In September 2023 I had the pleasure of DJing Ellie and Andrew's wedding held at the gorgeous village hall in Overton, North Wales on a blisteringly hot day. Ellie and Andrew are cherished friends of mine, so it meant the world to me to be trusted with their evening entertainment.
I met Ellie in the departure lounge of Heathrow Airport in 2012, just before we flew to LAX for a road trip to Coachella festival with a group of friends. After two weeks of bonkers adventuring and living in uncomfortably close quarters in an RV together, we knew practically everything about each other and emerged from the experience as lifelong pals.
Ellie and I bonded over many things - vodka, glitter, and ethereal rock bands to name a few. We’ve been to more gigs and festivals together than I can remember, despite living at opposite sides of the country. She introduced me to her new man - the wonderful Andrew - in 2017 at Focus Wales, and he quickly became another firm festival pal among our circle of friends. Just look at him jumping in feet-first with a full glitter beard!
Ellie and Andrew were planning a wedding filled with colour, fun, and personal elements from the many people who love them. When Mig and I offered to DJ for them (my first ever gig!) we were touched by how excited they were about the idea. I sat down with the bride and groom and we talked about the vibe they wanted during the day, the music that reflected who they were, and the treasured memories they had with their guests. It helped that I knew so much about their favourite bands, and that we had seen so many of them together over the years!
Once we'd agreed on some essentials, they were happy to trust our creativity and leave the planning to us. Somehow between us we also managed to contribute to the cake table, set up sound and lighting in the venue, repair a clogged ceiling fan and provide the wedding car. We were so happy to be a part of the huge effort everyone had made towards the day; the ideas and attention to detail were incredible.
When the big day finally came, everyone arrived at the village hall to a daytime playlist I’d created from the chilled-out, romantic songs that Ellie and Andrew love. They also asked me to create a kiddie disco playlist to entertain the little ones for a while before kicking off the evening do – it went down a treat with the younger crowd as they let off steam to Cartoons and Black Lace, but I’m so relieved I discovered the ‘hide from my taste profile’ option on Spotify before putting that one together.
When the sun had set (and the heat started to calm down) it was time for the first dance. We watched our beautiful bride and groom start us off with Movin’ On Up by Primal Scream, before launching into an upbeat and eclectic disco which kept all the (child-free) adults on the dancefloor and larking about with the custom-built ribbon backdrop until curfew.
Below is a taste of some of the tracks we played:
My favourite tracks on the night
Punching in a Dream - The Naked and Famous
Sandstorm – Darude
Heatwave - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
Let’s make love (and listen to death from above) – CSS
Groovejet - Spiller
Seasons (Waiting on You) - Future Islands
I Believe in Miracles - Jackson Sisters
Wolf - First Aid Kit
Everything Now - Arcade Fire
Gagarin - Public Service Broadcasting
What the Bride and Groom had to say
Ellie, via Facebook:
"Cara was incredible. She is passionate about all things music and knows how to get a dance floor bouncing. After chatting with her we felt confident to let her have free reign in picking the music throughout our wedding day. We didn't need to do a thing and she made it so stress free and enjoyable for us.
Cara provided a background play list for different parts of the day and then a banging live DJ set that had something for everyone. Lots of our guests commented how impressed they were with Cara and how she was a refreshing change from a usual wedding DJ.
I would highly recommend Cara to anyone, especially if you want a dancefloor full of smiling happy faces"
Andrew, via Facebook:
"Cara did an awesome job at our wedding. Brilliant at communicating and so helpful getting everything sorted (though we pretty much left the playlist up to her, she has excellent taste!) She just made everything so easy. It was a very hot day, but she had everyone up on the dance floor. Great at reading the room and picking the right tune for the moment. Highly recommended!"
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