Sue & Ian’s “Lawful” Williams Barn Wedding

Of all the San Diego wedding DJs calling America’s finest city home, Sue & Ian chose me to DJ and MC their “lawful” Williams Barn wedding on Saturday, May 18, 2019. The following write-up is based on San Diego DJ Staci’s crazy organized & detailed outline for this Williams Barn wedding in San Marcos.

THE WILLIAMS BARN WEDDING CEREMONY

Prelude ➔ Classical, Piano, Vitamin String Quartet, Movie Scores

Processional groom then bride ➔ “Rhapsody in Blue,” Leonard Bernstein (play from beginning)

Recessional ➔ “Rhapsody in Blue,” Leonard Bernstein (cue to 10:10)

 

THE COCKTAIL HOUR & DINNER MUSIC

While San Diego DJ Staci offers couples pre-set cocktail & dinner playlists to choose from, Sue & Ian opted to use DJ Staci’s “Ultimate Big Band/Old Jazz/Swing Wedding Cocktail Hour Playlist” plus hand-select some of their own background music for their Williams Barn wedding in San Marcos.

Cocktail/Dinner Music ➔ Big Band/Old Jazz/Swing, Reggae, Post Modern Jukebox, “Say Hey I Love You” Michael Franti, “Chains of Love” Erasure, “Blinded by Science” Thomas Dolby, “Groove is in the Heart,” Shoop – Salt N Pepa

 

THE WILLIAMS BARN WEDDING RECEPTION

My Welcome ➔ “Good evening! Welcome to Sue & Ian’s wedding reception!!! I am the Master of Ceremonies, DJ Staci. Please take your seats so we can officially welcome our guests of honor. If you need to charge your devices, I do have a mini charging station up here including some universal chargers.”

“This afternoon I’m going to be sharing a lot of stories about Sue &  Ian with you. To get rolling, lets tackle the first ‘I love you.’ They were at an evening event at the San Diego Zoo. The zoo was all decorated with Christmas lights. A few days earlier, Sue had sent Ian a mooshy Cole Porter song…she had worried that it might have been too much. But, there in front of the flamingos, Ian told Sue that he loved her for the first time. She said she loved him too…awwww. Ladies & gentlemen, are you ready to welcome our guests of honor?”

Grand Entrance

➔ “Rhapsody in Blue,” Leonard Bernstein (cued to 11:15) ➔  “They met in January 2014 when Sue was a short-term legal intern for the Family Law Facilitators office, while Ian was working in the business office. She was intrigued at first sight and kept trying to figure out how to get him to talk to her. A year and a half later, after little success, Sue returned to that same office as a law clerk. She was secretly thrilled to see Ian was still working there…but she still had no success turning his head.”

“Fast forward to Sues first attorney job—and she returned as often as possible to the facilitators office where Ian worked to file paperwork. She would make any excuse to drop paperwork off in hopes of getting to see him. Finally, they started making small talk, and Sue got Ian to tell her a little about himself. Then, at a certain notorious north county legal community Christmas party, Sue ran into Ian  they haven’t stopped talking since!”

“Together they enjoy escape rooms, street fairs, movies at Cinepolis, Balboa Park, riding bikes, museums, road trips, geeking out over obscure legal things, antiquing, looking at homes for sale with no intention of actually buying them, concerts, and plays. They are planning a honeymoon to ahu. And, as you may have guessed…one of their first big dates was to a concert where Rhapsody in Blue  was performed! Ladies &  gentlemen, get on your feet to welcome–for the FIRST TIME EVER–Sue and Ian B—-!!!”

➔ First Dance ➔ The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson ➔ fade early: no ➔  “On April 6, 2018, at Vintana restaurant in Escondido, two people who are very skeptical about marriage—to say the least—were enjoying a lovely dinner. After dinner, Ian made a little speech to Sue…and got down on one knee to ask her a very important question. She was thrilled! We know how she answered because we are about to welcome Sue and Ian to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.”

➔ Newlywed Brief Welcome/Thank You Speech ➔ yes

➔ Toasts ➔ pre-set champagne ➔ “Ladies & gentlemen, its time for the toasts. Please welcome our first speaker:”

➔ Father of the Groom, George

➔ Daughter of the Bride, Mad-ah-lynn

➔ Sister of the Bride, Kathy

➔ Sue’s father’s best friend, Carl…who was there when Sue’s parents first met

➔ Ian Parent Dance ➔ “At Last,” Etta James ➔ fade early: no ➔ “Ian says, ‘I admire my mom for her tenacity, high standards, and ethical integrity.’ Likewise, he remembers his dad throwing him across the pool when he was a little kid, screaming, ‘Its the Incredible Hulk!’ Ian remembers his dad bringing him to the office to play while he was working long hours. Now let’s welcome Ian & his mother, Ann, to the dance floor along with Sue & Ian’s dad, George.”

➔ Sue Family Dance ➔ “Moon River,” Andy Williams ➔ fade early: no ➔ “Neither of Sue’s parents are here with us today, but, in their honor, Sues children Alex, Robert, &  Mad-ah-lynn as well as her sister Kathy will honor their energy, humor, curiosity, and sense of the absurd with a special dance. On January 18, 1964, Sues parents danced to ‘Moon River’  at their wedding. Today we honor their song. This one is for Sue’s parents who loved adventures, laughter,  telling stories.”

➔ Group Photo on Dance Floor: yes

➔ Open Dancing

➔ Formal Cake Cutting ➔ Cake – “Love You Madly” ➔ “The newlyweds would like to present the first slice of wedding cake to friend of the family, Carl G.”

➔ Garter Removal ➔ “Brick House” – Commodores

➔ Garter Toss ➔ “Womanizer” – Britney Spears

➔ Bouquet Toss ➔ “Single Ladies” – Beyonce

➔ Longest Married Couple Dance ➔ “Stand By Me,” Ben E King

5:55 p.m ➔ Last Dance ➔ “You Sexy Thing” – Hot Chocolate

 

SUE & IAN’S DANCE MUSIC RECIPE

Dance Music Rating ➔ PG-13 (like radio edits of songs)

Priority During Dancing ➔ maximum dancing/use my expertise to read the crowd

Dance Songs Should Be ➔ reasonable amount of each song played before mixing out = more dance songs total for the night, more & fancy DJ mixing fun

Play A Lot ➔ Top 40/Pop, Motown/Funk, Electronic Dance Music/Daft Punk, 2000s

Play A Few ➔ Disco, 80s, 90s, Rap, Slow Dances (1. Dream a Little Dream of Me, Mama Cass)

 

 

♥ M U S T – P L A Y S ♥

1. “Creep” (Radiohead cover), Post Modern Jukebox, 2. Uptown Funk – Bruno Mars, 3. Im Sexy & I Know It – LMFAO, 4. Cheap Thrills – Sia, 5. Gold Digger – Kanye West, 6. Wobble, 7. Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke, 8. Cant Stop the Feeling – Justin Timberlake, 9. Mambo No. 5 – Lou Bega, 10. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas, 11. Lets Get it Started – Black Eyed Peas, 12. Happy – Pharrell Williams, 13. Thrift Shop – Macklemore, 14. Turn Down for What – DJ Snake

♥ P L A Y    I F    Y O U    C A N ♥

15. Weapon of Choice – Fatboy Slim, 16. Lose Yourself to Dance – Daft Punk, 17. Thats Not My Name – Ting Tings, 18. Bad Touch – Bloodhound Gang, 19. Milkshake – Kelis, 20. Brick House – Commodores, 21. Rock Lobster – B52s, 22. Under Pressure – David Bowie, 23. Pen Pineapple Apple Pen by Pikotaro small clip, 24. Kiss – Tom Jones, 25. Thats What I Like About You – The Romantics, 26. Jump Around – House of Pain, 27. Tricky – Run DMC, 28. Push It – Salt & Pepa

♥ D O   N O T   P L A Y S ♥

Tween/Children & Africa, Michael Jackson, Beach Boys

 

WILLIAMS BARN WEDDING FLOOR PLAN

SAN DIEGO WEDDING VENDOR LIST

Here is the amazing team of San Diego wedding vendors I had the pleasure of working with on this William Barn wedding in San Marcos:

Venue Contact ➔ Williams Barn

Catering ➔ Costco/DIY

DJ/MC/Photo Booth/Lighting ➔ DJ Staci, the Track Star

Photographer ➔ Brett Alan Photography

Officiant ➔ Hon. Michael Washington

Cake Bakery ➔ Cute Cakes

Florist ➔ Suzy Long

 

Again, I was honored to be the one and only San Diego wedding DJ Sue & Ian trusted with their Williams Barn wedding. Thank you!