Wedding Crashers

[Alan Reed]

Ever play a hall that has 2 ballrooms? I played one last night. We were set up in the smaller hall and a DJ company from south St. Paul was across the hall in another. Halfway through the night we had half of THEIR crowd over at my dance. It started with just a few of the people the bride didn't recognize, then it was their bridesmaids(obviously not the same dresses from my wedding). During the dollar dance, I asked the bride about that and she was very cool about it. She said she counted about 20 people she didn't recognize. Then it got to be more. She said she was fine as long as they didn't start to eat the food they put out for her guests.
It ended up being a blast with the dance floor packed all night. There was no animosity between anyone, just everyone enjoying the moment. That ever happen to you?

Also, I FINALLY got a website!!! Sure, I'm behind the times, I'm not very computer savvy....heck, I don't even know how to download music, but hey, I now have one. It was designed by me and the webmaster. I didn't make it very interactive because I want the bride/groom to call me if they want more info on availability, etc. Am I wrong to do this? Do you think I need to get more interactive DJ website software? I have a lot of bookings for 2006 from word of mouth, so I don't know if I should invest in that stuff or not. I dunno.... I also stuck a few celebrity pictures on there that I've had in my desk for years. NO laughing, OK? Check it out...
www.totalmusicdj.com

Alan Reed
Total Music DJ Systems
Plainview, MN
www.totalmusicdj.com

[Wolfie]

Greetings, Alan.

Your bride was one of the good ones. Most clients aren't as tolerant of strangers walking into a private party.

Yeah... I've seen this happen on a few occasions. It usually occurs around the holidays when Christmas parties have the hotels booked. 'Tis the season for making money so the sales staff tries to accomodate as many parties as possible. You've got several corporates and private parties going on at the same time. Some of 'em rent an adjacent room for dining. They're packed full.

There is a stream of DJs and party people coming and going during the busy season. It isn't unusual for three or more ballrooms to be rented every weekend night for holiday parties. Often, when one party ends another is still going strong and people tend gravitate toward the music. The cash bar is open and everyone is having a good time. No one notices who's who. Nor do they care.

Sometimes the wait staff will hang around after work just to jam to the tunes. I used to keep a spare chair behind the console for the occasional "uninvited" guest in those days. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

I had a similar situation at school dance some years ago. Was doing a gig in a high school cafeteria for the ROTC when a basketball game in the gym let out. From my perch on the stage I could see the crowd watching through the windows in the doors. I put on the Electric Boogie. The doors opened and the room filled with dancers. When the song ended, the people left as quickly as they had appeared. It was strange... I'd never seen that happen before.

They hear that bass thump and come to check it out. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

I hope it helps.

[Jim Casey]

Do you guys ever consider charging extra for the extra influx? One of Tom's WWYD threads suggested it might be proper?