Prospect Park Picnic House Wedding
Brooklyn, NY for Gabriella & Alan
Gabbie and Alan had an amazing Prospect Park Picnic House wedding that included a mariachi band, a 13 piece big band and yours truly behind the turntables. It was really great.
I was introduced to the couple through my friend Dave who was Alan's best man and friend since childhood. Dave is the owner of several bars and nightclubs in Brooklyn and I first met him when I DJed at one of them.
This Prospect Park Picnic House Wedding started outside on a green lawn overlooking beautiful Prospect Park. There was a jazz quartet, that included Alan's dad, playing while guests were seated. The officiant was a longtime friend and minister of Alan's family. I had a mic set up for her.
The plan for the recessional music was for the mariachi band to play after the ceremony was done. Well, the ceremony was about to come to an end and there was no mariachi band. I was about to have a heart attack! I was searching through my computer for something like mariachi music.
The ceremony ended and the couple just stood there. 5 seconds later a mariachi band walked out from behind a building and started to play. Ha! It worked out great and I'm sure I was the only one worried.
Next up everyone headed inside for cocktail hour while the mariachi band played traditional songs. I noticed they were singing so I provided them with a mic. They sounded great.
After cocktail hour I announced everyone into the room. The wedding party really had fun with it. The announcements concluded with Gabbie and Alan who came into the room to "You and I" by Rick James. Great song choice! They danced for about a minute while their guests cheered and then they did their first dance to "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Frank Sinatra.
After the first dance were parent dances. Gabbie danced to "Es Mi Nina Bonita" by Vicente Fernandez with her dad and Alan danced to Sinatra's version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" with his mom. When they finished, everyone sat for dinner and the big band began.
I was very impressed with the Eyal Vilner Big Band and spoke to the leader Eyal before the event. I brought an extra sound board and all 13 pieces of the band ran through my system. It was my first time providing sound for such a big group and I had fun with it. Best of all, they sounded great!
During dinner there was a dance set before the main course when the big band played. During the main course we did toasts. They were all great and one was by my friend Dave. The couple had me announce it was one of their friends' wedding anniversary and that the following day was Gabbie's dad's birthday. That got a big round of applause.
After dinner we really got this Prospect Park Picnic House Wedding going with a great dance set. They asked for a mix of rock, salsa and 80's throwbacks. I prepared some songs I thought would work (and did) and improvised based on their guest's reactions. They were a fun crowd who liked to dance and kept going until the very end.
The last two songs of the night were "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra. I often get asked to play these songs together and why wouldn't I? This is New York City, people.
I'd like to thank Dave for referring Gabbie and Alan to me and thank the couple for the chance to celebrate with them at their Prospect Park Picnic House Wedding. I had such a great time. Here is what Gabbie wrote on my WeddingWire page:
Ben is organized, thoughtful, a team player, excellent coordinator and most of all, an excellent DJ! - Gabbie
All photos by Le Image who I have had the pleasure of working with many times. They also did video at the event.
Dave
