Lewis/Shule Wedding @ the Hilton (used to be DoubleTree downtown)

I have to start of by saying; I love a catering/service staff that feeds me well. Soon as my assistant Tanya and I were set up we went over the schedule with the catering manager. Then he asked if we wanted to eat now or later. I said now, as it is much easier for to concentrate on the client and the party if I am already fed. I didn't know what to expect having not worked her since it changed from a Double Tree to a Hilton. But I got a good club sandwich with hot fries, I am guessing from their restaurant. I've had my share of pre-made, soggy toasted bread, club, but this was hot and good!
Now I am onto the party. Maria Lewis and Chris Shule booked with us about a year and half ago. I remember seeing them in the calendar a lot and wondering when we would get to that date. Then it was here and it was time to have fun.
It was a small crowd of about 65 and I have had a few more then usual of these smaller receptions. My fear rise a little more as you need to have a higher percentage of the crowd dance to have the dance floor look good. What helped is the size of the room was consistent with the size of the crowd. So it felt good whether there was 8 people on the floor or 30.
The most difficult part for me was the Father/Daughter dance. Maria's father is older and was not feeling well by the time of the dance. He decided to go home and Maria danced with her father-in-law. It felt uncomfortable at first, but then Maria danced with her young son Lance and we had a great "awww" moment. When everyone came up to dance it started strong for the 1st two songs then started to wane. This is has been typical for me on smaller weddings, so I start to leave the 3 like style songs in a row and do two before I move on. Also, if something isn't working I moved on. A big key for me was to see the reactions of the people not dancing. I read that some would enjoy certain songs and were never going to dance. Then I concentrated on the reactions of those that would and started keying in on them. I then spatter in Chris and Maria's must plays to keep the crowd dancing around them. Tanya was a great assist in giving ideas and watching the crowd for me. She saw things that I wasn't catching and her choices went well. I love that we at fig have assistants; it makes DJing so much more exciting.

In the end I had really enjoyed the people that danced. I got a few songs in that got people, which I perceived as not dancing, on the floor. Especially, You Dropped a Bomb On Me and Brickhouse. I also had a great House/Electronica set mixed in with some Hip-Hop toward the end that really ended the night well. Chris and Maria picked their last dance song and I felt proud of my work.

Lead DJ: Erik Friedly
Assistant: Tanya Cascoe