Boho Loves: Disco Wed – The Non ‘Wedding DJ’ DJ Option for your Wedding

Wedding DJs, they can make or break a wedding! A harsh statement? well if you are into your music the last thing your going to want is a middle aged man playing oops up side your head, talking over the music all night! A Good DJ can keep your guests partying all night long, while a bad one will have them sitting down staring at their watches!
I have spent a lot of my life time in nightclubs, so personally when I got married the DJ was an important aspect of our day, getting married in Ibiza for me wasn’t just about the amazing scenery and sunshine, it was the whole clubbing culture that went along with it. If you share a love of music then you are going to be looking for something a bit different for your wedding day………a DJ that will guarantee a rocking night and a party atmosphere.

So today I would like to introduce you to Disco Wed, not only are they amazing DJs who have played all the major music festivals, but they come with their own unique disco shed……….Yes a shed! Weather your wedding is indoors or outdoors, Disco Wed have a shed and a sound system to suit your every need!

There aren’t that many wedding DJ outfits that surprise or impress me these days but Paddy and his team of amazing DJs have done just that!

I asked Paddy a few questions about the shed, his background and his wedding services, so I’ll pass the Blog over to him………….

I’m a full time DJ and Disco Shedonist. I’ve been DJing for about 16 years, getting paid for it for just over 10, and doing weddings properly now for about 5. I set up the Disco Shed with my friend Aidan ‘Count Skylarkin’ in 2005. As a DJ, I enjoy a reputation for being a reliable party rocker and over the years I’ve been lucky enough to play all over the UK and Europe and at some of the UK’s greatest festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading, Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend, Latitude, the Big Chill, Thames Fest and many many more…

When did you start?
So the Disco Shed started up properly in 2006, and Disco Wed launched formally in 2011.

Where are you based/Where do you cover?
I’m based in (sunny) Saffron Walden, but have DJs in London, Oxford, Brighton, Cardiff and Manchester, and we’ll travel anywhere.
We’ve been to every corner of the UK, to various locations in Europe and we’re willing to travel anywhere

What made you start your business?
I started Disco Wed a few years ago, literally in response to demand. People who had seen the Disco Shed in action at festivals or our club nights kept booking me for their weddings and it kinda grew from there. Through word of mouth alone we became so popular that I pretty much had to decide between that and my full time job in 2010. It wasn’t a difficult decision…
But because the shed wasn’t really set-up for events like weddings, I wanted to set-up something specifically for people getting married which still called upon the unique party vibe that the shed is renowned for – hence Disco Wed!
Ironically, I couldn’t tell you specifically what made me start the Disco Shed – all I know is that I apparently came up with the idea during my friend Aidan’s legendary house-warming party, and the first thing I knew of it was when we’d been booked for 2 festivals! It was a really good party… But amazingly we made it happen, and it’s become so popular over the years that I now work on that and Disco Wed full time!

How would you describe your style?
Ok, so we’re ‘proper’ DJs rather than traditional wedding DJs – by which we mean that we mix everything seamlessly and don’t really talk over the records. Obviously we’ll make announcements and things but essentially we just get on with playing great music, well. We can play all styles and genres, and always aim to work with couples to get an idea of the music they’re into (and not into!). So, we’re happy to have as much or as little input from couples as they want to give us – it’s their day and we’ll play whatever they want!
That said, we’re lucky enough to enjoy a great reputation and so are often booked by couples and just trusted to play what we like. And if left to our own devices, we’ll craft a set of cool, credible party classics from across the board that everyone knows and loves, just isn’t sick to the back teeth of hearing. It’s a fine line to tread but I think we tread it well!

What is your biggest achievement so far?
Hmmm, that’s a toughie! I guess the fact that not only are we still going but we’re flourishing and growing fast feels like a great achievement, especially given the state of the economy. But people seem to really like what we do, we get loads of repeat bookings and we’ve had some amazing feedback – I get pretty choked reading back over our testimonials! We’ve done some pretty cool gigs in some pretty cool places for some pretty cool people – picking one out wouldn’t be fair.

What makes you different to your competitors?
Well, firstly there are the obvious differences – I don’t think many wedding DJs give you the option of them playing outdoors (or in!) from a mobile shed on wheels with games, gnomes, visuals and a light show!
Beyond our unusual set-up options though, the fact we take a contemporary approach to DJing also sets us apart from many other DJs. By that we mean seamless mixing and no corny chat – we think there’s no bigger party killer than the old fashioned ‘personality’ style jock who plays terrible music in a random order and makes awful, pointless jokes over the microphone all night.
Plus we’re pretty old-school, in that we still play vinyl and CDs, and don’t just turn up with a laptop on show playing low bit-rate mp3s and looking like we’re checking Facebook all night!
We also don’t go on about our equipment (which is all industry standard, but we believe that as great as your equipment is, it’ll be a rubbish party if you’re playing bad music!) though we do take great pride in our presentation, avoiding any tacky clichés like star cloths and over-the-top lighting. Instead of showing off all our equipment, we aim to make your venue look as stunning and try to make our stuff fit in there as discreetly as possible.
Most of all, we aim to provide a relaxed, fun and friendly service and put the couple and their guests at the heart of everything we do.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Whilst I never set out to be a wedding DJ, and I’d probably have been mortified had I known I’d become one when I started DJing – I really enjoy it now!
I’ve played in front of thousands of people at festivals and don’t think anything of it, but I actually get really nervous before playing at a wedding, there’s an enormous amount of pressure which goes with it. I truly believe that being a good wedding DJ is one of the hardest jobs of the whole day – you’re responsible for about a third of the whole day, and the bit people remember. Even being a bad wedding DJ is hard work!
But with this extra pressure comes a greater sense to satisfaction too and at the end of a good wedding, there are fewer better feelings than knowing you’ve helped people celebrate the biggest day of their lives by giving them a brilliant party to end it with!

What sort of couple do you think you attract?
Well, because of our background in festivals, we tend to be especially popular with couples who genuinely love music – which sounds daft, but it’s true that not everyone does! And it does seem that festival-going types definitely seem to enjoy our style.
We do play for people who are concerned with keeping to a strict schedule and trying to ensure the day is exactly as they have planned it, which is fine and understandable, but generally the more laid-back, easy going and fun-loving the couple, the more natural the fit with Disco Wed!

What would be your ideal wedding to work on?
Well I guess it would be nice to go somewhere exotic and spend days either side relaxing on the beach!
I don’t think I really have an ideal wedding in mind – but I do know the weddings I enjoy most are where the couple and their guests just want to have a good time, are open-minded and willing to put their trust in you as a professional to entertain them even if that means dancing to songs they maybe don’t know all the words to, or maybe haven’t even heard before! As a DJ trying to entertain people this makes your job all the easier and generally means a better night for everyone!

Can you give me some information on your pricing structure?
Sure! We have three main options – the Disco Shed; indoor Disco Shed, or our DJ only option. For each of these just charge one completely all inclusive price which covers our travel, all DJ, sound and light equipment, and our time for the whole day – we don’t charge per hour or put a limit on our time at all.
So we can set up before the ceremony or meal and play background music during either (or both!), and our wireless microphone can be used for the speeches as well. Then we’ll DJ for as long as you like at night, though if we end up playing past 1am we ask for somewhere to sleep – floor space is fine!
We can also add on visuals and our festival-going lightshow to our indoor options for an extra charge.
A full price list is available to download from our website.

What is your ideal way to spend a day off?
Well running a business means it’s hard to get a proper day off, especially when you’re working all weekend! I like to unwind in the pub with loads of good friends. Or reading a good book and listening to some good, probably slightly weird, music! I don’t get to go out clubbing much these days but I’d definitely like to go and dance to someone else playing music! And if it’s a Saturday then getting to watch Match of the Day feels like a real treat (unless Villa have lost, again…)!

What can you never leave the house without?
My iPhone. Probably a cliché these days but it’s true – it runs, (and ruins!) my life! And if I’m playing out then I hate leaving my earplugs at home…

Who would be your 5 dream dinner guests dead or alive?
Wow! As it’s dinner, I think I’d just like to meet some of my old relatives and find out where I came from – I don’t know a great deal about my family history. That’s a boring navel-gazing answer isn’t it?

What would you do if you won the lottery?
Pay off my debts, invest in loads of top spec equipment, buy an amazing van and car and a nice house or two, put a bit aside for a rainy day and give the rest away to things and people that need it.

If you weren’t running your business, what would you be doing?
Well it was a series of ultimately dead-end jobs before I started running my business so I guess it’d be another one of those! If not, then I’d love to be making more music again…

To find out more information about Disco Wed go to 

Paddy Bickerton
www.discowed.com
www.discowed.com/wedding-blog/
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/discowed
www.twitter.com/DiscoWedDJs
07734 568038

• This is a sponsored post, but I really love these guys and hand on heart think they are great!