Alternatives to music and dancing?

sweetie · 17-01-2019 09:48AM

jesso22 wrote: »

I was at a wedding recently and there were 3 hours between the end of the meal and the first dance. Was ready for bed. It wasn't till 11pm the music started! I was going out of my mind. All the guests had dispersed after the meal, to various places around the hotel, and they never really came back in together.
Needless to say, the bride and her folk all enjoy a great chatter, so they didn't mind at the time. But it was one of the things that came up in the postmortem.

Should be an hour at very most if the band have to wait for the staff to move tables etc from where they are setting up their gear. Maybe they booked a later set or there was a delay somewhere but this isn't common practice. Generally, I am ready to play in 30 mins from when I've been provided a space to setup in.

sitkaspruce wrote: »

a wedding isnt really a wedding until the siege of ennis comes out. its like the rite of passage to married life....

Thankfully this isn't really a thing anymore. Haven't ever been asked to play this song in 10+ years of weddings. Maniac 2000 however....

Dublinstiofán · 17-01-2019 10:45AM

If you don’t want a band I’d suggest a piano player that can sing. That means you will get music for an hour or two but it won’t be deafening. They could also put on a Spotify playlist for an hour afterwards I’m sure.

I can put you in touch with somebody if you want to explore this option.

uck51js9zml2yt · 19-01-2019 05:31PM

Friends had a pianist in the corner and a caricaturist .
Those who wanted just to chat had nice soft chairs around in groups.

They also had a donut bar instead of the cake....went down great

clint_silver · 21-01-2019 06:47PM

sitkaspruce wrote: »

a wedding isnt really a wedding until the siege of ennis comes out. its like the rite of passage to married life....

as above, maybe its a country thing west of the shannon but can honestly say have never been asked for this in 20 years.

to the OP, if you dont want your DJ playing loudly, tell him beforehand, if you ask him not play a particular genre then he wont. Its your dollar, if hes good he'll do exactly what you ask of him.

thing is while you may not want to dance, lots of people do, Ive DJ'd a few weddings like that and B&G have requested conversation level music all night, once it gets past a certain time more and more requests come up with people looking to dance, turn up etc, if you do hire a DJ, make sure you tell them no matter who asks (unless its you), not to turn up and even then, they dont have to have it crazy loud.

lots of 1 man guitar and pianists available.

sitkaspruce · 21-01-2019 07:59PM

im in my forties and the siege of ennis is always the highlight for young and old, remember your special day will also be special for your family and friends so try find a balance - give everyone a chance to enjoy themselves, i know from my own wedding that its hard to please everyone, but you need something in the back ground to keep the night going and the atmosphere rife - if thats a string quartet or a DJ playing "Rock The Boat" its your call...

ixoy · 22-01-2019 07:53PM

Yeah, we'll strike a balance with a DJ for people because it might otherwise see people leaving earlier. We'll just moderate the volume and have a few "do not play these following songs" anti-requests.

Now, the next question is to find a DJ at relatively short notice (four months). Don't have time to do a load of research either - any decent websites for hiring that people have used successfully?

sweetie · 23-01-2019 01:33PM

ixoy wrote: »

Yeah, we'll strike a balance with a DJ for people because it might otherwise see people leaving earlier. We'll just moderate the volume and have a few "do not play these following songs" anti-requests.

Now, the next question is to find a DJ at relatively short notice (four months). Don't have time to do a load of research either - any decent websites for hiring that people have used successfully?

Try Velvetdjs, Aidan Kavanagh, projds, dmc events

Shyboy · 24-01-2019 06:48PM

clint_silver wrote: »

as above, maybe its a country thing west of the shannon but can honestly say have never been asked for this in 20 years.

Still huge at weddings in County Clare, along with the Paul Jones, Shoe the Donkey, Stack of Barley and all the others...

While some may cringe, these have been some of the best and liveliest weddings that I have ever been to!!

GingerLily · 24-01-2019 07:49PM

As a guest I think I'd prefer live music to a mellow DJ.

A trad band, an acoustic band or live piano would give great entertainment but you'd avoid the "wedding band DJ" vibe

Alternatives to music and dancing?

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