Jan (right) with Teresa

After two really grueling days this was just the tonic to sign the weekend off. This was Jans 65th in a 4 way celebration with her sister Teresa’s 30th Wedding Anniversary to husband Alfie as well as her son Neils birthday and his wife Simones birthday …got all that ?  😀

Neil & Simones first dance, June 18, 2011

I had DJ’d Neil & Simones wedding day last year, it was one of my highlights of 2011, a DIY festival themed wedding in a meadow at Farningham, Kent, they had hired in two yurts for the wedding. It was a very chilled out occasion with Neil getting married in a pair of flip flops with one of the yurts effectively a bar during the evening whilst the main yurt was transformed for the evening disco with uplighters, there was also a firework display to top it all off. I’ve still got my a momento of that wedding sitting in my office, a lovely hand crafted rock table decoration with their names and wedding date – it was a memorable day and a great night of dance music, on the night I discovered that Neil’s mum Jan and sister Teresa were very much advocates of Neil’s music tastes with “Born Slippy” and “Insomnia” being particular favourites …youv’e gotta lover her already – so this was certainly one to look forward to and I knew what to expect !

The stage this year was The Moat at Wrotham. This is actually a pub but it has the best function room that I have ever played in by a country mile. It’s fantastic and also a more than worthy wedding venue if you are on a tighter budget away from the commercial venues and hotels. So what sets this function room apart from the rest.

It’s beautifully maintained with stunning barn features, clean and perfectly laid out for any wedding or special event – you could quite easily forget that you are in a pub. The interior consists of stunning exposed beams and lovely wooden features, a lovely high ceiling and an exclusive side entrance. The acoustics in the venue are brilliant and with the ceiling being very high the use of haze for lighting affects does not cause any problem with the smoke detectors.

The DJ area is actually what appears to be a seated area when the venue is being used as a restaurant but it works really well and offers a number of different set up solutions. You can set up centrally with light show, alternatively you can set up on a slightly raised platform which gives a nice clubby type feel. The venue is also fitted with a projector and screen, this was used upon the guests arrival to project a mini movie made by a member of the family showing family photos. I have also been to the moat to DJ at a corporate christmas party and they did a similar projection with speeches so this clearly works as a multi functional venue for weddings, corporate and birthdays. Its location also means it’s very accessable from the M26 and M20 so not even too far if you are planning coming from slightly further afield. I have DJ’d at The Moat three times now and had a great night every time.,

scene from the lightshow

Teresa enjoying the glow glasses

Onto the night, guests arrived from 730, I played some background music throughout the buffet up until the photo montage slide show which took us upto 9pm. We started the set at around 9pm with some 80s Soul Groove moving into some 90s and latest charts before reverting back to some requested Rock n Roll midway through the evening, I saved the the majority of Jan’s big requests for the final hour and it proved to be one of the quickest 3.5hr sets, the time just literally flew by. It all certainly lived up to expectations with a full floor throughout the evening and I managed to also use up the glow products from the previous day much to the delight of a few of the younger guests. It was also great to see Neil & Simone again who were up there during the final hour of dance music, hopefully I will get an opportunity soon to meet up again with this crowd and also return to The Moat again for another event.

Article written by DJ Phil Webster 

Here’s the set list from Saturday, if you were at the function how about leaving us a comment.

Click here to see more photos from this event on our facebook group.

20:56 : Nu Shooz – I Can’t Wait
20:59 : Booker Newbury III – Love Town
21:05 : S.O.S Band – Just Be Good to Me
21:10 : Mac Band – Roses Are Red (feat. The McCampbell Brothers)
21:14 : Rockers Revenge – Walking On Sunshine (feat. Donnie Calvin)
21:18 : Steve Arrington – Feel so Real
21:23 : Phonat – Set Me Free (Avicii Radio Edit)
21:26 : Joey Negro – Can’t Get High Without U (David Penn Radio Edit)
21:35 : Porcelain
21:39 : Go (Subliminal Mix)
21:42 : Remember Me
21:45 : Dr Alban – Sing Hallelujah
21:48 : N-Trance – Staying Alive Remix
21:51 : Carly Simon – Why
21:55 : Heatwave – Gangsters of the Groove
21:58 : CC Peniston – Finally
22:02 : Armand Van Helden, A-Trak & Duck Sauce – aNYway
22:03 : Robin S. – Show Me Love
22:07 : Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger
22:08 : Duck Sauce – Barbara Streisand (Original Mix)
22:13 : The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
22:14 : Flo Rida – Club Can’t Handle Me (feat. David Guetta)
22:18 : Bob Sinclar – Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)
22:20 : Fedde Le Grand – Put Your Hands Up for detroit
22:25 : Jessie J – Domino (UK Radio Edit)
22:27 : LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It
22:31 : Bill Haley and his Comets – Rock Around the Clock
22:33 : Jerry Lee Lewis – Shake, rattle and roll
22:35 : Dynamo – Si Cranstoun
22:38 : Skinny Jeans – Si Cranstoun
22:41 : 50s Pin Up – Si Cranstoun
22:44 : Buddy Holly – That’ll Be the Day
22:46 : Chris Montez – Let’s Dance
22:48 : The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
22:52 : The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (Mono Version)
22:56 : Beatles – Love Me Do
22:58 : Elvis Presley – Blue Suede Shoes
23:00 : T. REX – Get It On
23:04 : Bryan Ferry – Let’S Stick Together
23:07 : Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love
23:10 : Queen – We Will Rock You (Remastered)
23:12 : Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (2003 Edit)
23:15 : Corona – The Rhythm of the Night
23:19 : Haddaway – What Is Love?
23:21 : James – Sit Down
23:25 : Blur – Parklife
23:28 : Daft Punk – One More Time
23:33 : Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. – Bang Bang Bang
23:33 : Faithless – Insomnia (Monster Mix)
23:44 : Rozalla – Everybody’s Free
23:45 : Goodmen – Give It Up
23:47 : Livin Joy – Dreamer
23:48 : Calabria 2007 (Club Mix) [feat. Natasja]
23:51 : Samim – Heater
23:52 : Happy Clappers – I Believe
23:56 : Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Intro
23:58 : Bucketheads – These Sounds Fall Into My Mind
00:00 : Gusto – Disco’s Revenge
00:04 : David Bowie – Lets Dance
00:07 : LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennet & GoonRock)
00:09 : Pitbull – Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer)
00:12 : Underworld – Born Slippy
00:21 : MGMT – Kids
00:24 : Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy
00:27 : DJ Ötzi РHey Baby (Uhh Ahh) [Radio Mix]