A few years back I had a student reach out since she was going to get married. It was a small ceremony in Los Gatos. She knew I was a dj so I was going to set up the sound for the ceremony and then do the reception. Then she asked if I could marry them. I never have done it before but they did not know any ministers and really wanted me to do it. So I went online and I was able to marry folks in California. As I teacher, I have no issues speaking in front of a crowd. We had a nice ceremony and the thought was I was in retirement as an officiant.

I get a lot of scam calls and I rarely answer a phone call when I don’t recognize the number. I would listen to the voicemail. I got one call then the caller called again. I felt it had to be important so I picked up. The couple was scheduled to be married at 5 today but their officiant backed out. The couple really wanted to get married today since it was their anniversary. I was scheduled to get my vaccine booster shot and to take care of baby.

I really wanted to help him out. Driving off to Gilroy would have been a lot of trouble for me since it was prime time at the freeway. He mentioned if we can do it via zoom. All I had to do was look for my script that I had and refreshed the names. I shared with the couple to see if they had any changes. The only change was they wanted their own vows. They got married in their car via zoom. You got to love technology!

I had a big school event after the lockdown. My last event before the lockdown was a school event and this event was a big school event in Palo Alto. 

I had posters made and students were sending their requests. I had three lists to work from and it was a good starting point. Student still wanted to make verbal requests so I just pointed to the posters which had the directions for requests. 

The school was awesome is having food trucks and they had a variety of different kinds of food. I was amazed that we were outside and everyone had a mask on when I started. I brought 4 speakers and it was loud enough for all the folks that showed up. It was plenty of volume for the outside venue. 

What I noticed was the request for older music. Typically at schools I play the newest latest music  but this time around a few new songs were played and songs from the 00s were very popular. I believe it has to be the popularity of tic tock which is bringing back the old school. The biggest songs of the night were by Calvin Harris which is considered edm or house music. The question of the night is house coming back? I remember playing it during proms in 2014 then it went away. I think playing a little of everything is fun so maybe it is coming back.

Overall, the chaperones made a huge difference. We had to make reminders of keeping the social distance. Students were very respectful and very ready to party since they have been lockdown for a while.

What Can We Do While the Pandemic?

Slowly places are opening up with restrictions. Eventually they will start opening wedding venues. When will it will it happen in California? We have no idea. It can be frustrating since in other states they are allowing it. California is conservative in that respect. But in the long run it just makes it safer for everyone.

Keep your guests in the loop about what is happening with your wedding and keep your vendors closer. Go over your music playlist and with all this time it will be flawless. Get your guests involved and ask them what they want to hear at the wedding and you can include the feedback on you playlist.

As your dj, I am keeping safe myself. I am home 23 hours a day. For an hour a day, I go on a run with a mask and filter on. I do see families walking without masks and I avoid them. I go through the backstreets so it is not busy. Anyone who comes to the door, I talk to them through the window. I have not mixed any households meaning I have not set foot in another house no anyone come to my house. 

 I have subscribed to a multiple music record pools to keep the music fresh and look for classics that will always be fresh. I also was pretty decent with making edits of songs but I have been honing my craft with edits by putting them out for other djs to use in their sets thus keeping editing skills up for your special song needs to be the way you like it. 

Times have changed. For two months I did not go to any stores and stayed at home. Recently I went to a store and it was different seeing everyone wearing a mask. I walked out the car with a mask and gloves. While waiting in line, I made sure I kept 8 feet away. Social gatherings are not permitted at this time in California. 2020 was supposed to be the year of the wedding. 

Below is an article from the Mercury News.

Anyone who’s ever gotten married knows there are a million things to obsess over. Misplaced rings. Keeping feuding relatives from sitting near each other. Hoping the band shows up on time. But Love Singhal and Sarita Jayantee Biswal are probably the first couple that ever had to worry about their Wi-Fi connection dropping.

That’s because Tuesday night they had Santa Clara County’s first-ever wedding conducted over a Zoom conference call, with friends and family witnessing the blessed event online from as far away as India.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez officiated the wedding from her office at the county government center on North First Street, throwing handfuls of confetti — made of shredded board of supervisors agendas — in front of her webcam after the couple said “I do.”

“It’s so hopeful that people are getting married right now,” Chavez said. “I feel full of hope to see Sarita and Love, who have been apart from each other for so long being in the same place and being able to get married and also have their family and friends being able to join them.”

Having their wedding take place on Zoom isn’t actually that unusual for the tech-savvy couple, who met in 2016 on Shaadi.com, an Indian matrimonial website. Singhal was living in San Jose working for Intel and Baswal was in Texas working for Hewlett Packard. When Baswal went back to work in India for a year, they kept in touch via Skype.

They were finally reunited in San Jose in 2019, but Baswal still commutes during the week to Southern California, where she works for Cognizant Technical Solutions. They got engaged on Valentine’s Day this year and decided they didn’t want to wait very long to tie the knot. Their marriage license was issued March 5, and they planned to get married at the chapel at the Santa Clara County government center two weeks later.

But the COVID-19 pandemic that triggered the shelter-in-place order changed their plans.

California law requires that marriages be performed in the physical presence of the officiants, but Chavez wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom on April 20 requesting a temporary suspension of that requirement because of the statewide shelter-in-place order. Newsom issued an executive order last week temporarily allowing virtual ceremonies, and this was believed to be the state’s first virtual wedding since the change.

As far as weddings go, this one was definitely a DIY affair. The wedding planners included Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder Gina Alcomendras, who made sure everything was done legally, and Leslie Chan, a multimedia tech at the county, who kept the ceremony running smoothly from a technical standpoint.

The couple decorated the wall behind them with red and white balloons and flowers. Guests joined the Zoom conference call from as far away as their native India where it was actually Wednesday morning. Phones were muted so nobody had to worry about somebody’s phone ringing during the vows. No band? No problem. Chavez played their song, “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, over the call as they danced for the first time as a married couple.

“Even in COVID-19, people find a way to connect, and to say in front of God and the world that I’ve chosen this other person to spend the rest of my life with is kind of an awesome thing, especially right now,” Chavez said. “I don’t know if it’ll be the wave of the future, but it’s the wave of right now.”

 Mercury news article

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 How the world has changed the past month? It was once easy to just go to a restaurant to eat but now they are closed for seating. We used to have face to face meetings but that not is that case. Everyone has been forced to use zoom. I have never used it before and I learned how to use it while I virtually attended a dj conference. A few days later, I was able to catch a comedy show via zoom. They are still working out the kinks, and eventually it will be flawless. During the comedy show you can hear this guy unwrapping his snack and you can hear him munching. 

  Restaurants had to adapt to the situation. They are only allowed carry out so they have been issuing a lot of discounts. I have seen one restaurant advertise that the food will be semi prepared and all it needs is to be put in the oven at a low price.

  How is COVID 19 change the dj industry? Currently a lot of full timers are hurting since they cannot perform. It seems a lot of them are streaming their dj sets online to be on top of mind and also to keep their skills sharp. Are Venues going to have their own systems and have djs stream music from their home if social distancing is still enforced. Let’s hope their internet connection is strong! That may be an option. With this new normal, all companies need to adapt till things get back to the old normal. We are all in this together and we will strive. #coronavirus #dj #wedding #venue #streaming #livesets