PLAYLIST: QUIRKY FUN COCKTAIL HOUR MUSIC

I recently DJ'd the wedding of Allison (a librarian) and Matthew (a zookeeper/musician).  No, really he's a zookeeper.  Pretty awesome, right? Great, fun, down-to-earth couple.  They asked for some help with their cocktail hour: "...just keep it quirky, fun, indie, atypical....and please include "A Mighty Wind." -- Done!  

To compliment their loft-style wedding in Brooklyn, we picked out some tunes from Noah + The Whale, Vampire Weekend, They Might Be Giants, I'm From Barcelona, Kate Nash....and a few other surprises.  With guests decked out in 3-piece suits, fedoras and argyle socks galore....the cocktail hour music seemed to fit just right.

THE BEST OF THE KNOT + WEDDING WIRE!

Thank you to the truly fantastic clients who voted us "2012 Best of..." picks on The Knot and Wedding Wire in the DJ category for Northern NJ/NYC markets.  We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback, give reviews and for loving us as much as we love you. Looking forward to another great year!

PLAYLIST: ECCLECTIC DINNER MIX

Here's Melissa + Michael's dinner playlist from last month: a delicious mix that's left-of-center, guaranteed to give your main course a warm, eclectic and we-can-talk-and-enjoy-our-meal vibe: Boyce Avenue, Lenka, John Legend, Tim Curry, Regina Spektor and Landon Pigg just to name a few.  

NEW REVIEWS ON WEDDING WIRE

Today we received our 75th review on Wedding Wire -- thanks to all the wonderful couples we've worked with over the years who have taken the time to share their experience with Aria Melody DJ.  Number 75 came from Lawrence + Mae who had a beautiful October wedding at the Eventi Hotel on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan:

ALTERNATIVES TO 'HERE COMES THE BRIDE'

After a busy fall/winter season, happy to be back blogging!  I've DJ'd quite a few weddings lately held in unique venues all over the NYC area and many brides have chosen unique songs to which they walked down the aisle. Thought I'd share of a few of them -- everything from Ingrid Michaelson to Eddie Veder to One Republic covering Beyonce's Halo.

Each sets a different tone and mood - so no matter if you're going for sweet & sentimental or dramatic or contemporary...there are many, many songs out there just waiting to be found.  

Your DJ should be able to trim or edit the parts you like or cut the weird lyrics (there are always weird lyrics). Of course, there are hundreds of great modern-tracks-with-a-classic-twist from the very popular Vitamin String Quartet.  Or, if you're looking to go back to the classics, the Lumiere String Quartet has great selections.  Both are available on iTunes or Amazon for download purchase.

"Reign of Love"  – Coldplay

"I Love NYE"  – Badly Drawn Boy

"Longing to Belong"  – Eddie Veder

"Can't Help Falling In Love"  – Ingrid Michaelson

"She"  – Elvis Costello

"Hoppipolla"  – Sigur Ros

"Moth's Wings"  – Passion Pit

"Rose of My Heart"  – Johnny Cash

"Halo" (Beyonce cover)  – OneRepublic

"Sparkplug Minuet"  – Mark Mothersbaugh

"Let Me Tell You About My Boat"  – Mark Mothersbaugh

"Sky Cloud Winter Breeze"  – Orba Squara

"Falling In Love At a Coffeeshop"  – Landon Pigg

WEDDING FILM: HEATHER + JEREMY

Wanted to share the wedding film of recently married couple Heather + Jeremy who celebrated their wedding 9-10-11 at the Millerridge Cottage in Jericho NY.  The very talented Kaipo of 15 Minutes of Frame (who is doing our wedding in June 2012) captured the entire evening on film and created this fantastic wedding film.  DJ Owen (who is like Bigfoot, rarely captured on film) makes a background cameo at 2:09.  My favorite shot happens at 4:07.  And the perfect soundtrack is worth noting -- Florence + The Machine's "Cosmic Love."  Enjoy.

PLAYLIST: TOP 40 HITS (week of 10/3/11)

Jamie + Dave are looking for some Top 40 hits for their upcoming wedding. Most of whats on Top 40 radio, fortunately, is pretty danceable.

In fact, they're all mostly between 120-132BPMs (beats per minute), scientifically proven to be the ideal dance beat.  Not really.  Oh, and Pitbull.  If Pitbull's rapping, you can dance to it. He's this year's Will.I.Am. Here's a list of what I've been playing lately...

PLAYLIST: Autumn Dinner/Cocktail Hour

Met with a fantastic couple, Jess + Eric, getting married this fall in a beautiful, modern venue here in the NYC area, known for its amazing architecture + design: dramatic large-scale California Craftsman-style lodge aesthetics; the overall design embodies an underlying Eastern flare incorporating the Chinese Five Elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

It's going to be a beautiful autumn wedding.

You can continue the "autumn feel" (or any season) theme throughout the cocktail hour or dinner music, creating a warm, rustic mood: slightly country, some older titles, some newer....with a little folksy, bluegrass, singer/songwriter feel to it.  Lighter mood, a little piano, upright bass, acoustic guitar. Maybe even a lil' banjo. 

For a farmhouse/rustic barn wedding, you could skew a little more in the country-western direction (Hank Williams, Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks).....a more modern venue might lean more current/indie rock (Weepies, Joshua Radin, The Shins).

 

For those about to rock...

Jen & Evan (January 2011) were looking for suggestions to be introduced rockin' & rollin'...not fist pumpin'. Drums/bass/guitar, not glowsticks/techno/fog. They wanted high energy but didn't want to sacrifice taste or class. They dig OAR, Coldplay, Gogol Bordello, U2, The Cure and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. "Rock the house without scaring my mom.  We just don't want to come in to 2 Unlimited 'Get Ready For This," is what they wrote. Here's a shortlist that'll give that big moment of walking through the door a little indie-rock twist.

"Lovers in Japan"  – Coldplay

"Wonderful Day"  – OAR

"Chelsea Dagger"  – Fratellis

"Can't Hardly Wait"  – The Replacements

"City of Blinding Lights"  – U2

"How You Like Me Now"  – The Heavies

"Straight Cold Player"  – Lenny Kravitz

"The Impression That I Get"  – Mighty Mighty Bosstones

"Love You Madly"  – Cake

"Mint Car"  – The Cure

"Beautiful Day"  – U2

"Not A Crime"  – Gogol Bordello

"Song 2"  – Blur

"Life in Technicolor"  – Coldplay

"The Adventure"  – Angels & Airwaves

"Two Step"  – Dave Matthews Band

"You Always Make Me Smile"  – Kyle Andrews

(BONUS!)"Moth's Wings"  – Passion Pit

BEST OF: SIMON and/or GARFUNKEL

Do you remember how great/awesome/talented Simon + Garfunkel are?

Sometimes I need to be reminded of this. It usually happens when a couple or guest requests an obscure, hard-to-find S+G tune.  This was the case at Heather + Ed's wedding and Heather's dad asked if I had a little-known song called "Something about a zoo."  He used to sing it to her when Heather was a little girl.  

After searching for anything with "zoo" in the title, I found it, they danced and had a great, impromptu daughter/father dance.  Here are a few other favorites that aren't "Bridge Over Troubled Water."