My husband and I had our wedding this past October and after an extensive search and plenty of interviewing prospective DJs in the North Bay and San Francisco, we selected Dan to be our DJ. It was hands down one of the best choices we made for our wedding celebration.
From the beginning, Dan wanted to make sure that we had the wedding music and mood that WE wanted!
Highlights:
1. From the beginning, Dan was involved with our reception coordinator and sat in on "timing" meetings with her and us. He was in contact with her directly over questions he had regarding setup, shutdown, loudness, etc- things that could have easily been considered "our tasks" leading up to the wedding. He really took the stress out of having to get every question answered. He was extremely professional throughout the whole process and really did his homework and listened to what we were saying. I felt like he really played and did exactly what we wanted. The music during the cocktail hour was different than the music during the dinner and during the dancing. Dan seems to have a good grasp on what is appropriate for each setting.
2. Direction during the wedding. Dan kept the wedding going - he was on time with all the events during the reception. Our photographer was leaving at 9:30pm and we had the cake, garter and bouquet toss starting at 9pm so she could get photos. There was such a slim window of time to make sure everything happened in order to get the photos we wanted, and Dan knew this and made sure it was all done when it was supposed to without having to track us down and get us to get everyone organized. He did all of that for us.
3. Preparation before the wedding. We gave Dan our "must play" songs and he filled in the rest. We reviewed our playlist and took off what we didn't like. Up until the last day I was texting him songs I can't believe I forgot to put on there. He accommodated all my annoying, crazy bride, last minute requests with such a great attitude. I remember saying, well, if you can't do it, it's fine and he replied "this is your wedding- you should have whatever you want". So he was able to guide us with songs and timing of music (older music for the older folks first) and really gave us a lot of direction that worked well for our guests.
4. Announcements during the wedding. Dan did an excellent job; again he kept things moving- he wasn't shy or timid, but didn't take over hosting the entire wedding. He wasn't telling jokes or making comments- he let us be the ones who shined and he played the music and got all the organizing done.
5. Guests comments- everyone loved the music. We got many, many comments on how Dan and the music selections were awesome. It was perfect for us and for our friends and appropriate for our families as well. He suggested to us beforehand how many slow songs, etc should be played and really played everything at the times that seemed to fit best.
I know you will be extremely happy with your selection of Dan as your wedding DJ. I was nervous because music can really make or break the mood during the wedding, but as soon as we starting working with Dan, we knew everything was going to be what we wanted... and it was!