It was a really fun wedding to DJ. Everybody had a good time and the smiles and high-energy on the dance floor let me know it was going great. I wanted a great last song. I approached The Bride and Groom to let them we had about a half hour left and wanted to see if there were any songs they definitely needed to hear before we shut-down. They both looked at each other, laughed and in a chorus, “No”, and she continued “Everybody is having so much fun!” and pointed to the dance floor, which was still packed with happy guests at 11:30.
We had not set in advance a last song since they wanted to see how it would go. They thought none of their friends and family would dance as she said in our meeting, “We’re not real dancing people but I hope at least some people will dance.” They did, all night.
“What would you like me to close with?”
They looked at each other again, “Whatever you think will be best is fine with us. You’re the professional Wedding DJ”
“OK” And I walked back to my DJ station for the last bunch of tunes.
I glanced over the list of songs we had created together to see what was not played yet that would be a perfect closing song. Typically we close a wedding with a few slow songs to bring everybody down and leave it with a nice happy, romantic feeling. Then I saw it near the bottom of the list: Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, “Havin’ A Party”. Perfect!
I knew it was going against the tradition of ending with slow songs but this was a fun group and they didn’t follow many of the typical wedding trends; why should the closing be any different? My assistant DJ looked at me skeptically but I stuck to my guns and cued it up. Two minutes later I cranked the volume and all the guests that were left including The Bride and Groom rushed to the dance floor singing and clapping to the song with joy pouring out of their smiles! It worked. When the song was completed they were all standing there hugging each other and sharing ‘High Fives’. The red cheeks and bright eyes told the story and gave me all the confirmation I needed. This was the right song for this wedding and guests. A true celebratory group needed a celebratory conclusion.
This may be my new closing song for the right wedding or party…