Hilton Richmond Downtown Wedding Venue

Missy and Justin’s wedding reception took place at the Hilton Downtown Richmond, which is located in a beautifully restored Richmond landmark.  From the start of the cocktail hour, I knew this would be a fun group to DJ for on April 8th!

The Cocktail Hour

The cocktail hour was held in a spacious lobby area just outside the ballroom where the main reception would take place. The couple had requested a classy cocktail hour so I stuck mostly with classic standards and crooners like Sinatra and Dean Martin.

The Introductions

Their bridal party entered the ballroom to Avicii’s song “Levels” and every member of the bridal party had a special pose they struck together when they entered! I introduced Justin and Missy to huge applause while “Home” by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros played and they went straight into their first dance – “More Of You” by Chris Stapleton.  Before the welcome, Missy and her father danced to a custom song edit I created of Bob Carlisle’s ‘Butterfly Kisses’, and Justin danced with his mother to Ellie Goulding’s ‘How Long Will I Love You’.  Missy’s father Steve gave an incredibly heartfelt welcome and a brief blessing before dinner service started. The Hilton Richmond Downtown catered a plated meal and I was given DJ’s choice for music so I played a mixture of some standards, acoustic indie rock, and singer-songwriter tunes.

The Dancing

Before the dance floor was opened toasts were done by the two best men, the maid of honor and a bridesmaid. The bride’s father then put on a pair of sunglasses that were being given out, got on the mic, and said something like “if you put on these sunglasses no one can see you dancing” – he then had me play “Uptown Funk” and he got the dance party started, and they did not stop! There were even a couple of guests in wheelchairs who were out on the dance floor almost the entire time.

I only stopped the dance party once for the cake cutting, we then did an Anniversary dance to Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ with the last couple standing and being married for 45 years!

This was such a fun wedding – I love it when the guests are there to dance and party until the very end! I’m sure Julie J Photography got some stellar photos of the wedding and I can’t wait to DJ another wedding at the Hilton Richmond.


DJing is more than just showing up and pressing play. It’s also more than just knowing how to choose songs and mix them together. Begin a wedding DJ is about creating experiences and atmospheres. That’s what our DJing philosophy boils down to. We don’t want to just provide the perfect music. We want to create the perfect day. That’s why we excel in what we do. And this wedding was a perfect example of that. Working with this awesome couple to create the day they envisioned is something we’ll never forget. And it’s a service we provide all our Richmond Weddings again and again.