90’s indie and shoegaze wedding, Golden Gate Club, Presidio, San Francisco, CA. Photo: Kelly Boitano
"When planning our wedding we knew that we wanted to have a reception with music we actually loved. But finding a wedding DJ that got our taste was a challenge. We had attended a few of Jamie's Debaser nights at the Knockout and always had so much fun. On a whim we contacted Jamie to see if he would DJ our wedding - and luckily he was interested! We met for drinks and talked about the kind of music and vibe we hoped to have at our wedding reception. Jamie was extremely responsive and very excited to give us our dream party. On the day of the event Jamie was timely and professional and the dance party was incredible. Our friends 3 years later still talk about how Jamie was the best wedding DJ and love to reminisce about the playlist. Jamie and team are hands-on, passionate, and genuinely want you to have the best time at your wedding. We would highly recommend hiring Ceremony DJ's!" - Jess & Josh Levitz
A Romantic, Elegant, 90’s Indie and Shoegaze Wedding at The Golden Gate Club
Jess and Josh were our first official wedding clients and I really can’t thank them enough for getting us into this whole thing and choosing what went on to be our company’s official name inspiration song as their processional!
We had done weddings before, most notably for our own DJ partner Matthew’s wedding a few years previous, but it’s not exactly a thing “respectable” DJ’s like ourselves normally aspire to. Aside from the stereotype of wedding DJ’s being famously bad, we just weren’t even sure how much of the music we normally played would fly at a wedding.
But these guys really believed in us and wanted us to do our thing and that really got me started thinking about what it all could be.
An Extremely Hip Couple
For this wedding, we knew off the bat that they wanted us to do the kinds of things we were known for and had been to a number of different parties of ours at the time. We didn’t necessarily have to do something different than we were used to, more just rinse it for things that were appropriate. So we decided to trust them trusting us, and we went with a classic 80’s and 90’s alternative theme, only thoroughly rinsed for the most heartbreaking and romantic ones.
An Etherial 80’s Ceremony
The plan was for them to walk down the aisle to Cocteau Twins “Cherry Coloured Funk” and New Order “Ceremony”, so we knew indie was going to be both ok and fit with the vibe of the event. We rounded it out with a lot of great shoegaze and baggy beat type ones to keep the hazy, romantic guitar feel from the ceremony going throughout the cocktail and dinner.
A Surprise 2000’s Dance Party
For the dancing, we did more accessible 80’s ones that the family could go with as well. Once everyone was tuckered out, we surprised them with a 2000’s set inspired by their first date which was at the Live 105 Not So Silent Night show and picked out a bunch of artists that were at the show and incorporated them into the set. The whole thing was pretty fun and showed that a lot of these songs could work in a wedding context. It certainly sounded like the wedding I would like to have!
Hopefully you all agree.
Big Ups & Shout Outs
Special shout out to Va De Vie Events who did a great job keeping everyone on schedule and hipping me to which announcements to make when for the first time.
Special shout out to Night Owl Photobooth, One True Love Vintage and Got Light, all of whom we’ve worked with a few times since
Thanks to Jess and Josh for believing in us! It’s pretty crazy how far this whole thing has come since then and I know a lot of us appreciate that it all happened.
Ceremony Songs
Prelude:
Cocteau Twins “Cherry Coloured Funk”
Processional:
Recessional:
Curtis Lee “Pretty Little Angel Eyes”
First Dance:
The Beatles “Here There and Everywhere”
Parent Dance:
Requests:
Interpol “Slow Hands”
The Killers “Somebody Told Me”
Modest Mouse “Float On”
Annie “Heartbeat”
Stardust ”Music Sounds Better With You”
Basement Jaxx “Romeo”
Phoenix “If I Ever Feel Better”
Blur “Girls and Boys”
Robyn “Be Mine”
Girls “Lust for Life”
The Exploding Hearts “Sleeping Aides and Razorblades”
Venue: Golden Gate Club / Planner: Va De Vie Events / Photographer: Kelly Boitano / Caterer: Miraglia Catering / DJ: Ceremony DJs / Photobooth: Night Owl Photobooth / Cake: Pinkys Bakery / Lighting: Got Light / Rentals: One True Love Vintage / Transportation: SF Minibus
