Friedman/Cabot @ Spiaggia

As a deejay, it never fails to pique my amazement how music plays such a part in the lives of the clients I am thankful to serve. For Jill Friedman and John Cabot, one of the warmest, most gracious couples that I have worked with, music was the basis of their wedding night. Their ceremony and celebration took place at the excellent Chicago Italian restaurant Spiaggia, complete with a cocktail hour, a full dinner buffet, loads of Italian dessert (can you say "gelato" and "bombolinos"?), and lots of dancing. Nearly everything that took place during the evening had some sort of musical background to it, which set the tone for the evening.

I simply loved the way the first of many dance sets started off: Jill and John came up to our microphone after their salads and said a few words right before doing their first dance to Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt's "All My Life." As I was instructed, in the middle of the song, I switched into Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell", and the couple started to do the twist—exactly like the Travolta/Thurman restaurant scene from Pulp Fiction! From there, my partner James and I (who was also the producer of this event) played everything from Robert Palmer to O.A.R. to Outkast. The most popular song of the evening was "Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which nearly brought the entire 60-person crowd to the dance floor. I do not think that I have felt more comfortable behind the decks—I felt every song was a good choice and worked well with the audience. We celebrated from 6pm (when the ceremony started) all the way until two in the morning. I was astonished at the fact that my couple had more energy than me! Jill and John were super-grateful for us being there, and were elated about all the music that was played during the evening. I was one pooped, yet proud deejay, with a strong confidence in my heart that music made this night a success.

– Brent Rolland, resident fig deejay