My first wedding of 2023 was about as local as it gets, just 10 minutes from my house.
Most of the venues I work in tend to be at least an hour away so the short drive home was most welcome indeed, especially with the threat of an arctic blast and several feet of snow, or floods, depending on which news channel you choose to listen to.
It wasn’t a massive party, maybe 30 people or so and that suited the venue perfectly. I still managed to squeeze the DJ equipment down there as well as my photo booth which was pretty cool considering there wasn’t a massive amount of room to play with.
I do actually prefer the smaller parties where everything occupies one single space, it works really well compared to a huge venue with loads of little tiny rooms for people to head off to and hide in.
Music-wise, Matt & Lucy gave me a list of genres they were happy for me to play together with a couple of specific songs they wanted to hear. The most notable choice for me was the second dance selection, “Jaja Ding Dong” by Molly Sandén and Will Ferrell from the 2020 movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a film I urge you to watch if you haven’t already!
Here’s the list!
- First Dance – Paramore – The Only Exception
- Second Dance – Will Ferrell & My Marianne – Jaja Ding Dong
- ABBA – Dancing Queen
- Jackson 5 – I Want You Back (Dimitri From Paris Supa Funk Brakes Mix)
- Earth, Wind & Fire – September
- Sister Sledge – We Are Family
- Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name
- Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
- Walk The Moon – Shut Up & Dance
- Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
- Lizzo – About Damn Time
- Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse – Valerie
- Cee-Lo Green – Forget You
- Bruno Mars – Marry You
- ABBA – Does Your Mother Know?
- Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
- Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
- Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
- S Club 7 – Reach
- The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
- Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger
- The B52’s – Love Shack
- Martine McCutcheon – Mamma Mia
- Spice Girls – Who Do You Think You Are
- The Jacksons – Blame It On The Boogie
- KC & The Sunshine Band – That’s The Way (I Like It)
- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – December ’63 (Oh What A Night)
- Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
- Wilson Pickett – Mustang Sally
- Aretha Franklin – Respect
- Diana Ross & The Supremes – You Can’t Hurry Love
- Final Song – Paramore – Still Into You
If the above list gave you some ideas for your wedding and you’re looking for a DJ then I’d love to hear from you!
All you need to do is fill in my short contact form. You can also email me directly at hello@ianforest.com or call / WhatsApp me at 07799 782764!
Take care ❤️