80’s alternative wedding, Brazilian Room, Tilden Park, Berkeley, CA. Photo: George Street
"I'll just come out and say it: we had the best music of any wedding I've been to before and since ours! Jamie played the perfect combination of tunes from the genres we selected to fit the exact moment of the wedding, from cocktail hour to dinner to dancing. The music built upon itself, telling a story that flowed flawlessly and fit each moment of the wedding perfectly. Most importantly - and impressively - he had everyone from toddler, to Gen X survivor, to octogenarian shaking their booties all night long! Our guests, from uncles to best friends, complimented us repeatedly.
Music is an essential part of both my and my husband's lives, but although we had been together for two years, finding common musical ground seemed daunting. (Were we going to have a wedding playing only NIN, Tool and Tori Amos?!) Jamie has a vast and impressive collection of music. Through discussions by phone and a super fun exercise he created that we each did, Jamie homed in on our individual and mutual tastes and helped us design a playlist that would have us both exclaiming, "I love this song!" over and over throughout the night (playing, for instance, upbeat and danceable tracks from Morrissey, to the Cure, to Depeche Mode, weaving in rug-cutting songs by Michael Jackson, David Bowie and the like). He also made planning a wedding from abroad easy, affordable and even fun! We can't recommend him more highly." - Emilly Schaeffer
A New Romantic, Goth and Synthpop Wedding at The Brazilian Room
Emily and Michael were some of our first clients way back at the beginning before we had a website or anything. I can’t even remember how we all got connected, and I can only assume it was a referral, but the important part here is that they are exactly the customers we were imagining when we started the business. Perhaps you’ve noticed our subtle New Order joke running throughout our materials?
Emily and Michael are exactly the guys that get this kind of thing.
An All Vinyl 80’s Theme
For Emily and Michael’s wedding, we were still building out the core of our digital collection after years of spinning only vinyl. The sad reality of going into business as a full time DJ, is that you no longer can spend all the money on records, because there are plenty of other things to be bought like speakers, turntables, lights and stands. For these guys we were still very much in classic vinyl mode.
For a couple of years between 2011 and 2014 we were throwing a monthly indie party that focused on all 80’s alternative indie pop and guitar tracks. We also were heavily involved in the organizing of the San Francisco Popfest which hosted indie bands large and small from around the country at a series of venues including The Knockout, The Hemlock and The Rickshaw Stop. So we had a lot of stuff that sounded like The Cure, New Order, The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen on tap.
A Classic Alternative Dance Party
For the ceremony, we did a lot of indie guitar music type stuff and as the event progressed, slowly turned up the temperature as far as a driving beat. By the time we got to the dancing, I think we went full 80’s dance party with a lot of synth ones like New Order “Bizarre Love Triangle” and OMD “So In Love”. I remember doing a pretty killer mix of Prince “Erotic City” beat matched with George Kranz “Din Da Da” for an epicly long time so the call outs were kind of syncopated in a call and response. This was probably the best 80’s dance set I’ve played in years.
Big Ups & Shout Outs
Special shout out to the Brazilian Room for having us back multiple times.
Special shout out to Minia Hair and Make Up who we’ve also worked with more than once.
Many thanks to Emily and Michael for helping us get this whole thing started!
Ceremony Songs
Processional:
Recessional:
First Dance:
Parent Dance:
Venue: Brazilian Room / Planner: Simply Events / Photographer: George Street Photo / Caterer: Trumpetvine / Florist: Poppy Petalworks / DJ: Ceremony DJs / Hair & Make Up: Minia Make Up / Rentals: Hartmann Studios / Transportation: Oakland Limo
