Barry and Cheryl found us via one of the on-line wedding directories 6-7 months before their wedding reception was due to take place at Sopwell House, St Albans, Hertfordshire, when they were looking for a DJ who could fulfil their requirements.
After corresponding with us, they decided they liked what they saw and heard; signed their contract and made their down-payment on-line less than a week later.
The Venue: Sopwell House in St Albans, Herts is a well-maintained Georgian House, set in beautiful grounds, and is a venue we have worked at on many occasions.
The Hotel has a choice of function suites suitable for various sizes of weddings (including a marquee able to cater for up to 500 people!). Barry and Cheryl's wedding was for approximately 120 people and the reception took place in the Victoria Louis Suite, located on the ground floor of the hotel (being the Princess Victoria and Prince Louis Suites combined).
What they wanted: It was important to Cheryl & Barry to have an experienced wedding DJ, and, in addition to their specific song requests, they chose to have a particular emphasis in the evening party to Soul, Motown, Disco, Big Band, Rock, Glam Rock, Indie, Reggae / Ska, Rock 'n' Roll & Rockabilly. They did not want any R&B, Garage, Old School, Cheese or Participation Dances under any circumstances!
As the happy couple were holding their wedding breakfast in the same room during the afternoon, they chose to have us come in and set up before they arrived at 3pm, and then return for the evening party between 7:30pm and 12:30am. (An early set up is something that we would strongly recommend for anyone remaining in the same room for their wedding breakfast right through to the evening party to avoid disturbance to you and your guests.)
First dance: The only traditional special dance that Cheryl and Barry decided to have was the first dance as husband and wife. They chose 'Better Together' by Jack Johnson (Rhythms Del Mundo version). We discussed how they would like to be called to the floor, and whether they wanted to dance to the whole song on their own. As they were concerned about feeling a little self-conscious, they decided that our DJ should call others to join them on the floor half-way through.
The Evening: The party really got going after the buffet was served at 9:30pm. Our DJ chose tracks to compliment Cheryl and Barry's choices, and took requests from many guests, so from 10:00pm until the end of the night, almost every person in the room was on the dance floor with much arm waving and singing along!