Having DJ’d for almost 14 years now, I’ve had the honor of working with couples that I actually knew on a personal level outside of just wedding planning, some incredibly well and some just in name. But one thing that does, for me anyway, is it ratchets the pressure level up a notch or two. I always go out with the intention of throwing the best celebration I possibly can, but having people there that you know just adds that one extra butterfly in your stomach.

This past Saturday, I got to celebrate with Shayna & Bill, the brand new Mr. & Mrs. Marra, at the Crystal Point in Point Pleasant. Bill’s sister, Krissi, is one of my closest friends, and I’ve known Bill for several years but only met Shayna when we did the planning. So knowing Bill through Krissi and having all of their family there, that extra tick of nervousness definitely kicked in a bit. But it really didn’t take long at all for it to go away. We had the dance floor packed as soon as we opened it and it stayed that way until the final note of Don’t Stop Believin’ came through my speakers. Between Shayna’s grandfather performing the ceremony to Bill’s mother’s heartfelt toast at the reception, you could feel the love and energy in the room all night and I was just so glad I got to be a part of it.