hiatus OVER

I went through a month or so of complete ambivalence over the wedding. I couldn't even look at a wedding blog (apart from APW, but that's different) or even feign an interest in talking about the details of the wedding. I needed a bit of time out. Hell, I was even looking at mummy blogs as a diversion - what's THAT about!

Hitting the four month mark has been the smack in the face I needed to get back onto it (much to my mum's relief - not the smacking part obviously). Refreshed and revived, i've had a red-hot go at a proper to-do list and man is it long.

Among locking in a DJ, rings, makeup artist, boy's suits, cars and doing the invites, there's also the post-wedding BBQ and six-week honeymoon to organise. So much for spring snowboarding!

i want this DJ

"Flashdance is an idea that has been brewing for nearly a decade... Way back in the day Whitney [of Our Labor of Love Photography] and Michael [our genius DJ] dreamed of having their own company together...

We didn’t get into this business because we thought it would be an easy way to earn a buck, we did it because our weddings were the most amazing days of our lives, and so much fun, that we decided to trade in the grind of corporate events, music festivals, and nightclubs, to make love and happiness the biggest part of our lives.

The music that I play at any event is determined solely by the people in attendance. I can confidently cover the last 50 years of soul, jazz, funk, & rock. More recent stuff includes mainstream and underground 80's, 90's and current hip-hop, electronic, disco, house-party hits, and dance music of every variety.

I AM NOT going to tell corny jokes on the mic
I AM NOT going to play trance at your wedding!
I AM NOT going to play desperate, crappy disco to try to “Please everyone”
I AM NOT GOING TO PLAY DESPERATE CRAPPY ANYTHING!
I AM NOT going to be an ego driven “artist” and only play what “I” want to hear
I AM NOT going to be a shitty wedding DJ!
I AM NOT going to play thug hip hop at your dinner (unless of course…)
I AM NOT going to play ipods/cds

I AM gonna play VINYL (remember that format?)
I AM going to play the perfect music for the mood of the people in attendance.
I AM going to be able to read the crowd and build the energy accordingly.
I AM going to seemlessly blend from dinner to dance party
I AM going to make you dance your ass off.
I AM going to make you laugh
I AM going to make you cry
I AM going to make your friends jealous.
I AM going to create lifelong memories…"

Sucks that i'm in Melbourne, and they're in the US.

Thanks to A Los Angeles Love for proving that it is possible to find a non-cheesy kickass wedding DJ.

Just need to find one here.

(image via once wed)

the journey

We're heading up to Mt Buller tonight. One of the many things I love about it is the drive. There's a soundtrack in my head for certain stretches of road when i'd drive up after uni each week, and a different one for a couple of years later when Marcus and I would use our days off to drive home from Buller and work on the house we were building.

These days with city jobs and a commuter lifestyle, driving home past endless green paddocks, little country houses and rolling hills is cathartic. As I fantasise at the laid-back pace of life in the towns that dot the main road, I often entertain the idea of living a simpler existence, but quickly convince myself i'd be bored out of my brain.

But would I really? is this kind of reaction just a symptom of living life at a pace where we think in weeks or months, not days, always focusing on that next thing in the future?

(photo by me, 2008)