The weekend kicked off in style with the wedding celebration of Katie & James at Chelsfield Lakes Golf Centre on Saturday. Katie had provided a playlist containing a massive 180 songs !! …that’s actually enough for about 3 disco’s, but what was evident from the list that this was going to be big night of family favourites.
Katie & James Blackwell – Chelsfield Lakes Golf Centre, Orpington 7/9/2013
venue – website
package: – plug & play
music preferences: – Party Classics, Guest Requests
all images on this website: – © choicedj.co.uk & soundproofweddings.co.uk
Katie and James
Katie and James had already married in a quiet ceremony at Westminster a couple of weeks beforehand …so this was the main celebration from that day.
I’d played golf at Chelsfield Lakes previously but never worked there, so arrived just before 5pm for the set up with the evening guests due from about 630pm onwards. There was already quite a few members of the family there setting up the room as we gained access, for DJ’s playing here the access is very straight forward as you can pull right upto the function room doors then its just a couple of steps and your pretty much straight into the room.
The disco sets up in front of the plasma tv which is a raised carpeted area seperate to the dancefloor, it works really well and feels quite clubby. The dancefloor itself is a decent size and with the set up being raised it enables the disco lighting to come down onto the floor higher than usual which is really effective. The bar is large and well staffed so you wont wait long for a drink and this also works well as adjacent to the bar there is a balcony area which overlooks the dancefloor.
The acoustics in the room are also really good thanks to the combination of carpet and wood and there is no issue using haze or smoke to set off the lighting, we used it throughout the evening to set off the lighting without any issues at all.
Katie arrived looking stunning in full bridal attire just after 6pm …and fortunately in possession of the first dance on a CD which was a song by an artist called Cleo which the couple had found on YouTube and not generally available anywhere else. We had already caught up and had a chat with groom James before the guests arrived, it transpired that he and Katie had met whilst he was on his detectives course and that he was also a massive Pet Shop Boys fan, he had seen them recently and has followed them all over Europe, so at that point I decided I was going to keep back the two PSB requests for right near the end of the night.
Katie leads the way
As the venue laid on some Pims arrival drinks for the guests we organised a microphone for the brides dad who was starting off the evening with a speech at around 730pm …and what an original speech it turned out to be. For a full 30 minutes he shared stories about the bride and groom in the form of a poem which he had written. He had the audience captivated for the entire duration which is no mean feat for a speech lasting 30 minutes but to do it as a poem made it that little bit extra special …every now and again it turned into a quiz show as he called forward both the bride and groom to answer trivia questions. It was original and interesting …bravo !
It was just one of many highlights as the first dance got underway …talking of which I don’t think I’ve seen such an emotional bride during a first dance as their song played, it was clearly a special moment for the couple as family and friends joined them on the floor midway through the 5 minute track. And from then onwards it was just one of those really enjoyable nights …with a great atmosphere amongst the guests and a good atmosphere with all the lighting.
After getting off to a lively start with a few party classics it was the younger crowd that remained on the floor as the buffet came out …so I stuck to what was going to work best at that particular time playing the best latest chart tunes over the past couple of years to keep the floor moving whilst the majority of guests were eating. Once the party kicked off for real it was party favourites all the way, we had virtually the entire crowd weaving in and out of the building to “Love Train” …not to mention bride Katie in hot pursuit of them with her video camera, and just when they thought it was safe to return to the dancefloor we hit them with “The Conga” to keep them going 😀 .Immediately after we had them on the floor (bride included) to “Oops upside your head” before testing out their shapes to “YMCA” and “Gangnam Style”. On the list were all the cheesy megamixes plus a trio of Chas and Dave classics …following the east end knees up it seemed only right to bite my lip and play “I’m forever blowing bubbles” which went down a storm with the groom, his brother and a few other West Ham supporting mates …although I opted to not play “Glad all over” as that would of been too much to take for a Charlton fan to play the Crystal Palace anthem.
Katie and Grandad
Next memorable moment was Grandads departure …Katie had originally planned to be on the floor at the end of the night with Grandad for a couple of Frank Sinatra songs, but with Grandad set to make an earlier than expected departure we quickly shuffled things around and invited him onto the floor to be centre stage with Katie as everyone circled around them, although when I called him up first “Bonkers” was playing the poor guy must of wondered what he had let himself in for 😀 …As “My Way” and “New York” played Grandad sang and cut a few moves on the floor …even dancing with a few guests along the way. It was a really lovely part of the evening, in fact it worked really well doing it slightly earlier because with 16 songs to go everyone was on such a high for the final hour.
The last hour was dominated by some old rock and tracks I had saved back for 80’s fan James including his back to back Pet Shop Boys as we finished on “Go West” and “West End Girls”, one of his favourite songs as he finished off the night the way it had started for a slow dance with Katie.
So a great first visit to Chelsfield Lakes …and all the best to Katie and James for the future after a very enjoyable evening back in Orpington, somewhere I know very well from my time growing up. Tomorrow we are off to the Surrey/Hampshire borders for a first visit to Lythe Hill Hotel for what promises to be a very dance based set of music for 90’s house and garage fans Gabby & Joe …so definately looking forward to that 🙂
If you were at Katie & Jame’s wedding how about leaving us a comment at the bottom of this page
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– PLAYLIST
First Dance Track 1 Cleo
What Makes You Beautiful One Direction
Valerie (Feat. Amy Winehouse) Mark Ronson
Respect Aretha Franklin
ABC Jackson 5
Rock Around the Clock Bill Hayley & The Comets
Shake, rattle and roll Jerry Lee Lewis
Jailhouse Rock Elvis Presley
La Bamba Ritchie Valens
Baby Love (Single Version) The Supremes
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher Jackie Wilson
Jimmy Mack Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Lady Marmalade Patti Labelle
Rock Your Body Justin Timberlake
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) Beyoncé
Pon de Replay Rihanna
Locked Out of Heaven Bruno Mars
Firework Katy Perry
Call Me Maybe Carly Rae Jepsen
Walks Like Rihanna The Wanted
One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) One Direction
Candy Robbie Williams
Moves Like Jagger Maroon 5
Give Me Everything Pitbull
Sexy and I Know It LMFAO
Bom Bom (Radio Edit) Sam and the Womp
Blurred Lines (feat. T.I. & Pharrell) Robin Thicke
Wake Me Up Avicii
I Gotta Feeling The Black Eyed Peas
Crazy In Love Beyoncé
Celebration Kool & The Gang
Love Really Hurts Without You Billy Ocean
September Earth Wind & Fire
Boogie Wonderland Earth Wind & Fire
Disco Inferno Trammps
Good Times Chic
If Ya Gettin’ Down Five
U Can’t Touch This MC Hammer
Ice Ice Baby Vanilla Ice
Jump Around House Of Pain
I Wanna Dance With Somebody Whitney Houston
You Can’t Hurry Love Phil Collins
Tell It To My Heart Taylor Dayne
The Power of Love Huey Lewis & The News
Love Train O’Jays
Do the Conga Black Lace
Oops Upside Your Head (Album Edit) The Gap Band
Y.M.C.A. Village People
Swing The Mood Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
Gangnam Style PSY
Rabbit Chas & Dave
Margate Chas & Dave
In Sickness and In Health Chas & Dave
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles 4-2-4
The Grease Mega-Mix John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
The Dirty Dancing Megamix Dirty Dancing
Thriller Michael Jackson
Come On Eileen Dexys Midnight Runners
Wild (feat. Big Sean & Dizzee Rascal) Jessie J
Bonkers Dizzee Rascal
My Way Frank Sinatra
Theme from New York, New York Frank Sinatra
Uptown Girl (Radio Edit) Westlife
World Of Our Own Westlife
Rockin’ All Over The World Status Quo
We Will Rock You (Remastered) Queen
Twist and Shout Beatles
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go Wham
I Think We’re Alone Now Tiffany
Footloose kenny Loggins
Club tropicana Wham
Go West Pet Shop Boys
West End Girls Pet Shop Boys
Marry You Bruno Mars
Sex On Fire Kings of Leon
Mr. Brightside Killers
Coco Jamboo (Radio Version) Mr. President
Achy Breaky Heart Billy Ray Cyrus