Last summer I was at home one day and my phone rang. I answered and on the other line, it was Zac calling to check on a date to see if I was available for their wedding reception. I was available on that date, then shortly after that another customer contacted me about the same date! Even though I wasn't officially booked with Zac and Ashleigh's reception yet, I was temporarily reserving it for them and referred the other customer to another DJ service. Then, Zac called me back letting me know that they needed to change their date to August 8th. The good news is that I was available for that date, too. Keep in mind, at the time Zac was calling me, it was OVER a year away. Even though I "lost" the original date to the other customer who contacted me, I believe things work out the way they do is for a reason.
Zac and Ashleigh booked their date with The DJ Music System and we were set!! From that time throughout the wedding planning process, Zac and I emailed each other back and forth, working song special songs for certain events. It worked great and it's always fantastic when brides and grooms stay in contact with me and ask for help, as I enjoy working with them and making their planning easier.
Fast forward to July 2020. We set up a meeting to go over their plans, ask/answer any last-minute questions, and make sure we were all ready for their big day. While I visited with them during that meeting, Zac mentioned to me that there were three things that were the most important to them in planning their wedding. One of those things was booking me for their DJ! He told me that they had seen me DJ other weddings and loved how I emceed them, the variety of music, my style, and how much fun weddings are where I was the DJ.
Some clients contact me just to check prices and availability and possibly haven't seen me in action at a wedding, so they need to discover a little more info about what I can do for their wedding. Then, there are many like Zac and Ashleigh who have seen me at other weddings who, no doubt, wanted me as their DJ. It is so great when it works out with couples who, without question, want me to DJ their wedding and I have their date available. And this was the case for this amazing couple.
Their wedding day arrived and they were an absolutely wonderful couple to work with and they were so happy to be celebrating their wedding day!!
They knew they were going to be doing some pictures after the ceremony at the Rock Church, so they told us that their guests could start eating before they arrived. This was a great plan and it helped the events get underway sooner. After dinner, it was time for toasts/speeches and then Zac and Ashleigh wanted to make sure and say "thank you" to their guests for taking time out of their weekend to celebrate with them!!
After the toast and cutting of the wedding cake, it was time to dance!! We started off with the bride/groom dance, followed by the father/daughter & mother/son dance, then Zac wanted to have a special dance with his now mother-in-law! All four special dances were just that, special.
Then it was time to invite the rest of the guests to the dance floor. It felt like a reunion of so many people that I know and/or DJed their weddings. I think I knew practically half of the guests. It was so much fun hanging out with all of them, entertaining them, taking and playing their requests and making it truly a night to remember.
Let's take a step back for a minute. I set up my equipment the day before their wedding and Zac and Ashleigh (and a few others) stopped by during this time. They were so happy with how everything looked at the Weborg 21 Centre and I could see the excitement in their eyes.
While visiting with Ashleigh, she asked me if I could do something for her. What did she ask? She said, "Gary, is there anyway you can slow down time for us?" This was such a sweet question and I replied "Ashleigh, I can't slow down time but I can tell you this, 'be in the moment' throughout your wedding reception. It's going to go by fast, but don't worry about the events, just simply be in the moment, take it in, and enjoy it all."
At about 10:40 p.m. during their reception, I was walking through the Weborg 21 Centre and Ashleigh stopped me to say "thank you" for everything I had done for their reception and told me how much fun they were all having. I thanked her and then mentioned, "it's only 10:40, Ashleigh, and even though I can't slow down time, you still have another hour and 20 minutes to go, enjoy every minute of it."
Zac and Ashleigh thoroughly enjoyed it all and the dancing continued all the way til midnight. And at midnight I was playing the last song (or so I thought would be the last song of the night) and took this picture...
YES!! This is how much fun Zac and Ashleigh were still having at the end of the night!
I didn't want to wrap up the night either, and everyone was shouting out "one more song, one more song!!!" After all the fun that everyone was having, I was glad to play one more song for them. I played one more, snapped a few extra pictures and then Zac told me he wanted a picture with him, Ashleigh and me. So, I found Samantha to take the picture...and then we had to wrap up the night and clean up.
I helped make sure they got everything that was brought in and saw Zac and Ashleigh outside, so I took that opportunity to visit with Zac and he said to me "Gary, this was so much fun, I wish it wasn't over already." I told him I know, I wish it wasn't over either, but it was a blast and everyone had a great time!
