“My wife and I could not be happier with the job that Jackie and Ceremony DJs did for us during our recent wedding in San Francisco. We absolutely recommend her and Ceremony DJs for your event.
One of our top priorities for our wedding was that we have a good DJ, someone who was knowledgable and passionate about music, someone who could read a crowd and put together a solid set list that got people moving. Jackie exceeded our expectations in every category.
First of all, she was incredibly organized and easy to talk to. We had several meetings before our ceremony and Jackie was always ready to go with questions and great ideas that helped make our experience smooth and unique to our musical tastes.
At the event, Jackie arrived early to the venue and made sure that the sound and lighting would be perfect. As major music nerds and audiophiles we were super impressed. The bass and treble were perfectly set and both the chapel for the ceremony (indoors) and courtyard for the reception (outdoors) had studio-quality sound.
Jackie supplemented the songs that we chose with similar genres and artists that melded perfectly with our musical tastes. Moreover, you could tell that she herself is a huge music fan. As she DJ'd she danced along with the music and made our guests feel like they were attending a music festival. We received so many compliments from our friends and family for our choice of DJ. Everyone, especially this newlywed couple, went home happy.”
— Nate
The Masterful Mix: Fitting Together the Music in a Way that Brings Two Families Together
Not all my clients are twentysomethings, fresh and new in life, just starting to lay the foundations of a family. Although I never got into it too deeply with Kristin and Nate, they made reference multiple times in our conversations as to how hard it had been to finally unite their pre-existing lives and families into one. I can imagine that it was a lot of work and took a lot of love and commitment. Kristin lived and worked as a nurse in Marin County with her multiple kids from a previous relationship, and Nate lived all the way in Redwood City on the peninsula with his own children, working as a teacher. The substantial distance alone might have been enough to keep most couples apart (anyone who has tried to commute across San Francisco from north to south will attest that it is annoying as heck, as there hasn’t been a central freeway since it fell down in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989). Add on the additional hurdle of blending two families with multiple kids on both sides with a range of ages, “Brady Bunch” style. But you could tell that Kristin and Nate were not the types to hesitate at difficulty, and especially not the types to ever give up on one another or each others’ families.
Not your typical wedding music
Right from the start, both members of the couple were extremely pleasant and easy going to work with, as well as being very present. Sometimes one half of the couple takes more control over the wedding planning than the other, but this was not true with Kristin and Nate. They were also clearly big music fans, who wanted quality sound, attention to detail, and not your typical wedding music- which for me is the most fun kind of client! If I wanted to be the kind of wedding DJ who just churned out the Macarena and YMCA for every event, I wouldn’t work for Ceremony. I loved chatting with Kristin and Nate about their interests in music, and really felt like I got a sense not only of the specific artists that they liked, but what it was about those bands that they enjoyed as well, which helped me make educated guesses about other stuff they might like.
The venue for the big day was a Unitarian chapel centrally located in the Nob Hill area of San Francisco. Over and over, there were elements of this wedding that felt all about inclusivity for me, a touchstone that would have to be important for a couple that was striving to unite against all odds. The central location in SF that could be reached by anybody instead of a far flung vineyard off in the Sonoma hills, the non-denominational church which would welcome guests of any faith… These things spoke silently but abundantly to me.
Choosing a processional : thoughtfulness & inclusivity
The ceremony itself was also one of the most memorable ones that I have witnessed. The processional was the cover of “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” from the film “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” - a melancholy/sweet choice that gave me goosebumps. The bride walked the aisle to the instrumental piece “Cora” from the film “the Last of the Mohicans,” which was clearly a loving reference to her own daughter. Like I said, this was a couple with deeply thought out tastes that went beyond the basic, and I was loving it. Kristin and Nate’s children joined them on the chapel’s stage as a united family, and throughout the ceremony were invited to join them to reaffirm the partnership. Each kid gave their personal permission for their parent’s partner to wed their mom or dad. Meanwhile, I was hiding behind the speaker, trying to muffle my tears- it was so beautiful, and so impressive how much Kristin and Nate wanted this day to be not just about “you and I” but about “us as a family.”
Cocktail hour: 60s rock, 90s & 2000s indie, with a few feel good classics thrown in for good measure
The cocktail hour and dinner time featured a lot of great music from 90s-era U2, Exile/Goats Head Soup era Rolling Stones, Modest Mouse, and Spoon, with some feel-good classics like “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks and “In My Life” by the Beatles. We heard “Amarillo by Morning” from George Strait as a nod (or tip of the cowboy hat?) to Kristin’s Texas upbringing. The couple had asked for music recommendations from their guests ahead of time, a smart move that again demonstrated how thoughtful and inclusive-thinking they were, and allowed me to hit the sweet spot for various family and friends as almost a surprise. It was fun for me to notice when I would play a song and I could tell just who amongst the guests had requested it- the light would come on in their eyes and they would start to groove a little extra. Although I doubt it had been his specific request, when I played “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals during the dinner time, Kristin’s youngest son started singing along at the top of his lungs, and it was so adorable that I laughed loudly.
A great first dance song and a dance party that spans many eras
The couple’s first dance was to “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young, which is a perfect first dance wedding song; it somehow both encourages you to move together, yet be quiet and focus on the moment. And then the dance party! We kept the ball rolling at a more uptempo pace with more Stones, U2 and Spoon, all favorites of the newlyweds, David Bowie, Elton John, the Clash, Wilco, Talking Heads and a veritable roll call of indie faves. Lots of classic motown and soul encouraged people to move their feet, from the Temptations to the Supremes, and some great 80s new wave from Gary Newman and New Order. We even flowed into a little top 40 (but the really good, boundary-pushing stuff!) with the Weeknd, Lizzo, and Kygo.
Memorable moments on the dance floor
There were a couple really memorable moments of the dance party worth mentioning. One was when I played “Red Eyes” by the War on Drugs, which was just such a jam that I couldn’t contain myself and I had to rush onto the dancefloor to get down with everybody! At that moment, I didn’t feel like a vendor at an event, I felt like a dancer on the dancefloor moving and spinning in ecstasy with everyone else… and I knew that I was welcome to do so. Again, inclusivity. The other moment that stands out is when I played “The Boy With the Arab Strap” by Belle and Sebastian (which is also a favorite of mine since I was probably about 15 years old) and caught Nate dancing alone, lost in the music that was clearly his jam, so happy in that moment. I love seeing people get lost in the music that is special to them. I know how that feels.
The last song of the night was a bit of a gamble on my part, but I think it paid off. During our pre-wedding preparatory talks, Kristin related a very sweet story to me from the days when she and Nate had first started dating. They had stayed up late one night talking about music, and ended up singing the entirety of “California Stars” by Billy Bragg and Wilco together. Gah! That is so romantic I get all wiggly inside just thinking about it. Anyways, even though it is decidedly a very slow and folky number, I decided to go with it as a surprise for the last song. For the first few seconds, I thought I had bombed, no one was moving. So, I figured I should take the lead and show them: I got on the dance floor, took the hands of the closest available guest, and started dancing with them. Once that happened, everyone seemed to figure it out, and the sing-along, gentle end-of-the-night sway-shuffle that I was hoping for came to pass.
I know that Kristin and Nate are all about inclusivity, but I wanted to end things with something personal- something that everyone could enjoy, but that had a special message that was just for them.
— Jackie
