4th of July

Nothing to do with DJing, but I did take some pictures to share, so here they are...

AF Youth Dance (June 27th)

I was invited to DJ a youth dance for the American Fork Hillcrest Stake on June 27th. I made every effort to make this dance as good as the one before. I DJed for them less the a month ago for their youth conference and not wanting the two to be too much like each other, that was a chore. I get requests for Micheal Jackson alot, but never did so many come in than tonight. I could have played nothing but Michael Jackson and all would have been statisfied. I played about 6 songs that night from the King of Pop. The lights have to be on during church dances, so my lighting didnt exactly show up, but here are a few pictures from that event.

D Andrew Photography

I was sitting here updating the music on this blog and decided to throw on some of my wedding pictures. I know there are a lot of options when it comes to pictures and video, but make this one an IMPORTANT one.
I have been in the wedding industry for about 11 years now and have worked with a lot of these (so called) options. Let me tell you this, pictures will be around FOREVER to help you relive this moment. Make sure you get a GOOD photographer to capture it, cause in 10 or 20 years you will still be looking at them, and if they are not up to par, you wont want to reminisce. DJing weddings, I have kept my eye on the photgraphers and watched what they were doing, and some scared me. I made mental notes of the good ones and decided when I got married there was only one choice - D Andrew Photography / Brides For All Seasons.
So let me post some of our pictures. I will post others later as there are so many great shots, I didnt want to flood you right now with them all. With a little commentary, here we go...
I really wanted a proposal that stood out, it took awhile to come up with a really good one, but I had an idea. We had talked alot about marriage and were planning it and everything, the only thing missing was the actual proposal, so when it came time for engagement pictures, she had to have a ring, so the plan unfolded. I gave Andrew the ring and he took it from there. He told Annie that he needed some setup shoots, for adjusting his camera, he used some technical jargon and she obliged. He asked me to stand in some of the pictures as well. Then, he said, "I have an idea, Stretch, reenact the proposal, while I finish this up." Without hesitating she quiped, "There hasn't been a proposal yet." I believe that statement even included a little head bobbing. Andrew, then mentioned he had a ring box for a prop, and we should at least pretend with it. So he threw it to me and the first picture says it all...PRETEND?... With that first breathe...she saw the ringAnd the excitement could not be held back...Not even a little...It couldn't have gone more better...(I know that is not proper grammar, but it is an inside joke)Andrew seems to capture the sweet moments...

I love this picture of my 3 girls...(I wish my twins were here)

Oh wait, Annie gave me this hat to remember my girls (...they are twins and live in Minnesota)What a shot...And this one is precious...

Remember that pictures can say a thousand words...make sure they are eloquently taken. Thanks Andrew.

It's a small world...

This past weekend I DJ'ed a wedding for my neighbor. I had gone to their house and helped her and her groom-to-be plan the wedding reception. Being neighbors, Crystal and I have known each other for a few years, but this was the first time I would meet the groom. We planned all the details from the first dance to the bouquet and garter toss, went over music, their likes and dislikes, and had a good time doing it.

So on with the post and the meaning behind the title...I grew up with the groom's dad. I got to the wedding and lo and behold, a family from my past was there. I used to live in southern California and I lived right around the corner from this family. I was in the same classes with some of them. While I was unloading my equipment, I made eye contact with (Molly) the groom's aunt, a girl I had known since '79. I thought it rude at first when she didn't say anything, but then I remembered, since then (about 1991) I had had facial surgery. To be more specific, I had orthognathic surgery or maxillofacial surgery This is the process of reshaping your face with orthodontics and corrective jaw surgery or painfully put, repositioning your teeth and facial bones to create a more balanced appearance. So of course she wouldn't recognize me. When I was finished setting up, I walked over to where the family was and said, "Hello Molly." Before she could say anything I continued, "You don't recognize me, do you?" I then said my real name, since I wasn't known as "Stretch" back then. The look on ALL of their faces was priceless, they knew me as the shy quiet one back then, and now I am the one running the show. It was so fun running into them and catching up on some old times. They all live around here and I have never run into any of them, but now that I have reconnected, I will see them everywhere, isn't that how it works...?

The UGLIEST wedding cake

When I DJ a wedding, I like to sit down with the bride and groom and plan all the details of the reception so that I know when things are happening, and the wedding runs smoothly. When it was time for the wedding cake to be cut, there was no cake. A friend of the bride said she would do it for her...sad to say, but this is usually a BIG mistake, and this time it was a MAJOR mistake.

It is all right to have friends help with your wedding, but treat them like any other vendor. Be sure to (in the case of the cake) have a taste, look at previous cakes and SIGN a contract (they do not only protect the vendor, they can protect you as well). The caterers and I were wondering where the cake was and made several attempts to get a hold of this friend, to no avail. We finally decided to take care of the situation by calling nearby bakeries. We found a couple of them that had cakes that could be used in a pinch in place of a wedding cake. We went to Albertson's in American Fork and they took care of us. We got the cake back to the wedding and were shocked to find something waiting for us. Lets just say it was a good thing we did what we did. We snagged some decorations from one of the tables and used them to decorate and match the cake to the rest of the reception...man, were we good! I wish I had a picture of "THE SAVE" to show you how good we really were, but I forgot to snap one. I was too astonished at the other sight. Below you will find a picture of the cake that someone called a wedding cake. We hid it in the freezer and did not tell the bride. It would have ruined her day and that was not an option...

The cake or what ever it was (on an upside down cake pan)...are those suppose to be palm trees and hearts?