store and picked up a pair of speakers and wired in their iPad.  They thought they were all set – one of their college roommates was a theater major so he was considered to make a few announcements.

They ran about 200′ of extension cords from the nearby barn to the tent.  The 400′ of string lights and rental sound system were plugged in and music filled the air as guests arrived.  Their college roommate DJ, took the mic and screamed as he announced Jesse and Chris into the tent.  And “pop”, the one electrical circuit gave out.  15 minutes of silence went by as people frantically searched for the breaker to bring power back to the tent.

It was a little warm and humid that night so they dragged out fans to keep guests comfortable.  The cater plugged in the coffee maker and “pop” the breaker went again.

They started scrounging extension cords from neighbors and someone ran to Home Depot to be able to make another run from the house, nearly 400′ feet away.

Once it was time for dancing, they cued up their dance playlist and the floor filled.  “Yeah” by Usher came on and as the first heavy bass beat dropped – you guessed it “pop” and the power was out yet again.  By this time, most of the string lights had to be unplugged (too bright and to ease the power requirements in the tent).  It was getting dark and muggy (no fans).

Guests were leaving in waves.  One of their Spotify songs would get them dancing, but that 3 seconds of silence between songs kept sucking the energy from the dance floor.  Then a song would come on and guests just were not into it and the floor would clear for a couple of songs before a few people would venture back out to dance to 1 0r 2 songs before sitting yet again.

All the money they thought they’d save by doing a DIY wedding came back to haunt them.  Most of their wedding photos were useless, guests left hours before the end of their reception, their bathroom and plumbing couldn’t keep up with 125 guests and their Spotify playlist just didn’t take into consideration that the energy at a wedding ebbs and flows and without someone managing the music, you will never really have energy on your dance floor.

ROB ALBERTI WEDDING DJ SOLUTION:

At Rob Alberti’s Event Services, if we had provided the tent lighting – we would have done a site inspection and immediately noted the problem with power and would have required an industrial generator be used for their wedding.  All lights would have been on dimmers to allow for setting the perfect light level for dancing later.

An Itunes or Spotify list may sound great in your car or while you dance around your living room – but the reality is that a playlist can’t take the place of an experienced Wedding DJ that knows when to shift gears and plays off of the crowd to keep people energized and on the dance floor.

Check Our Availability For Your Wedding Day – Avoid Those Wedding DJ Disaster Stories

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Hear What Your Wedding Could Sound Like With Rob Alberti As Your Wedding DJ

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Avoid Those Wedding DJ Disaster Stories

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