The day you finally get to marry the man or woman or your dreams will become one of the best days of your life. For some couples, the journey to find their soulmate may not have been easy. Your journey may have been met with many curves or forks in the road, but those days are in the past and you just got engaged. Things just got "real" between the both of you. You are going to be spending the rest of your lives with each other.  You are both so giddy right now. You haven't even told your parents, but I bet "he" already spoke with your dad and got his permission to propose to you. :) Such a classy guy, eh? In all seriousness, you are engaged now. Are you still pinching each other right now? Stop it! You both are going to be sore. Instead of pinching each other, why not just go have this amazing makeout session, sort of like you did when you first met.  I know you've got a flood of thoughts going through your mind. Like "I can't wait to see him in that black tux", or "is she gonna be wearing one of those really hot, modern wedding dresses that shows how beautiful her legs are?" Whoa whoa. :) Take a deep breath. Before we get into the minutiae of your wedding day, you really need to ask yourself in a serious way what your expectations are for this most special day. 

It's time to put together a blog post that might become one of the most visited on the internet.  Well, at least that is the goal, most all of my other 80s content on the blog is constantly being stalked. Over the past few months, I've put some time into discussing some of the trends I've been seeing in the wedding industry. Sometimes I veer off in those types of directions because I want to provide my point of view on certain things. I may also veer off into those directions because I am trying to help modern brides and grooms find the best wedding DJ for their big day.  While the reception to those types of articles have been positive, I felt it was time to put together a blog post that goes back to my roots as a wedding DJ, and actually even before I was a wedding DJ. After all, if not for the music, I would never have gotten behind the mic on the radio or purchased a high-end DJ equipment rig to entertain hundreds of couples at weddings over the years.  Truth be told, I don't care about anything EXCEPT the music. It's the music that matters during every portion of your wedding day. Today's post has been a long time coming. If you are a modern bride or groom who loves 80s music and who wants some help in adding it your wedding playlist, you'll want to stick around and read on.

Aside from being a wedding DJ business owner who is absolutely passionate about the music, I'm probably one of the most analytical people you'll ever meet. Most savvy business owners constantly are analyzing all types of data to see where their future clients could be originating from. Years ago, I set out to build my online brand in a way that was sure to attract modern brides and grooms who are interested in hiring a top wedding DJ who gives them the best chance of curating the perfect mix of music for their most special day. Putting hours and hours into creating the content you are reading right now is only a fraction of the work to be put in for the development of my business. I find myself constantly analyzing website data to determine which modern brides and grooms are interested in hiring me, and even more importantly, "where" they are coming from.

After listening to some industry-leading wedding professionals speak on their podcast this past week, it was very refreshing to hear about a correction that had occurred after the post-COVID wedding boom of 2022 and into parts of 2023. And actually, I should correct myself in saying that this correction is still in progress and could be lasting for the next few years.  What can I say? I'm a savvy wedding business owner who has spared no expense over the past several years to attempt to attract modern brides and grooms who are looking for the best wedding DJ for their most special day.  I've spent a lot of my time and financial resources putting together a brand for my wedding DJ company and how I'd like to present myself as a wedding DJ.  The focus of my wedding DJ business is easy; it's a complete focus on the music. It is absolutely the music that matters on your wedding day. A lot of the discussion in these podcasts placed an emphasis on refreshing your memory on what it is that separates you from the rest of your competition.  While I navigate this wedding market correction, I've been trying to focus less on how saturated the wedding market truly is, and what it is that has brought hundreds of brides and grooms to my business over the years.  I get a smile on my face when I think about all of my past clients. They love their music just like I do.

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I've always been a savvy business owner for close to 14 years. My goal from Day 1 was to portray my business with class. One of the most disturbing things I've done recently is actually "join" a Facebook group. About 4 1/2 years ago, when I launched my wedding DJ podcast, there were some Facebook groups who were run by people who did not want me to advertise my podcast in their group. Perhaps it was because they were jealous of my creation and they felt intimidated that it might actually take business away from them? Silly, Eh? That was 2019 - I have a feeling it's even worse these days. I never got offended that I was kicked out of those groups because to be honest with you, I would prefer my name not ever be tossed around any social media group. If you asked me how I've made all of my revenue since I've been DJing, I would tell you that less than 1/4 percent has been generated on social media. And I might be a little on the generous side in that estimate. You are going to want to read on so I can set you straight about why modern brides and grooms should NEVER book any of their wedding vendors from social media groups.

Somewhere along the way as it pertains to the history of wedding DJ businesses, someone came up with the idea that modern brides and grooms wanted all their services bundled together. Perhaps this person wanted their packages to resemble Happy Meals at McDonalds. Maybe they wanted their company to feel like you were ordering a pizza, so when you called up, you were offered "add-on" services.  The last time I ordered a pizza I got somewhat irritated when the person on the other end of the line kept asking me if I wanted breadsticks, some chicken wings, or even a two liter bottle of Coke. No, I just want a pizza. I mean, that's what a pizza place sells correct? All of those other items on the menu were designed to increase the total amount of money that a customer may spend on their visit to the restaurant. So, your favorite pizza restaurant decided to offer chicken wings. Here's the deal. Do you think those chicken wings will be the best you've ever eaten? Probably not, because remember you called a PIZZA place, so pizza is their specialty, first. Are you beginning to see where I am headed with this? I believe the year was 2019 when I opened up about the fact that I did not offer any add-ons like uplighting or a photo booth. I believe it's time once again to try to illustrate why I am still not interested in giving in to carrying these add-ons. I believe that modern brides and grooms could be thinking more about "convenience" of services, rather than hiring a true professional wedding DJ. Sometimes "convenience" is not the best decision, thus derailing your wedding day.  Remember this. "A jack of all trades is a master of none".

As I prepare to put together a "Best Of" about 80s music for wedding playlists over the next few weeks, I've come to realize that I've never shown any love on my blog to 1980. In doing the research for this post about the music of 1980 for your wedding playlist, I think you can easily make the case that music was in a transition period in 1980. At the beginning of 1980, disco was still "in", but quickly fading fast. Michael Jackson was riding high at the start of 1980 with his masterpiece album Off The Wall. MTV was over a year away from introducing America to iconic images of music videos that would forever be etched into our minds. While MTV would also usher in an 80s British Invasion of music, 1980 would introduce us to a lot of those artists that now show up in Yacht Rock playlists. 1980 came with it a lot of "Soft Rock" artists with some country crossovers from Kenny Rogers and Eddie Rabbitt.  Since I grew up in the 80s, 80s music is my jam, but I'm gonna have to say that 1980 might be one of the weakest years of music in the entire decade. You be the judge.

For my first post and wedding DJ podcast of the year, I felt like it was a great time to speak directly to those modern brides and grooms who recently got engaged over the holidays.  Congratulations!  I would like to try to take this time to comfort you.  If you are like many couples, you might be quickly approaching panic mode because you've never had to search for a wedding DJ or all of your other wedding vendors for that matter.  I'm here to tell that it's not as difficult as you might think. Clients who have found me "organically" and not in a contrived manner have made for the most memorable experiences for me as a wedding DJ over the years.  You might be asking what it means to find your wedding DJ / vendors "organically".  I am going to blow your mind. Finding your wedding DJ and other vendors is just as easy as doing a Google search.   The fact you reading this right now is nothing short of amazing.  It's not that I don't think you know how to read, it's just that the internet may have reached overload status when it comes to wedding websites.  Since you have found me, I don't want to let you go. You are precious to me already. :)

Over the years, modern brides and grooms who have made the decision who to hire as their wedding DJ have sought to make their wedding unlike any they have been to previously.  Some traditions like the bouquet toss and garter toss have been kicked to the curb, mostly because younger millenials and Gen Z think they are cheesy. And let me tell you, they are not wrong at all. I have never been so burned out of hearing "Single Ladies" by Beyonce in my whole life. Sorry Bey. In keeping with the the desire to make their weddings different, I am always happy to see new trends develop. In recent years, a lot of my clients have requested a "private last dance" be placed into their wedding playlist. In this post, I'll not go into why this should be a part of your wedding playlist, but I will also provide an amazing playlist of song selections that would be perfect for this moment.

Perhaps its the musical tastes of my clients that may have rubbed off on me, but at this stage of my life, I would have to say that Indie pop is my favorite musical genre as we round out 2023.  Listening to the best radio station in Charleston, SC might also have something to do with it too. 105.5 The Bridge is an adult album alternative (AAA) station. This format caters to the ultimate music lover. On any given day you might hear classic rock songs from the 70s, new wave of the 80s, 90s grunge, yacht rock, Indie pop, and so much more.  Programmed by veteran, major market program director Bryan Schock, the Bridge occupies most all of my new music discovery. While my radio listening keeps me current on what types of new music is being released, it's my clients who also keep me on my toes and tend to introduce me to so much new music. Most of the selections you'll see on this playlist have been in my catalog since their release, as I have taken an interest in Indie pop probably for the past 15 or more years. You'll want to definitely read on to check out this very hip mix of music that is perfect for the modern bride and groom who are into the best of Indie pop.