And the rest, as they say, is history

Rachel and Charlie are a very sweet and cute couple. They were married at the Chicago History Museum last Saturday and it was a beautiful ceremony and reception. I felt honored to be there and to provide the audio and music. I'm getting to know the History Museum and Amy who works there. Side note for a moment: I made a little bit of a mess the last time I was there. I played a couple songs after the cut off time and upset Amy because of it. I have a load of reasons why I played over. I was cocky, was caught up in the moment and the crowd, they were loving the music and having a great time, I wanted to keep going. One thing I wasn't thinking of was fig's relationship with the History Museum. It's a great venue and a huge learn for me for that night was to respect that relationship and ask what their rules are about playing over. Some places have "hard" stops, meaning the music can't go past a certain time regardless of what's happening. I didn't ask about that. I really wanted to do my own thing, and sometimes gets me into trouble. I'm also learning that making mistakes like this isn't the end of the world. It's not good, it's painful and I'd rather not upset anyone. But when it happens, it can be cleaned up and relationships can be restored. This is kind of new for me because I tend to stay on the good sides of people. I don't quite know how to clean up where I make mistakes in relationships, but I'm getting a great opportunity to learn here because I've got 4 or 5 gigs at CHM this year. Getting back to the story at hand (we're a dj company, what am I doing talking about relationships? Oh yeah, we're good at that, too. Or, in my case, good at learning to be good in it.) Well, actually, this gig was all about relationships. I had great rapport with the bride and groom, their family, the guests, the vendors. I was all about serving on this gig and caring about everything and everyone. Not that I'm not about serving on my gigs, but I was taking it to a whole new level with this one. A few weeks ago, I was on a retreat for a week that opened my heart way more than it normally is and I've found that I care a lot more about everything. It really showed in this gig. From recording the audio from the ceremony, burning it straight to a cd, and having it ready when the reception started, to talking with the bride and groom and checking in with them throughout the night, to communicating with the vendors and making sure we're on the same page, to talking with the guests. This is normally what I do on my gigs, so what makes this one different? It was how I was talking with people. It was going out of my way to help, even when it's not my job. It was seeing the space, noticing something that didn't look right, and doing something about it. It was acting as though this was MY party and wanting it to be the best party EVER! The only downside for me was that not very many people danced. When I checked in with the Rachel and Charlie afterwards, it made total sense. They wanted to talk and catch up. Everyone spent their time connecting. THAT'S how I want all my gigs to be. Guests really connecting with one another. The pastor said something in the blessing that really hit home for me. I guess there's a line in the bible about parties and how they're a preview of what heaven is going to be like. Everytime I throw a party, it's a preview of what's to come. It's a taste of God's love.

--Jonathan