Jessie & Jeff

Jessie and Jeff got married on a Saturday, September 5th, 2020, at Twenty Mile House in Graeagle, with about 45 guests and a ceremony out in the forest at 4:30. Jessie first wrote to me in early August, a little stressed about getting all the music together in time, so we met on a Tuesday evening at Rolled Mountain Creamery to go through it. Afterward she wrote, "it was so nice to meet you and you clearly love your job and we are so excited to have you help make our wedding great."

Their music list told me exactly who they were: new hits, classic hits and a lot of pop punk, with New Found Glory, blink 182, Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy at the top, plus Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and some country. Guests found their seats under the pines to string quartet covers like On Top of the World by Vitamin String Quartet and Sweet Child O' Mine by Vitamin String Quartet, and Canon in D by Pachelbel. The wedding party walked in at 4:31 to Long Live by Taylor Swift, and ten minutes later Jessie and Jeff walked back up the aisle as husband and wife to Hold My Hand by New Found Glory.

For dinner they asked for Richard Cheese, the lounge singer who turns rock and rap songs into swing numbers, while trying to skip the more crude ones. I mixed his Down with the Sickness by Richard Cheese and Gin and Juice by Richard Cheese in with the real crooners, Just a Gigolo by Louis Prima, Sway by Michael Bublé and Fever by Michael Bublé, plus Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison and Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty.

At 6:08 the wedding party and the newlyweds came into the reception to Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake, and right after that came the group photo with every guest, which they had asked me to announce. Dinner music picked back up with more Richard Cheese, from Baby Got Back by Richard Cheese to Buddy Holly by Richard Cheese.

They cut the cake at 7:26 to Just Like Heaven by The Cure, then had their first dance at 7:33 to I Don't Mind by Defeater. Jessie asked me to fade it out at 3:15 instead of cutting it short, because "our favorite part is at the end," so I marked that spot with a cue point and let the ending play.

At 7:42 September by Earth, Wind & Fire opened the dance floor. A little after eight we played the Shoe Game with questions Jessie wrote herself, like who their dogs Riley and Lucy love more. Then the floor filled back up with Good as Hell by Lizzo, Juice by Lizzo, their request Paper Planes by M.I.A., Cupid Shuffle by Cupid and Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper, and more of their picks, Hey Look Ma, I Made It by Panic! at the Disco, Still Into You by Paramore and bad guy by Billie Eilish. I took the photo below during Paper Planes, with the bridesmaids dancing in front of the string lights.

At 8:55 Follow the Leader by Wisin & Yandel started a conga line that wound right past the General Store.

Later in the night came Raising Hell by Kesha, a song Jessie added two weeks before the wedding, and their request Classic by MKTO. At 10:45 Don't Stop Me Now by Queen went straight into Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and the sing along photo below is from that moment, with everyone arm in arm singing every word in front of the brick house.

The last hour leaned into their pop punk and heavier side, with Lights and Sounds by Yellowcard, Death of a Bachelor by Panic! at the Disco and Keep It Moving by Turnstile. The last song was New Year's Day by Taylor Swift at 11:50.

After the wedding Jessie left me a Google review saying I did an amazing job as the DJ for their wedding and that she would highly recommend me.

Davey Hibler filmed the day, and his wedding film is on YouTube. Woodmancy Photography took the photos.

Thank you, Jessie and Jeff, for trusting me with your music.