Episode 29 No One’s Wobbling? Don’t Panic, Here’s The Backup Plan: Ryan Smetzer DJ

A packed dance floor doesn’t happen by luck; it happens by design. We sit down with wedding DJ and radio pro Ryan Smetzer to unpack how the right music strategy, MC skills, and vendor communication can transform a reception from “nice” to unforgettable. Ryan shares his origin story, from Frankensteined desktop towers and pink disco balls to a full calendar of weddings, and shows why customization—not cookie-cutter playlists—wins every time.

We explore the art of reading the room: spotting subtle cues, choosing when to speed through a chorus, and when to hold for that belt-it-out bridge. Ryan explains how he builds must-play and do-not-play lists, uses a live request line without losing control, and rescues a sluggish floor without leaning on tired line dances. Venue layout plays a real role too; patios and fire pits can disperse a crowd early, so he plans for natural ebbs and builds to a late-night surge that feels like lift-off.

Beyond the booth, a great DJ is a great MC. Ryan walks through timelines, phonetic name checks, and vendor huddles that keep photographers and filmmakers ready for every milestone. We get into collaboration under pressure—like threading a rain-free, ten-minute ceremony window—and how calm, prepared teams make chaos invisible to guests. His systems are as dialed as his mixes: CRM organization, cloud and local backups, offline playlists, and early arrivals that put couples at ease. Thinking about hiring a DJ? Ryan’s take on “fit” will help you find the personality and approach that match your vision—and avoid the one-size-fits-all trap.

If this conversation helped you plan a reception that feels like you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who’s choosing their wedding team. What’s your must-play or do-not-play song? Tell us—we might feature it next time.

https://ryansmetzer.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ryansmetzer/

Transcript

Meet Ryan And Hazelwood Weddings

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days. I'm James, a wedding filmmaker. I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about real conversations with the ones who make it happen. Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way. Let's meet today's wedding vendor. Hey Ryan, how's it going?

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Good. Great to have or great to be here. Thanks for having me. Of course.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

I'm so excited to have you on. Ryan is a DJ, a wedding DJ. Um, among other things I've learned. Spent a lot of time in radio and still spending time in radio, which is so fun. Um, it's it's funny because I feel like I always have to tell vendors who don't know much about audio, like, hey, if you're on the microphone, it sounds good. If you're off, it doesn't sound good. And I'm like, Ryan, you are here for it. You know all the things. It's so fun.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

I jumped in, I was like, this is gonna be an interesting experience being on the other side of you know, doing the interviewing, being interviewed, but this is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yeah, and I'm so glad that you're here and we can jump into all things DJ with Ryan Smetzer Entertainment. But before we do, we are here at Hazelwood Weddings. And Hazelwood Weddings is a modern wedding venue in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, specializing in weddings, micro weddings, and elopements with easy access to Gettysburg, York, Lancaster, and Baltimore. It's built specifically for weddings, and you'll find an intentional variety of bright open spaces, bathed in natural light, and surrounded by stunning woodland views. Hazelwood is the perfect backdrop for your day, and an even better backdrop for your photos. And I know you work here all the time. Yes. And you know Kate very well. Um, it's so fun we got to all three of us got to chat a little bit before we started before we got started. I know, it's so fun. Um, but Kate is so great, and this venue is just such a nice venue, and it really is bathed in natural light. I feel like absolutely you can see the windows. Yeah, it's just it's so fun. Um, and they're always doing stuff to improve the space and package it in ways that is more accessible for couples. Just so fun.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Yeah, great for every season, too. I mean, we see the fall foliage outside the window right now. I know. We talked earlier, I did snow angels in like the middle of February at a wedding before. So, I mean, it is done it all here.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

You really have done it all.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

It's perfect for every season.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

So, yeah, but um, Ryan, thank you so much for being on.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Yeah, great to be here, man.

Ryan’s Origin Story As A DJ

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Yeah, so give me like the backstory. Like, where did all of this DJ entertainment in in like how does it fit in with like the radio stuff that you've been doing and like why weddings?

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Yeah, I mean, so this all started, I think, probably when I was like seven or eight years old, absolutely adored music, was a huge fan of just you know, dancing, playing music, singing, and you know, musical theater, all of those different things. And you know, uh at one point throughout high school, at around like freshman or sophomore year, one of my teachers had asked me to DJ our winter dance. We had a bunch of speakers just kind of lying around and some computers, and he was like, Hey, I know you got some music from, you know, wherever you've got it on your MP3 player. Yeah. Can you just swoop in and save the day and DJ our dance? And so I did it, immediately fell in love with DJing. And then fast forward about 11 months later, we were in a situation where my mom had her corporate Christmas party coming up in about seven days. And their DJ had bailed at the last minute. It was a quick emergency situation. They needed a DJ. And my mom sat me down at the dinner table and said, I think we have a backup plan. Are you available to DJ? And I was like, Well, mom, yeah, we could, but I have literally nothing that we could use to DJ. So my parents had bought me my first set of DJ equipment. And when I tell you it was as bare bones as bare bones could get, uh, we bought, you know, like a$400 set of DJ speakers from Musician's Friend, uh, cheap little mixer, and my computer was the old desktop tower from our downstairs basement. It's incredible. I literally gutted the thing, got rid of all of the software on the whole computer. And I mean, like, we're talking all of the computer games from when I was like seven years old, got rid of all those things. And the only thing on that computer was virtual DJ and all of my music files. And we hooked it up, put a monitor there, sat it all at a table, put a little pink disco ball that I took from my sister's bedroom and sat it at the table, hooked it up to all the speakers, and that was what I used for my mom's corporate Christmas party. And that was the start of it all. And I grew that into doing, you know, sweet 16s and school dances during my high school years. I went to a school for performing arts uh over my four years of high school. And so that's awesome. Doing a lot of, you know, shows and rehearsals and performances, I didn't have a ton of time to do a part-time job. And so my part-time job was doing DJing because I was able to kind of choose my own schedule and have that kind of flexibility, so to speak. And so I did that for a majority of my time in high school. Didn't start doing weddings until I graduated because I didn't want to have that aura of, you know, who's this 15-year-old that's playing music at your biggest day of your life. But hey guys, welcome to the Yeah. Hi, everybody. Um it's great to see you all. So I literally did my first wedding the Saturday after I graduated. I graduated from high school. And right away the weekend after I graduated, I did my first wedding. It was in like a, I think it was in a high school cafeteria. And it was, you know, you know, very, you know, quick wedding. You know, it wasn't the biggest thing in the world, but it was honestly the perfect starting point. And, you know, from that point on, from about 2013 onward, I've been doing almost exclusively weddings since then. And it's been just an absolute blast to do about, you know, 40 or 50 weddings a year. And uh, you know, it's it's just one of the most, you know, biggest blessings that I get to do is just being a part of somebody's, you know, biggest day and biggest celebration. You know, we mentioned obviously working in radio. I get to kind of throw a party in my own studio and just kind of throw a party with myself in my home studio with my two cats, and then on the weekends, I get to throw a party with a couple hundred people on you know the biggest day of someone's life. And so it's it's an absolute blessing.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Yeah, and I'm so excited to peel back the layers on the music side of stuff. Yeah. Um, like the the DJing and the mixing and all that stuff. Um, but just to like stick on your story a little bit, I'm just like picturing like if you could picture like a DJ setup, like a clean DJ setup. There's just a nice little laptop there. You got the big board in front of you, like the big discs that are spinning, the nice speakers. I'm just picturing that first setup. It was the opposite. So jank. Just so jank. When I tell you the desktop thing there, like I can't even picture like where you would put the tower. Like, is it on the thing that spins around?

First Weddings And Early Lessons

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Like I could I mean, it was gigantic. Yeah, the tower here, you had the monitor, which was you know a flat screen monitor, at least, thank goodness. I had the keyboard, the mouse. Like I legit looked like I put together a cubicle as my Frankenstein DJ booth. It was hysterical. The you know, I've got a picture of it, and it's the funniest thing in the world because then I I think I even went out and bought a banner from like VistaPrint. And this is like, you know, when VistaPrint didn't have like really nice designs. It was when they just had kind of the basic of the circles and squares and some text. And a you know, very simple picture of a pair of headphones, basically. And so that's what I had in front of the booth, duct taped onto the table. And, you know, it's cool because you know, people talk about like the humble beginnings, and that was the textbook definition of humble beginnings, because I was able to obviously then, you know, make enough money to pay my parents back for that system and then grow into having, you know, a bigger system, and then obviously, you know, up to now having a much better system than you know, a tower computer. You won't see the tower computer anymore. Yeah, yeah. I don't I think the tower computer somewhere in a trailer, it's it still exists somewhere. It's definitely not in a landfill. So because I think it's one of those things where I was like, I want to keep that as a uh, you know, museum piece in the museum of my mind.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

So yeah, it will make an appearance, but um there must have been something in that like I'm picturing the young you that got asked to do the DJing at the dance, and that would probably be a little bit more resemblance of like the dance party-esque vibe that you get at a wedding. I can't imagine that at your mom's Christmas party, you were like, Like, I'm not picturing that. Um, but what was it about those first couple of events that you were like, dang, this is like mixing together my love of music so well with was it like a tech thing? Was it like party vibes? Like, what was it about those first couple events? You're like, oh, I I love this.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

Yeah, I mean, I think it was just all about entertainment and reaction. Uh, you know, it's something that I always enjoyed whenever I was a kid, whenever I would do performing, you know, I'd get up on stage and I would do a musical, I would go and sing a song at, you know, Sunday school performances at Christmas time. And, you know, you'd see the smiling faces of the people in the audience and things like that. Whenever I did those dances and I would play, you know, a song that would, you know, hit well everybody. Yeah. When everybody would go, Whoa, yes, this is the song I wanted to hear. And they start jumping up and down and going crazy. Those were those moments where I was like, man, I love getting to do this. And I want to get to continue to do this as much as I possibly can until it bores me, until I don't want to do it anymore. And that's one of those things that I've always kind of stuck with is like, like, I still very much adore doing this, but there will come a day, you know, as I get older, if this becomes something that isn't exciting to me, I will stop doing it. Because look, you know, if you're if you're bored with it and if you're not, you know, excited and playing those songs that really hit well with everybody, you know, that crowd's not gonna be going crazy on the other side of the DJ booth. But that was really the thing that kind of hit with me from the very beginning, when especially when I was doing those school dances, because, you know, I wasn't necessarily the the popular kid in school throughout, you know, middle and high school, especially middle school and early high school. Who was?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

I mean, if you were like, you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Most most of us wedding vendors weren't the ones that like peaked in high school.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

No, I I I remember this is like such a hard tangent, but I was in like fifth grade, and this girl was like, Hey, why do you always wear sweatpants? Why don't you ever wear jeans? And I was like, Have you worn sweatpants? They're comfortable. And then I went home and I was like, Maybe I should have a pair of jeans. And then I got jeans, and I was like, Why am I wearing jeans? They're the worst. So I don't wear jeans anymore. So there it is. We just went back, yeah. Anyway, that's a hard tangent. But it's just funny, it's just funny, like how um we're kind of shaped into like uh all these experiences that we've had. You have this like love for music, you get to see the reaction, you get to see the enjoyment that people have with the music that you're playing. Um, even if you're not like performing it in a singing kind of way, yeah. But you have that kind of like, oh man, it's so fun to see people enjoying the music and enjoying the next song that you pick, um, kind of crafting that party vibe. Um, it's so fun. So you did the dances, you did a couple parties, uh, you did your first wedding. What do you remember from that first wedding? Like, what went well, what didn't go well, what did you think at the end of it?

Customizing Music For Every Couple

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Yeah, I think from the first wedding, you know, I learned that there's a lot of structure to DJing a wedding, but there's a lot of letting loose to that structure. There is, you know, obviously you need to have all of your ducks in a row. You need to have all of your pieces together. Um, you know, whether it be, you know, the title of all your dances, all of the songs that need to be picked out from your couple, and all of those different kinds of pieces to the puzzle, if you will. But then once you have all that studied, once you have all that laid into your computer, once you have all that prepared, making sure that it's all kind of internalized and ready to go. So that then whenever you're presenting it to that audience, you're doing it in a really fun way. And you're not doing it in a way that you're like, all right, I'm gonna go ahead and start the first dance and I'm gonna go ahead and introduce the couple, but boy, I hope it doesn't go wrong. That was, you know, one of the things from the very first wedding I did. Obviously, you're thinking in your head, okay, well, this is the first wedding I'm going to do. I hope it doesn't absolutely crash and burn because it might be the last. And so for me, in my head, I'm like, all right, I need to make sure I have all this kind of together. And there were a couple of moments where, you know, I'd be making those announcements and I'd think in my head, okay, I could have done this better, this better, and this better. And, you know, you'd see some of the reactions from like, you know, different people like in the crowd and stuff like that. And, you know, you you couldn't help but overthink some of those moments. And so after that was kind of where I was like, all right, not only do I need to make sure that I am prepared and as over-prepared as I can, but that I have everything as internalized as I can so that I go at it with a confident kind of demeanor, an optimistic demeanor, and an entertaining demeanor. Because, you know, not only do people not want to see a negative or boring or bad attitude DJ, they also don't want to see a terrified DJ up there that's like, already guys, here comes the bride and groom and old boy, here we go. Like it's Stephanie. I think it's is that the name? Oh boy, I don't know. And then they hit play and they're terrified that everything's gonna fall apart. So, you know, that's kind of the thing that I learned, especially in those, you know, that first wedding and even in the first year that I was doing weddings was just making sure that not only I had everything kind of prepped and ready to go, but that like, you know, I had those conversations with the couples too. Um, that I was getting to know the couples ahead of time because that's one of the biggest things that's so important is, you know, being a wedding DJ, a lot of times people just kind of assume it's transactional, that it's just kind of like, you know, book DJ, fill out the form, plays music. DJ shows up, hits play, makes announcements, packs up, and goes home. I try to make sure that I build those relationships with those couples because I want to make sure that like whenever I'm up there introducing the couple, playing music for the couple, that like, first of all, that wedding is customized musically for the couple, but also that like when I'm presenting all this stuff, people that are there at the wedding can think to themselves, man, does does Ryan did Ryan know the couple beforehand? Did Ryan hang out with a couple? Because a lot of times there are instances where like people will come out to me, they're like, So how'd you know the couple? And I'm like, ah, I just I just met like we just first met in person, but we've had like you know, a couple of calls here, like three or four, five or six calls where we've, you know, planned everything out, we've hashed out creative, all those different kinds of things. So, you know, that has become so important to me over the years, even from the very beginning, of just making sure that like no matter what, I get to know that couple because it becomes very nerve-wracking if it is transactional. Because, you know, you could hit play on a whole entire dance floor session and think that it's a really good dance floor session, but that couple may have wanted a completely different experience.

Reading The Room And Mixing Choices

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Because it could be a good dance floor session. You could be very dishonorable. Yeah, but but for the couple that you have in front of you, it needs to be tailored to them. If there's a a newer DJ that's listening or someone who's like, man, this all sounds so fun. Like, I love music. I I would love to like be in that spot where I can kind of like create the party vibes, entertain a little bit. What would be your best advice for them? Kind of like getting started, maybe even just like what you wish you knew at that first wedding now that you've been doing it for so many years.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Uh this is gonna sound so like hot takey from the very beginning, but don't be afraid to be the anti-wedding DJ, wedding DJ. Um, and that's something that I have kind of stuck with over the last couple of years, and it's something that I wish I would have kind of stuck with from the get-go. Um, meaning going back to like the customization thing, making sure that you know the couple is able to kind of have everything catered to them, or blocking out that thought process of everything has to be the most cookie-cutter wedding DJ wedding session, meaning like here are the 10 first dances that you need to do. And if not, it's not gonna sound right, or here are the best introduction songs, and man, if you don't do those, it's just not gonna be right. You know, because again, I always want to make sure that it is as completely custom tailored to the couple. And so a lot of times, whenever I like send a worksheet to, you know, any couple, I say, All right, guys, here's your worksheet. But when you're filling it out, I want you to be thinking about what songs you like together, what songs you want to hear on the dance floor, and feel free to write as little or as much as you humanly want. And then I even have like like an anti-block where it's like a do not play, yeah, do not play section. And a lot of times they'll be like, oh, you know, you'll be I trust you. And I'm like, No, don't. Yeah. Meaning specifically don't specifically don't. I'm like, trust me that I'm going to, you know, do your wedding to the best of my ability, but I don't want you to go into it assuming that I am going to be in both your brains and I'm gonna know exactly what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Because you're not gonna know those do not plays. Yeah. Because it could be I don't know. It could be the biggest song now. Yeah. And the the couple could be like, really don't like that song. And if you don't say it, you might play you might play it.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

I can't tell you the amount of times that you know I will have couples that will submit their form and say, I want to hear as many Taylor Swift songs as humanly possible. And then the next night I will do a wedding where it will say, if you play a Taylor Swift song, I will unplug your gear.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

So like, please let me turn the speakers off first.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

And I love both weddings equally. Personally, I am a Swifty, but I love both weddings equally because again, it gives me an opportunity to really creatively tailor each wedding completely differently. You know, we're out of an era where, you know, it used to be back in the day when you would do a wedding, it's like, all right, for the next two hours, you're gonna hear Footloose and the electric slide and the Cupid Shuffle and Love Shack and Whitney. And those songs are great. You know, they're they're classics, and sometimes they do work for specific couples and specific occasions and specific weddings, but sometimes they don't. And so, like a lot of times I will meet with couples and say, What are you into? What do you want to hear? What do you absolutely not want to hear? Because I will make sure that I'm avoiding that like the plague. Um, and and so one thing that I definitely would have probably, you know, put on a dry erase board and put on my wall in my office at the very beginning was don't be afraid to be the anti-wedding DJ, wedding DJ. Yeah. Of blocking out that thought process of, man, here's that top 100 list of dance floor anthems. Yeah. I've got to make sure I've got to hit all of them. I gotta hit all of them, and I can't go away from this, or I'm a bad wedding DJ. Yeah. Yeah. So that that was definitely one of the things that I would I would definitely tell an a newer wedding DJ is hey, don't be afraid to jump outside of the norm, especially if it's something that the couple's looking for, because sometimes you'll have couples that'll come to you and say, I want an all pop punk wedding, or I want an all-country wedding.

Requests, Bailouts, And Non-Dancy Crowds

SPEAKER_00 19:52

And it might not even be your favorite music, but if you're willing to kind of like put yourself aside and figure out what the couple wants and just run with it and do your best with what they want, you're gonna have a more packed dance floor. It's gonna be way more fun. You're gonna see the couple in the middle, like doing all the stuff, which is for me as a videographer, I'm like, if they're dancing, go away. Like, just let them dance, let them have the time of their lives. Like, I want to be right up in there with my big wide angle lens. It's not big, it's small, but it's wide, and I want to be like in the in the party and like having them just have the time of their lives. It's just so fun. Um, for the couples that are listening that are like maybe they're not into music as much, maybe they just don't have like a strong preference, but they're worried about like picking songs or picking a playlist or sharing a playlist with you for inspiration where everyone's gonna feel like they've heard a thing that they like. Maybe the older crowd, I don't know, if it's Love Shack or if it's something else, or if it's like YMC, like how do they kind of navigate? Like they want everyone to have a good time. Maybe they don't have a strong preference. What's your kind of advice on that?

SPEAKER_02 21:09

From Yeah, I always say kind of you know, don't be afraid to play the balancing game of what you're going to enjoy, what your wedding party is going to enjoy, and what your guest list is going to enjoy. And that is something that I also take the wheel on whenever we get started with dance floor time. Um, you know, it's I always joke that 80% of the job as the wedding TJ is reading the room. You know, it's it's taking a look at okay, everybody's vibing with this genre. We're gonna kick this into high gear for a little while. If I start to feel like it is kind of fading out a little bit, we'll go to another genre for a little bit, or we'll go to another type of artist or that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

And, you know, so it's really all in reading the room. And that responsibility kind of jumps over to me. And so I kind of typically tell couples in those moments like, hey, you You guys, you know, can take care of those creative moments of, you know, putting in the song preferences that you have. And I can kind of help fill in those blanks of what everybody else is kind of looking for. And as long as it's not in those sections of the do not play, is of like they don't want to hear something, then you know, I'll typically slide it in there so that everybody is kind of, you know, enjoying it equally there on the dance floor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

I mean, obviously you have like an easy view of like everyone's on or everyone's not on the dance floor. But is there anything else that you're looking for as a DJ that's like, hey, everyone's having a good time if I'm seeing like this kind of thing happening, or if I'm seeing the couple, like, is there anything else that you're looking for when you're kind of like reading the room and that?

SPEAKER_02 22:46

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I I look for those obviously the audible reactions, you know. Like I mentioned before, you know, that it's funny the Venn diagram between like in my childhood or teenage years doing those school dances and stuff where everybody's like, ah, going crazy and jumping up and down. And when I'm doing a wedding and people are at their table and they hear a song and they jump up and they jump up and start moving to the dance floor, that's when I know I've like, you know, I'm like a soccer player kicking the ball into the goal. It's like, man, okay, I've struck gold here because I was able to get somebody who was probably just sitting there eating cake on their phone, socializing, not even thinking about dancing, jumping over that way. Yeah. Um, same thing too, somebody that's there on the dance floor that's having a good time, enjoying themselves, but they're starting to kind of get dormant and in that kind of mode. Um, you know, when I start to kind of feel that out and get to a song where they're like their eyes light up and they get into that kind of you know mode of, all right, this is this is a great song. That's when I start to again shift gears and go into maybe a different genre or, you know, another throwback or you know, stuff like that. So again, it's all in kind of like, you know, looking for those visual cues of like facial expressions, um, or just those audible cues of like, yes, you know, or again, sometimes the opposite. If I start to see a couple or the couple, or anybody that's like, hmm, yeah, or a lot of times I will like kind of like look, I won't usually look directly at, you know, like the the bride or the groom or the you know the couple in general, if like I'm playing a song because it seems kind of awkward if I'm like hitting play and I'm like, do you like this song? It's a little weird. Um, but I will check it out in kind of my peripheral vision of like, you know, hit play, take a peek over. And you know, if I notice that they're kind of like, uh okay, I'll vibe with it. That's when I know, like, okay, it's time to, you know, shift gears a little bit too. Or especially if I hit play and they're like, I can audibly or visually see them mouth the words, I don't know this song. That's when we know, okay. All right, we will get out of this one real quick. We're gonna take the brief L, we're gonna hear that uh that song for a verse and a chorus, and then immediately get out of it as quickly as humanly possible. Yeah.

Venue Layouts And Crowd Flow

SPEAKER_00 24:55

So speaking of hearing a song for a verse and a chorus, what's your style like and and specifically like the mixing? So for context, the like give us a little bit of context for like the non-music minded people that like we say verse in the chorus, and they're like, What is that? Yeah, yeah. I just listen to songs.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

Yeah, yeah. So obviously, you know, there's there's many different types of you know, DJs, and even in the wedding industry, there's different types of DJs where, you know, some will play the entirety of the song in full and then go to the next song, and some will go and do like, you know, one verse, one chorus, and then shift to the next song and you know, that kind of thing. I typically will kind of think about what the core of the song is, um, and make sure that like I'm playing the meat of that song before I go to the next song. Because a lot of times, you know, if you're mixing and you're going verse chorus and then you go to the next song and you miss like a big bridge moment that somebody might really want to be like singing at the top of their voice.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

You're only gonna hear it for context. The bridge is like not at the beginning, yeah. Might not even be at the middle.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

It's at that like 70% mark. It's like there near the bigger.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

So if you do verse chorus, you're missing the bridge on every song pretty much.

SPEAKER_02 26:07

Yeah, exactly. And so I usually try to kind of feel that out. It's again part of you know, feeling out kind of reading the room, but it's also just kind of in general, like getting a listen for the song. If I'm in a spot where, you know, things are really fast paced. Um, a lot of times I'll kind of kick into the next song very quickly just so I'm kind of keeping up with that pace relatively. Um, but a lot of times if it's like a sing-along song, I usually won't steer away from that as quickly. Because again, if it's a sing-along song and I kick out of it, a lot of times you're gonna get people are gonna be upset. Yeah, you're gonna get that circle of people that are gonna look back over at you like, oh, go on. Yeah, I know and the last thing I want is just a bunch of eyes on me right away. So yeah.

MC Skills, Timelines, And Vendor Sync

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Yeah, you know that's you've probably done something a little wrong. Never never in that moment. Yeah. Um, for the DJ who feels like, man, I've just really been like letting full songs play out. I would love to try to like mix a little bit quicker here and there. Even what you're saying, there's still songs that you're playing all the way through. Um, but where where do you get started in that process of like like talk on like the the stems, talk on like the beats, on on kind of like mixing songs that go well together, and like how do you know what songs go well together?

SPEAKER_02 27:27

Yeah, honestly, the the best starting point for that is really song organization and getting a read on your BPMs, which is your beats per minute. Um, you know, the the first thing of just song organization is really getting everything broken down by genre and everything broken down by things like, you know, I think mine are broken down by genre, decade, and then sometimes like overall vibes, which kind of age.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Like a drop-down for vibes.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Yes, like it just and that also just makes me sound like very Gen Z, but you know, right here. Exactly. So I'm with you on it. So like like some of mine, like I'll be like, like my categories will be like throwback jams, and it'll be like 2010s vibes and stuff. And I'm like, man, if you know somebody looked at this, they would definitely be like 2010s were it was a good time. Yeah, you know, it was homecoming energy. So, you know, so a lot of that stuff, you know, I break it down so that I have that idea of knowing, okay, you know, these are those songs that like might have that higher BPM or that higher energy. Um and so that's what how I organize a lot of my songs. And over time, with the amount of weddings that I do, obviously I have a read on like, okay, I know this song is faster than this song, and so on and so forth. Um, but then getting a read on just overall those BPMs, that's kind of the best starting point before you break into like stems and instrumentals versus a cappellas and kind of doing that kind of nitty-free.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

So really just organizing like the speed of the song first. Because yeah, you're from what I'm hearing, and musically, like it's gonna be really hard to go from some like 90 or or 100 BPM song to something that's like 160 and like way faster.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Because again, like I've I've heard it done before where sometimes you'll go from like, you know, a song that's like 160 beats per minute, and then you have one where you're like, man, okay, somebody really wants this song that's 90 beats per minute. Maybe if I kick it up to 160 and I s and I transition to it, it might sound good. And then you do it and you're like, oh no, I've turned it into a TikTok song, like those ones that are like the sped up TikTok sounds. Um, and you know, it works in some instances, and then again, some of them you get the eyes. So I'm trying, you know, to avoid that. But you know, it's it's one of those things where you're just kind of reading for those BPMs and just, you know, trying to stay as organized as possible whenever you're starting with that kind of general mixing. Um, but again, it also really just kind of falls to into getting a feel for what the couple wants. A lot of times I'll get with a couple and be like, what is the vibe that you want on the dance floor? You know, do you want a ton of mixing? Do you want a little bit more of a calmer type of mixing where it's just kind of floating from song to song? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Do you feel like they they have a concept of even what that feels like?

SPEAKER_02 30:04

I usually kind of break it down a little bit so that I'm not like getting too like speaking in a different language to do that.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

I know, because we talk music and you're like BPM and this and that, and they're like keys, and they're like, uh like you're gonna have a piano? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:19

And so I never I never want to go like full like Calvin Harris on a couple because then it just makes it seem like I'm trying to like, you know, you're like mansplaining Djang to somebody. Yeah, yeah. And so usually I'll be like you know, usually whenever I ask kind of overall like what kind of general vibe they're looking for, whenever it kicks into the party and they explain what they're looking for, I usually can get that answer without really having to ask the specifics of what we're saying right now. Yeah. Yeah, into getting into the science of it all. Um so that helps a little bit for sure.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Do you do you find that you're kind of like mixing styles quite a bit? Like you have a little bit of a faster-paced kind of couple and you have like a little bit of a slower-paced couple.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Yeah, a lot of times for sure. You know, especially, you know, with the faster-paced couple, slower-paced couple, but also too with just different genres. Um, you know, we're in an area here specifically where a lot of people have an eclectic mix of different musical interests. Um, I've done a wedding before where, you know, the bride and groom had asked for a mixture of pop punk and homecoming dance songs. And I loved that description because they were looking for, like, you know, my chemical romance into get low, you know, or you know, that kind of energy. And so those kinds of things are the best challenges because they'll come to me and be like, this is the overall vibe that we're looking for. So, you know, that kind of thing is honestly the most fun, is kind of getting those those kinds of challenges where they're like, here are the overall vibes we're looking for. Try to transition between these two.

SPEAKER_00 31:50

Yeah, yeah. No, but I I can see how that would be fun, especially if it's all the stuff that they really do enjoy. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You sometimes can't go wrong if you're sticking to and you've put the work in and the in the front end of everything to get to know the couple, get to know what they want from their DJ. You know, as long as you're reading the room, you're you're probably in a good spot.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Um, if it is like you're at a spot, and I'm not saying you pick a bad song, but you're at a spot where you're like, that one didn't hit, this one didn't hit. I'm like, you're like, good grief, what is happening? Is there like a song or a type of song that you can kind of go to that maybe it's not like one of the line dancing songs, but just like a song that you can go to that you're like, nine times out of ten, when I play this song, it gets everyone pumped up again, maybe gets a couple extra people off out of their chairs.

SPEAKER_02 32:42

Yeah. It it used to be like the line dance folder. I would tap into that and be like, all right, cha cha slide, bail me out. Here we go. Let's see what happens. But the worst scenario is when you use the cha-cha slide to try to bail you out, and there's no one doing the cha cha slide. I will tell you, there have been times where that has happened, and I'm just standing there sweating, thinking, oh no.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

Mentally, you're like, good grief. On the outside, you're like, cha-cha slide, yeah.

Collaboration Under Pressure: Rain Stories

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Cha cha slide. Yeah. Okay, to the left, to the right now. Oh pick a different song. Okay. Meanwhile, I'm dead inside because, like, why is no one here? So a lot of times what I'll do is either, you know, look at obviously their must-haves um and get a feel for whatever the big core songs are and and try to tap into one of those because I know that those are gonna be the ones that might get the biggest rally. Um, or uh the the one thing that I I haven't mentioned yet, and it's what I really enjoy the most, is I have a request line that I put on a screen behind my DJ booth. And it has been not only one of my like most fun resources, but it does act as a really great bailout because those requests, obviously, they're coming from the people either on the dance floor or off the dance floor.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

Likely the people that are going to dance the most are gonna be like, I want to hear this song.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Yes, exactly. And so when they hear it, if it's a good song, they're gonna come up, they're gonna react to it, they're gonna dance to it most of the time. Yeah, and so a lot of times they'll text in those songs. I'll see it up on the screen, they'll come up there, they'll react to that, and that helps very significantly. So tapping into those, tapping into those must-haves, that's usually a godsend, more so than like, all right, let's wobble, baby, wobble. Yeah. And if nobody's wobbling, then you're like, You love a good wobble if people are wobbling, though. It's fun. Oh yeah. If if people are wobbling, it's it's a great time. Yeah. When nobody's wobbling, I always say, like, it's totally okay, you know, because a lot of times there are some weddings where, you know, there might be a couple people up dancing at a time, and a lot of people are hanging out outside, a lot of people are hanging out over at the bar, a lot of people are hanging out. And most of the time, like the couples will tell me ahead of time, like, hey, some of us are dancy, some of us are not very dancy. We really enjoy just listening to the music and we want you to know that ahead of time. And that's honestly, like, I'm totally cool with that. Like, my thing is like, as long as everybody's enjoying themselves, having a great time, that is all that matters to me. And so, you know, a lot of times like couples will come up to me and they're like, We're really sorry there's not, you know, 85 people up on the dance floor going crazy. You know, our friends just aren't very dancy people, and blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, first of all, challenge accepted. Second of all, like, that's totally okay. Like, are you having fun? Yes. Okay, good. Yeah, and that's what I always say. I'm like, are you having a great time? And they're like, oh my God, this is the best night ever. And I'm like, cool, all right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Uh conversation's over. If if there's a couple that's listening that's like that wants it to be a party, but is worried about, like, you know, it's obviously more fun when there's more people out and there's more dancing happening. But if they're worried about like what what would you say to them uh, you know, in this planning stage of like, like like would you say, like, hey, it's okay, or like, like, how would you kind of guide and direct them?

Choosing The Right DJ And Fit

SPEAKER_02 35:58

Yeah, it is totally okay in those situations that, you know, if if they if they have a ton of friends that, you know, they know that it's gonna still have that party vibe and that party atmosphere, but they know that their friends are more of a cornhole crowd, or they're more of a hang out by the bar and listen to the songs and sing along to them kind of crowd, you know, that's that's their friend group and they have that understanding of that friend group. There's been a lot of weddings that I do where they might have a four-hour dance session scheduled, and the first two hours they're hanging out outside, they're over at the bar, they're sitting at the tables, and there might be seven or eight people on the dance floor at a time. And then those last two hours, everyone jam-packs on the dance floor, and it is like Coachella for the last two hours. Yeah. And and they come up to me and they're like, We're sorry, the first two hours were kind of a dubbed. And I'm like, but the last two hours makes up for all the other ones. Yeah. So I'm like, that's totally fine. Like, if you're having fun and you're enjoying yourself for those first two hours and you're you're listening to the music, you're enjoying yourself, and I'm playing what you wanted curated, I'm playing, you know, what you were enjoying. Because again, like if I'm playing bad music while you guys are out playing cornhole, chilling over at the bar, you're you're gonna have negative energy in the room and you're not gonna be enjoying yourself either way. So as long as they're enjoying themselves in those other pockets and things. Now, if you come to me and you say, We want to have the dance floor filled from start to finish because we know that our friends are are big dancy people, yeah, then I'm gonna make sure that that is a thing. For sure. Um, but if you come to me and you're like, hey, we're not, you know, we're kind of a chill crew, we just want you to know that, then you know, that's that is totally okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:40

And I will say it is sometimes venue dependent. And I'm I'm curious if you agree on this. Because we've been at some venues that just they have a lot of stuff. There's like hang out on the porch, there's cigars happening over here, there's a fire pit, there's a hundred-yard patio that you can dance on. Or or it's like there's there's space all over. And and I feel like at venues that have that, sometimes if they're not a dancy crowd, people just go like this. Yep. And they just disperse, and you just like you're like left with like 25 people in the reception space. So if you're a couple that has a venue that might be like that, it could be that it starts spread out and then maybe at some point or everyone just kind of slowly migrate back.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

Slowly migrate back in.

SPEAKER_00 38:28

Yeah. Um, but I'm I have you seen that as well?

SPEAKER_02 38:31

Oh, yeah, yeah. And and that's you know, I I tell couples all the time, because if if I've been to that venue, like we'll have those conversations on our initial calls when we're planning stuff out. You know, we I'll ask them, like, hey, where are we planning on having cocktail hour? Where are we having the ceremony? Where are we having the reception? And then I'll explain kind of based on their itinerary, based on the order of the reception, even if I'm not the coordinator, because I'm 99.9% of the time I'm not. Um, you know, I'll kind of go over it and be like, okay, from my perspective, you know, this is where kind of everybody kind of migrates to, and this is where everybody reconvenes at this given time and and parties and has it's gonna look a little different at first. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And and I give them kind of that that idea of like, this is what you could expect. It may not end up going this way, but this is what sometimes happens. This is what sometimes happens over here, this is what happens over here. Yeah, and you can kind of set it up because again, not all venues are created in the same exact way, and that's what's amazing about a lot of venues. Um, but it it also creates that atmosphere where you know somebody can go over here and hang out, somebody can go over here and hang out.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

It's like a choose your own adventure. Yes, exactly. So it's just fun. It's it's a fun thing. I love when the dance floor is packed as a videographer, just yeah, throwing that out there. Oh, yeah. Y'all can dance in the other way, and I'll be right there with you. But it is okay if it looks a little different. Yeah. There's not, there's not like a one size fits all for how that works. Right. So you have in your business, it's like as a DJ, there's a part of you that's like mixing, there's a part of you that's like picking songs, playing songs, cultivating vibes, if you will. It's like a classy way of you know, you have the party going. Yeah. But there's a part of your business where you're speaking on the microphone. You're kind of directing things once the reception starts. I know for me, I'm like, hey, we've already connected at some point earlier, because I'm like, can I get a line out for the ceremony? But it's like, hey, Ryan, what's up? What's how what's going on? What's coming up next? Um, video, photo. We're kind of like huddling up, and you're like, hey, this is the plan, this is how we're gonna run things. Um, how do you, from the MC perspective, from sort of that like running the show perspective, how do you keep things moving? How do you kind of get all of us vendors on the same page, working together, and and really just like get the night off to a good start?

Showing Personality Online And On Calls

SPEAKER_02 40:59

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I would say first and foremost, itinerary is key. Um, if I get an itinerary from a venue, from a coordinator, or a lot of times I'll also roughly get an itinerary from the couple whenever we're going over everything. Um, that one is a huge piece of the puzzle. And then most of the time, then I'll I'll link up with the coordinator, or sometimes if there isn't a coordinator, I'll link up with the other vendors and be like, all right, just so we're all aware, do we know that like this is happening and then this is happening after that, and this is happening after that, and so on and so forth? Because there is never more of a nightmare than when I get on the microphone and say, All righty, folks, it's now time for the parent dances. Hey, you know, uh, please direct your attention to the dance floor while, you know, uh Jessica dances with her father, and then I look over, and the poor photographers and videographers are like in the other room and they're like throwing their plate down and running to the cameras because there was a miscommunication. And so I always really try to strive to make sure that like everyone is in the loop before any of that kind of stuff happens. Because a lot of times there will be moments where like, you know, you'll have like a relative or a friend or somebody in the wedding party that'll come up and be like, hey, we're ready for like X, Y, and Z to happen. You know, uh, can we go ahead and do that in like one or two minutes? And I'll be like, yes, but give or give or take two or three more minutes. Cause let me get everybody in on that to make sure that we're gonna do that.

SPEAKER_00 42:21

Which we really appreciate.

Systems, Backups, And Preparation

SPEAKER_02 42:23

Yeah, because it's, you know, I have had situations before where, you know, there is a lapse in communication, and you know, there might be a moment where a videographer or somebody isn't able to go and get a camera on something. And, you know, that is a moment where for me, like I'm making those announcements, I'm playing that music. Yes, that is a vital piece of the puzzle. But for a photographer and a videographer, that is something that's getting captured that is the forever thing. And so for me, like if if if I'm not passing that information on and that's not getting captured, well, that's a huge problem. So that's something that like I'm making sure that before I even get on the microphone to deliver that information to everyone in the room that we're all huddled and we all know this is all going down and this is all taking place. Same thing with ceremony stuff, like making sure that we're all aware, like, hey, did you guys know that we're tying a rope during the ceremony? Do you guys know that like there's this? There's so many new trends nowadays. And I love them. They're fantastic. Uh, where we're doing surprise fill in the blanks. There's so many surprise moments at ceremonies and receptions. And it's awesome. I think it's fantastic where we're doing, you know, surprise bouquet deliveries to mom. We're doing, you know, surprise uh voice notes to the, you know, to the bride or to the groom before somebody comes down the aisle during the ceremony. We're doing all of these different components, which are awesome, but I it's my responsibility ultimately to make sure that, you know, if the coordinator hasn't delivered that information, which 99.9% of the time they have. But if if they haven't told the coordinator, which sometimes those surprises, because they're super duper top secret information, sometimes that's just a between me and the couple or me and the bride or me and the groom kind of thing. I, you know, I make sure that like everyone's in the loop on that stuff whenever that time comes. Um, you know, I I've had instances where we've done, you know, uh baby uh pregnancy reveals that have, you know, we've made those decisions like 10 to 15 minutes before it's happened. And I make sure that I'm like, hey, can you come over here? And like one at a time, I bring a vendor over and I'm like filling them in them just so you know this is happening so that like everybody's in the loop. Because if not, then then that vendor's gonna be like, wait, what? Yeah, like what yeah, why did no one tell me that that was happening?

SPEAKER_00 44:46

Uh it's one of those things where like it it might be unfortunate that it kind of falls on you a little bit to kind of make sure that everyone's in the know. But from your perspective, I love that you're taking like a collaborative approach to it. Um, because sometimes like we just need to know that it's happening. And it's not even like we need that much time. It's just like, hey, we're starting this in five minutes. That could be all we need to hear. Yeah, it's like cool, we'll be there, we're good to go. Um, is there anything that these other vendor types could do, whether it's like planners, venue owners, photographers, geographers, um, I don't know, maybe even floors? Is there anything that they could be doing to help the DJ world like go off without a hitch, have less issues? Maybe it's a power thing? Like what could other vendors be doing to help you guys out?

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Yeah, I mean, honestly, it's uh just you know, just making sure that everybody is kind of in cahoots and in that kind of circle there, you know, uh like I mentioned before, whenever those things come up, you know, when we're always in communication with each other, being like, hey, this thing is gonna be happening and this is what we're gonna do. There have been so many moments where, you know, again, you're you're in a situation where something might be going wrong at a wedding. And nobody that's a guest at the wedding knows that that thing is going wrong. Nobody in the wedding party knows that that thing is going wrong. And hopefully the couple doesn't know that that thing is going wrong. But it's up to us as the vendors to make sure that that thing that's going wrong starts going. Yeah, starts going right. Um, you know, I've I've I had a situation a couple of years ago where uh there was a photographer friend of mine that uh we we had done a wedding in a backyard and it was in the middle of October, and they didn't have a coordinator, um, but but it was just it was myself and him and and his wife, and it was pouring down rain, and but the bride really, really, really wanted to have the ceremony outside. And we were like, let's make it happen. Like, yeah, why not? Um, but it's pouring down rain, so we're not gonna do it right now. Um, so you know, I told him, I was like, look, I I have my stuff out under this tent. You are in the house with, you know, the bride is in one room, the groom is in the other room, they hadn't seen each other yet, they hadn't done their first look, they were gonna do it during the ceremony. So that was another challenge that we had. We've got to keep them separated. And um, I told him, I was like, I will stay out here. We'll do cocktail hour at the beginning, you know, which is always interesting doing a pre-ceremony cocktail hour, get everybody all boozed up at the beginning, but whatever. And, you know, we get everybody there in the into the tent, you know, everybody's under there. We're playing music and everything. We're telling everybody this is what's gonna happen. And uh, you know, we we were watching the radar on like Blue Sky or whatever the app was at the time that it was like the super authentic radar. And we were able to see that there was this like 10 to 15 minute pocket where there was no rain that was gonna happen. And I told him, I was like, we got this 10-minute pocket, we've got go time. Yeah, but we've got to make sure that we can like get everybody moving. And so the second we knew that was gonna happen, we got all the guests out into the cornfield where the ceremony was going on. We ran them out there and we got the bride and groom in position. We kept them separated by like a like a wall of some sort that we created and we got them down the aisle, we got the ceremony done. We were making hand signals to the pastor to make sure he was like skipping over things so we could got through it all. And um, and by the time that like they kissed, boom, it started pouring again, and we were able to get them out of there in and out and get things done. And so it's just one of those things where it's like, you know, collaboration is it's one of the most vital pieces of being a wedding vendor, but it's honestly one of my most favorite pieces because it's it's those moments that yes, it can be stressful and crazy at times, but man, can it make for some really fun stories and build some great relationships with other vendors? Because then you really want to work with those vendors more and more over the years because you know you can depend on them.

Calming Nerves And Running A Smooth Day

SPEAKER_00 48:54

Yeah, and I will say it's so fun. Um, like I started this podcast um and then have had a couple weddings since like the first couple episodes have come out and since I've been recording so many. Um, and I went to a wedding with uh a new planner that I had met and had on the podcast, and also with a photographer who I'm like really good friends with, trying to get her on the podcast. Um, she might have been on by now. I don't know when this is going out, but um, it was so fun to like show up and be like, hey guys, how's it going? Yeah, like when you have those connections with vendors and um, you know, you you you're building those relationships over time, um, it makes the wedding day so fun. From from like a uh business I'm working now kind of mindset.

SPEAKER_02 49:40

Right. And then there's been some vendors that you know I've either been like vendor friends with and then later on done their wedding, or it's been the other way around. I've done their wedding and then they've become a wedding vendor and we've been like attached at the hip for many years. And those are some of the best relationships that I've made just over the years, are those where it's like, hey, we started working together and then I did their wedding, or I did their wedding, and then they decided, hey, I'm gonna join this craziness that we call the wedding industry. Yeah, and now we do a ton of weddings together. So that kind of stuff is just awesome. Like it's it's all one big wild crazy family and dysfunctional and in all.

SPEAKER_00 50:23

So um I think that picking the right DJ is imperative for what the evening looks like. I wouldn't necessarily say, and maybe you can agree or disagree on the ceremony side of things, a little less important. I mean, it's nice to know that professional equipment's being used, there's not mics that are cutting out.

SPEAKER_02 50:43

Yeah. You're gonna make sure nobody's phone is ringing through the speakers or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 50:47

Um so it's it's important to have the professional doing that, not saying that, but there is a huge difference in DJ styles, um, the professionalism that someone can bring to the reception side of things. Um, could you speak on like why it's important from your vantage point being a DJ to pick a good professional DJ? And then even like, how does a couple find the right one? Um, because what I heard you say before it might have been before we started, or maybe since we've started um uh community over competition, like you would much rather send a couple that you're already booked for that date to another awesome DJ, and they might have a similar style and they might have a completely different style than you. But um, there's gonna be like a good fit for a couple. So, like, I know I threw I'm like throwing like six questions in there, but to to clarify it's a good one, yeah. Yeah, to clarify like why it's important to find a good one, a professional DJ to do an amazing job. And then how are couples supposed to navigate and find one that fits them the best?

Where To Find Ryan + Host Closing

SPEAKER_02 51:56

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's it's very important because again, you know, ultimately the reception and that whole you know ceremonial piece to the puzzle is one of the biggest moments of the wedding. Obviously, we talked about it with the ceremony, walk down the aisle, you do your format, you know, formalities, all those kinds of pieces, and then you're down and you're good to go. Those, you know, that is vastly important. And you know, you have a rehearsal for it, you have all that preparation. Awesome. The reception, you know, a DJ can make or break that moment, you know, and you know, having a DJ, not even a good or a bad DJ, like using those words, I try to avoid using that. It's having like a well-prepared DJ and a DJ that fits your personality really can make or break a couple's wedding. You know, having a prepared DJ, meaning one that knows what songs to play in the biggest moments, you know, what song to play in your intro, knowing that it's the right version of the song. Because, you know, quite frankly, if somebody picks a first dance and it is, you know, a song by, you know, uh Morgan Wallen, but they want the acoustic version, you better be playing the acoustic version because sometimes the non-acoustic version might be not a first dance kind of situation. And that is gonna sound and look very strange and very embarrassing. So, you know, those kinds of moments, making sure that your DJ is well prepared, making sure your DJ is well spoken, because those announcements are, you know, very important, making sure that when they're doing introductions, when they're announcing tables, if that's a piece to the puzzle there, um, you know, introducing toasts, all of those kinds of things, making sure there's professionalism to that. Um, but it's also imperative that they just they fit your wedding well. Um, whenever you have those calls and those consultations with a DJ, the first thing that I ask, because a lot of times whenever I do these calls, the first thing that they do, they're like, all right, give me your spiel. Yeah. And I'm always like, I I struggle with giving the spiel because first of all, I'm not really a salesperson. So I'm never like, all righty, well, let me tell you about my DJ business of lovely. Yeah, here's my steak oil bottle. Let's tell you about it. Like, it's just not my thing. Um, so I'm always they're like sold. Yeah. And so like I'll hit them with like the, you know, the custom thing and talking about how like I really like it to be, you know, what they want and what their wedding vision is. Um, but then I immediately throw it right back at them of like, what is the vibe that you're looking for for your wedding? And sometimes they'll tell me in the description when they like fill out the initial form before we jump on a call. Like they'll be like, this is what we're looking for. You know, we want it to be a big wild party, or we want it to be this kind of a theme and da-da-da-da-da-da, all those kinds of things. And, you know, there sometimes are instances where I will be like, all right, cool, let's make that happen. That's a great vision, that's a great opportunity. And then sometimes, you know, couples will come to me and be like, yeah, that's, you know, I don't know if that's a great match, you know, and and a lot of times, like I you mentioned, you know, there is that community of DJs that I'm very good friends with. Right. And not only is it a situation to where if I'm not available, I can, you know, pass them over, pass them on to other DJs that I can trust will do a great job and have a prepared kind of product for them. But sometimes there are DJs that I know will have a better kind of match for what they're looking for. And so, you know, not all DJs again are the same. Uh, because again, I I think, you know, that that kind of day of the cookie cutter wedding DJ is very over. Yeah. And so that that's kind of really what I always say is like really make sure that what you the the vibe that you're looking for for your wedding, especially the reception and the overall energy, the overall thematics of it all match the DJ that you're booking. And and if not, that they're gonna be able to match it in some way, shape, or form. And if not, find another DJ.

SPEAKER_00 56:06

Well, it's like weird too, because like for us, for my business, Light Ridge Studio, they can go and watch a film. They can go and see, like, okay, here's here's this film, here's that film. Yeah, they can take the summation of any films or film that they watch of mine and be like, okay, I can see him creating our film. Hello, you're about to go with us. It's gonna be similar. Yeah. In a way, it's gonna be unique, but it's gonna be similar. There's gonna be story, it's gonna be emotionally driven, all those things. But for DJs, it's like so you play the songs. How do they know if you're a good DJ? And and honestly, like, or even just like not good and bad, because I know I know the good and bad. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:52

But even just like that you're gonna be a good fit or you're gonna do the like and and honestly, like that's why a lot of times whenever I'm doing a wedding, I'll try to even take like a 30 to 40 second reel at the wedding of like, you know, me behind the booth, jumping around and going crazy to Mr. Bright side, or you know, uh like I mentioned before, doing snow angels out in the snow here at Hazelwood after the wedding to show that like this is my personality, this is the kind of personality that you're gonna get whenever I'm you know helping you prepare your wedding day and at your wedding day.

SPEAKER_00 57:25

Like it's and I don't to clarify too, if you don't want the snow angels in the jumping for Mr. Brightside, you know that Ryan does that. And you know very clearly like if he's gonna be a good fit.

SPEAKER_01 57:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:38

So it sounds like from what you're saying, like if you're seeing the personality on social, on the website of whatever DJ that you're deciding on, that's gonna be really what they're putting out is what you're gonna get.

SPEAKER_02 57:52

Right. Yeah. And and you know, that that is honestly super key. You know, so we're in a big social media age that you don't even have to say that anymore. Yeah. That like you have to be putting out content because I can't tell you the amount of times for a while before I was doing that that people would ask me, like, do you have any videos of you DJing that you can send to me? And I was like, I don't take videos of me DJing. That would be weird. And then I realized I was like, actually, I could probably do that. Like, you know, you've got Insta360 cameras, you've got, you know, the uh the you know, DJI Osmo Pocket, you've got this. Like, there's so many different means of like me just propping something up, yeah, or just getting creative and making reels that tell the story of me DJing at a wedding. I did one recently where I was DJing down in North Carolina outside of Charlotte, and they had me DJing with a live drummer next to me. And so I made sure to feature that in a video where I was showing myself jumping around something different with a drummer next to me. And so showing that fact that it's like, hey, this is the wedding that I just did, this is why it was unique, this is why it was fun, and telling those stories, that's how I show myself DJing, just so it's not just like, here's me, here's like a you like it. You like it? Like, I can't even hear the music. Yeah, it's like, this is it. Yeah. Um, you know, because again, like, sure, I could do, you know, full-length videos of me mixing of, you know, here's an hour of me playing a wedding or, you know, that kind of thing. Um, but you know, my way is just kind of here's me showing you how golden retriever energy I can get sometimes whenever I'm doing a wedding.

SPEAKER_00 59:35

You're like, this dog is eight years old and still acts like a puppy. Like, yeah, that's Ryan.

SPEAKER_02 59:40

Yeah, that's Ryan at a wedding. Um, in a nutshell, yeah. And so that's that's kind of like where where I create that content now to be able to show people this is how I do a wedding, this is how I brand myself as a wedding DJ. Um, you know, and and that's you know how I create that so that then whenever people are like, Do you have any videos of you DJing a wedding? And I'll be like, check out my TikTok. Or sometimes I'll have people that will reach out and they're like, Hey, we we were like searching for wedding DJs on TikTok, and we saw like this wacky video of you like jumping around with a bride behind the DJ booth. Some like there's been some where it was here at Hazelwood where they like saw videos of me like running around with a bride, like where they had like those like sunglasses on and stuff, and they were like, We saw that and we were sold. So, like, how do we book?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:26

And I will say, like, I don't think that everyone, every couple is like a jump on a call, do a video call, do a phone call with a vendor. Oh, yeah. But if you are concerned that it's gonna be a good fit or you're not sure, ask for a call. Because if if you're not sure, you're gonna get the vibes, you're gonna get the personality on the call. Um, and it'll be a much easier decision, I feel. Yeah. Um, not to say, not every couple, I feel like is the like jump on the call. I'm always like, let's do a video call.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:59

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:00

Because like I want to put a face to the name a lot of times. Um, and I want them to be able to do the same. Yeah. And I always say on the call too, I'm like, I hope at the end, one, you know more about my service, my category of service. But two, you hope hopefully you've got a ton of questions answered and you have a better idea if like I'm the ideal videographer for you. And we can kind of just like make it all transparent and not this like like weird, like, hey there.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:27

Yeah, I'm a vendor. Yeah. And we can bond over our pets too. That's usually the best moments as well. Is they get really apologetic because you'll be sitting there and they're like on the couch talking to you about their wedding, and their dog jumps in front of the camera or like knocks their phone over, and they're like, Oh my God, we're so sorry about Skip.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:43

No, I want to see more of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:44

No, give me Skip. I want Skip's picture. Also, is Skip getting a cocktail named after him? If not, he should. Yeah. And then I'll show them Jack and Crush, my cat. So, like, you know, and and I always do my most of my calls from in my home studio where I have literally a hand-painted uh painting on canvas of my two cats behind me at all times. So, like, you know, they get to see the full personality of like who I am whenever I do those calls. So, video call, I I love getting to do those. I love a good video call. Yeah, it's always the best.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:15

So, kind of keeping along with that like business mind, like speaking to other vendors in the like systems and habits. Like, what are you doing in your business that helps keep you organized and helps keep like you know who's couple, like the names and and all the details? Because you're kind of you're gathering a lot of information. You have like song lists and playlists and like specific songs for specific moments, and you want to make sure all that stuff is, you know, organized. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:46

I mean, everything has to, it's so crucial to have everything organized, to have everything backed up. Um, I mean, you know that from a videography perspective because if you lose footage, then it's not really a good thing. Um, so for me, you know, obviously, like I think it was probably about 10 to 12 years ago, I got I moved from doing like, you know, having everything on Google Docs or Microsoft Word documents to moving to an actual like CRM program and moving to an actual like booking software online that was cloud-based and doing all that kind of stuff where every couple has their own portal where they can go and they can, you know, book and sign their contracts and do their invoice and pay all their stuff and fill out their worksheet. And, you know, that has been such a godsend and you know, being able to use that to, you know, schedule calls and and you know, keep everything kind of under one roof, um, but also have everything backed up beyond that, you know, in its own way, because you never know if something were to go wrong, if a server shuts down and you don't have access to that. I I had a wedding one time where I, you know, I saw that like that particular website was down and it was it wasn't even down for maintenance. I just think the server had crashed or something. And so I had everything, you know, screenshotted and and downloaded onto my iPad, onto my phone, so it was ready to go. So having all that information backed up is crucial. Yeah. Um, and then having all the music kind of backed up to the cloud, backed up to multiple hard drives, specifically, you know, for the wedding itself, but also the entire music library that I have for dance floor music, for ceremony audio, I put all of my ceremony music not only on like a local type of thing, so like on my iPad, on my computer, to be able to be played, you know, locally on like its own thing on the device, but I also put its own kind of backup playlist on all of my streaming services, so like on Spotify and on Apple Music. So in the event that I, you know, don't have access to those files, or God forbid the files corrupt themselves or something go on, you know, goes wrong, I've got access to it there via streaming or offline via streaming that I can just jump on to. So having those backups and using those tools in their own way, fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:04

Yeah, if you're if if you don't have backups of things, like I I even like audio-wise day of, I'm like, I want to have a a tapped into the DJ system. I want to have the important people mic'd, I want to put a mic on the mic if you'll let me. Like, I will put audio stuff everywhere. Yeah. And still, there's some times that just like even with all of those backups, stuff happens. Yeah. Um, but what we're trying to do with those backups in your business, the backups might not be music files in six places, yeah, but it might be contracts that are printed out, or it might be um some organization piece that you have that keeps the client facing stuff top notch. And it sounds like from what you're saying, like you're doing all this extra stuff to make sure you always have access to the music that you need for the day of, and you're Going because of those backups, the likelihood of an event where you're like, don't have the song is probably not gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:07

Yeah. Yeah. Cause the worst thing is, you know, having to go to I mean, even the bride, but like, or you know, going to anybody and be like, hey, so uh what was the first dance song you picked? That's not a good move. So I've never knock on wood, never had to do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:23

It's like when you forget the person's name and you're like, how do you spell your name? And they're like, B-E-N.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:28

Yeah. Exactly. Cool. Same thing with pronunciations. Like, I I phonetically spell everything out on the like initial calls whenever we go over all of that stuff for like introductions and stuff. I will put down, I'll be like, okay, cool. How do we say each name? How do we say each last name? So that whenever it comes time to line everybody up and do the introductions, I know how to say everybody's name, at least somewhat. Uh, and you know, we can fine-tune it if we need to. Um, so all those little things are all kind of put down in those systems and they're all intact. Um, utilizing things like, you know, Canva and stuff for graphics that I put up on my screen, you know, all those different things just really help make everything, you know, fully set up to win so that there's not a situation where I'm setting everything up on that day and I'm like, ah, I've got this that I still need to do and this that I still need to do.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:17

It's just because you still need to do the job. Yeah. And if you're stressed out because you can't remember a song title or how to say a name, right? You're now you're like putting the fader in the wrong spot or pressing the wrong button or something. You're getting yourself messed up.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:32

It is just have everything ready so that you can go in, set up, and do your business and you're good to go. And it also, you know, keeps the the couple comfortable because you know, I always tell couples, you know, that one of the biggest questions that they have during one of the final calls is when are you gonna get to the venue? Because they want to know. Just most of the time, I feel like the question is to put them at ease so that they're not, you know, concerned when they're like sitting in the, you know, suites thinking, where's the DJ at? Oh no, it's two hours beforehand or something like that. And so I give them that heads up so that they're aware and they know what's going on. And I walk them through my process and I say, I get there 90 to 120 minutes prior to the ceremony. I set everything up for the reception and cocktail hour, and then I go outside to the ceremony spot and I set everything up and I start playing pre-ceremony music so that when people arrive 45 minutes early, which most of the time there are people that do that now. Um, everything is playing and everything is there, and people aren't arriving to a situation to where Ryan is still in a t-shirt and shorts, throwing cables everywhere and he might be in a crop top crop top hazelwood.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:40

You know, that might that might happen. Yeah, who knows? But we don't want to see the like lifting up of the speaker with the crop top and everyone just before everyone gets.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:50

Right. Yeah. And so that, you know, it just it's one of those things that just puts, you know, puts whatever I can do to put the couple at ease in some way, shape, or form. Because one of the questions I ask all the time on one of the next last or last calls is how we feel and go into the home stretch. And it's always one of two extremes. It's we feel great, honestly. Like we got everything done. Like we're we're still pretty. Or it's like, oh my God, it's gonna be a nightmare. We don't have anything ready. And I'm so stressed. I'm like, well, uh, you know, hopefully at the end of this call, like I can, you know, alleviate. At least alleviate the DJ some of the side of things. Yeah. And um, and you know, it's usually never like somewhere in between. And so, like, you know, that whatever I can do to try to, you know, calm those nerves a little bit in some way, shape, or form. And part of that is just literally making sure that I'm here at the right time, making sure that things are set up, and making sure that it's not a situation to where the couple sees me in a state of stress. That is never a moment. Like, even when I'm setting stuff up in that prior time, I'm hooking stuff up, I'm setting things up, and I'm, you know, got a smile on my face, I'm calm, I'm collected because things are prepared. Like that's like a huge key. And if I'm not, then then we gotta think about what's what led to that lack of preparation.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:05

And that mindset I feel like sets you up for success long term, as opposed to just like, hey, one event went well. You have like multiple events after that that are continuing to go well. Yeah. Yeah. So I can definitely tell like there's a lot that goes into finding the right DJ. And I think um, like we've said before, you're gonna get the personality from social media, you're gonna get the personality from some type of call. And I I just I'm like, if you're worried, get on the call and you'll see you'll see what you're working with pretty quickly. Um, but Ryan, it's been so great having you on this episode. Guys, this has got to be the longest episode of the podcast history. I have no idea when this is gonna go out, but it was so fun picking your brain on all things DJ, entertainment, business, serving your couples so well. And honestly, I just want to be at one of your parties.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:59

Oh, yeah. We'll make it happen. Absolutely. Yeah, thanks for having me all. This has been a blast.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:04

Yeah. So, where can people find and follow along with what you're doing in the DJ world?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:08

Yeah, yeah, pretty easy. It's at Ryan Smetzer, pretty much is the handle for most of my uh social media channels on TikTok, on Instagram. Uh RyanSmetzer.com is my website for the wedding business. Uh, so you can go on there. Uh, you know, quick little form for anybody that's interested in booking for anything is right down there on the bottom. Um, and you know, all the social channels has all my videos for everything that I'm doing with weddings and everything else in between with radio and all the other stuff that I throw in there.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:36

Yeah, is there a good spot that you would prefer couples to kind of reach out if they're digging like the vibe?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:41

Yeah, you know, honestly, they can always shoot me a message on any of those social channels, or you know, that that little form there on the website is you know that easy kind of formal way of reaching out. Um, but I would say, you know, good starting point is just shooting over that message and being like, hey, uh, you know, we saw such and such, or we heard this, and you know, we're interested in hearing more about, you know, having you do our wedding. And, you know, we can start the convo from there.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:05

Yeah, guys, if you're not thinking Ryan's gonna be a blast at your wedding, I don't know what you just listened to. Because seriously, I just want to be at one of these parties that you're gonna put on. Um, but guys, thank you for tuning in to this episode. If you're listening wherever you listen to podcasts, what's up? How's it going? Uh, thanks for listening. Thanks for tuning in. It would be incredible. It'd be so incredible if you could leave us a review and just let me know how you're liking the podcast. Um, even if this was the episode that you left your review on, leave a little like, hey, what's up, Brian? Because that'd be cool. If you're watching on YouTube, also, hey, what's up? Uh, I appreciate you guys tuning in to the video version. A lot goes into this video version. There's a lot of cameras, there's a lot of storage, and it's all so fun to be able to like see the expression and see all the stuff that's happening as we're filming these episodes. Um, it would mean the world to me if you could subscribe so you know that the new episodes are dropping. Um, you know, you can hit the little bell icon. Is that a thing anymore? I don't even know if it's a thing. Yeah, it's still a thing, right? Um, and then you know, just drop a comment. If you have questions for Ryan, that'd be awesome. I'm sure he would love to jump in. Um, and if you have questions for me or if you want to share this episode with your friends, highly encourage you to do that. Um, but that is all for this episode, and we'll catch you next time on the preferred list. Press the button for the fun music.