Wedding Reception in Brooklyn (DUMBO)

This Saturday I had the pleasure of performing at the wedding reception of Mike & Kelly in Brooklyn's "DUMBO" neighborhood.  DUMBO stands for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass."  The ceremony was held on Pebble Beach, with the reception following at the Water Street Restaurant.  Ambient DJ Service, with electric generator in tow, provided a sound system for the ceremony.   

On this warm, sunny early October afternoon, DUMBO was buzzing with activity.  The ceremony was held in a public area and in the midst of a cacophony of sounds (jet skis, dump trucks crossing the bridge and trains!).

Mike and Kelly are long-time friends of mine.  This artistic and quiet couple, originally from the same suburbs of New Jersey as me, embraced the lifestyle of New York City which they now call home.  They reside in a nearby suburb of Brooklyn with their cat "Lord Byron."  Like me, Mike enjoys alternative music.  He is also an enthusiastic fan of karaoke - and requested that Ambient DJ Service offer karaoke at the wedding reception.

The wedding reception began with a cool cocktail hour of alternative music, 80s and punk rock.  Thereafter, Mike and Kelly enjoyed their first dance to Iron & Wine's version of "Such Great Heights" followed by Kelly dancing with her dad to "Cinderella" - Steven Curtis Chapman; and Mike with his mom to "Song For My Son" - Mikki Viereck.  

For dinner music, I worked off a list of alternative, acoustic rock tracks provided by the groom.  Dancing kicked in hard after dinner to a mix of disco, 90s and current dance music.  A flamboyant guest who called himself "Burge" initiated the karaoke with a soulful performance of Gregory Abbott's "Shake You Down."  The karaoke performances became increasingly outrageous, with many excellent singers in attendance.  With spirits running high, an hour of overtime was commissioned, allowing the party to hit a new peak!

Special thanks to DJ Emm Bangkok for assisting, to Mike Z. and Chris K. for helping with logistics, and to photographer Tanveer Badal (check out Tanveer for NYC-based creative and affordable photography at www.tanveerbadal.com).

Key Tracks:
Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine (First Dance)
First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes (Dinner)
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg (Dinner)
Baby I'm Yours - Arctic Monkeys (Dinner)
There is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths (Dinner)
Islands- the XX (Dinner)
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - Arcade Fire (Dinner)
Brand New Colony - The Postal Service (Dinner)
No Sleep Til Brooklyn - Beastie Boys (DJ Choice)
Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (Karaoke Performance)
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen (Karaoke Performance)
The Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra (ballad)
Creep - Radiohead (Karaoke Performance)
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve (dinner)
Fumble - Architecture in Helsinki (dinner)
It Take Two - Rob Base & DJ EZ-Rock (dance)
She Don't Use Jelly - The Flaming Lips (karaoke performance)

ABOUT AMBIENT DJ SERVICE

Ambient DJ Service is a boutique-style mobile DJ entertainment company that enjoys customizing entertainment options to cool couples like Mike and Kelly!  Please visit us on the web at www.ambientdj.com.