Rebecca and Scott’s Wedding at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Being a wedding DJ based in Richmond means I get to work in all kinds of venues. I’ve been a DJ for a barn wedding, I’ve gotten to DJ for a vineyard wedding in Charlottesville, and DJ for a historic hotel wedding in downtown Richmond. When I arrived to DJ for Rebecca and Scott who were having their wedding reception at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden I didn’t know what nature had in store!

The Ceremony

Their plan was to get married on the lawn at the Lewis Ginter Bloemendaal House, and the weather seemed fine as everyone finished setting up. Literally, 5 minutes before the wedding ceremony was due to start clouds rolled in and the wedding guests rushed under the dinner tent as it began to hail!

The staff rushed to move the chairs under cover and as it began to hail harder they said their vows under the tent. A storm wasn’t going to stop this Richmond wedding!

The Reception

My DJ table had been set up on the porch which had a greenhouse-style roof. I noticed with alarm as the rain and hail got even harder than my gear was set up right near an overflowing roof gutter!! With some help, I moved to a drier section and decided rain nor hail was going to keep Rebecca, Scott, and their guests from having music!

As a wedding DJ, you have to be prepared to make things work, so I reached into my bag for supplies and taped an umbrella to my speaker! My main DJ setup was covered so I plugged in my iPad and let it roll! The couple had requested New Orleans-style jazz for happy hour and despite the rain, the mood lightened once the music hit.

Then The Lightning Started

At an outdoor wedding at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, it’s policy to move guests to shelter if there is a lightning storm – using my best MC skills I encouraged everyone to move inside as the staff decided what to do. It was decided to move dinner inside, so I moved my equipment into the house and we were able to do the welcome and toasts before dinner started.

The weather cleared after 30 minutes so I moved my equipment back outside and things were back on track! Despite the weather adding some interruptions, everyone was happy to be outside and we got the dance floor moving! Being a wedding DJ is always eventful and even dealing with a hail storm, I still love what I do!

Thanks to Caroline Lima Photography for being an awesome vendor to work with, as well as the staff at Lewis Ginter