Yesterday I was at my parents house, relaxing in the amazing Minnesota spring day, and talking about the wedding. We were just discussing some of the details when my mom says, "Al (my dad), did you talk to Jen about what you were thinking?" Dad, "No." Mom, "Oh, well you should tell her." Me, "Uh oh."
So my dad then goes to tell me that he doesn't think we should try to DJ our own wedding and how important it is to have a DJ to get and keep people dancing. And how the bride and groom shouldn't have to work to DJ their own wedding and blah blah blah. All valid points and concerns. But not what I wanted to hear. And it was totally cramping on my chill spring day! Geuze, mom and dad!
Of course as my dad is saying all this I'm beginning to think "Oh my god...what if hes right!? What if we have a horrible play list and no one is dancing and then we have to work all night to try and get the right music on so people dance and this is going to RUIN our wedding!!!! AAAHH!!" (or something generally along these freak-out lines.) But that only lasted a moment.
And then was followed by a moment of calm and clear thinking where I went on to tell my dad that yes, those are valid concerns. DJs do offer a lot and can make for a really great and hoppin dance floor, but I don't think it means that DJing our wedding is impossible or even that hard. DJing our wedding simply means that we have to put it more work ahead of time to make sure we have an awesome, versatile, all age friendly, and easy to maneuver playlist. So I said, "Dad, I'm glad you are thinking about this and trying to make sure everything works out well, but we want to try to do it ourselves. So I'd really appreciate your help in making it work. You can help us put together songs that you like to dance to and that you think other people would like, too."
I felt so growed up! Instead of freaking out and letting my insecurities get the best out of me I thanked him for his thoughts and then asked him to get behind our ideas and put his energy into what we want to make it work as best as we can. *high five, me!*
(Of course then I went home and spent additional time freaking out and asking the mister if he was sure we were making the right choice in trying to do the music ourselves and going over all my insecurities again. But it was only temporary!)
Today I sent my dad the wonderful post from A Practical Wedding on How to DJ Your Wedding With An Ipod. I hope it helps him get on board. Because I don't want to spend the extra 600 bucks for a DJ when I feel that it is totally doable to provide our own music. And DJs do not guarantee anything. I've seen some great DJs who definitely rocked the floor, but I've seen some total duds who looked like they just graduated from DJing children's birthday parties. Hired DJs are hit or miss... so why not save some dough and take a crack at it ourselves?
So that was my growed up wedding planning moment. I hope to see more of those in the near future!
(Photo from Lori Elizabeth)
