Malinda & Ben’s Wedding at Simon Hackett Winery
- Nick Dawson
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 5
“I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girl…”
Malinda and Ben married at Simon Hackett Winery.
The venue provided a stunning backdrop to their ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. We provided over 5 hours of music from the reception onwards. Here’s how it all went down:
Malinda and Ben's music brief was for: “anything like Otis Redding & Aretha to Bowie, Beatles and Queen, to 90's and early 2000s! We want our wedding and dance-floor to honour our love for music, to read the room, and to encourage people to dance!”
Additionally, they sent us a playlist with some must-play songs, such as:
"Praise You" by Fatboy Slim
"Gold On the Ceiling" by The Black Keys
"Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield
"Love Really Hurts Without You" by Billy Ocean
"Harder Better Faster Stronger" by Daft Punk
And a list of must NOT play songs:
"Eagle Rock" by Daddy Cool
AC/DC
Michael Jackson
"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
"Horses" by Darryl Braithwaite
"The Voice" by John Farnham
Every wedding is different - sometimes one couple’s ‘must play’ songs, are another couple’s must NOT play songs. That’s why we ask our clients to provide us with a general musical boundary of what’s in and what’s out, so we can ensure we play music that you want to hear.
Malinda and Ben welcomed guests to their reception,
to the tune of "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, which started the event on an upbeat note.
When couples choose cocktail-service food for their reception, we’re often able to play music with more energy without disrupting conversations because guests can move around the venue to their preferred location. We sound tracked the 2 hours of pizza service with upbeat soul, blues, pop and everything in between, including:
“Key to the World” by LJ Reynolds
“I Wanna Get Funky” by Albert King
“Fame” by David Bowie
"Tramp” by Otis Redding
We like to throw in a few surprises for couples that fit within their musical brief, so we played some other soul music, similar to Otis and Aretha, including Sly & The Family Stone’s “You Can Make It If You Try”, Syl Johnson’s “Different Strokes”, and Candi Staton’s “Little Taste of Love”.
Time for speeches, cake cutting and dancing.
Once the delicious pizzas were finished, Malinda and Ben danced to Otis Redding’s version of “My Girl”. Following this, we kicked into some older soulful tunes, such as “Twistin’ the Night Away” by Sam Cooke, “Shake” by Otis Redding and “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett
Indie music was popular too, including tunes such as “Sunday Best” by Megan Washington and “Banquet” by Bloc Party. Also, one guest danced past our booth and politely reminded us that “Broken Leg” by Bluejuice would be a great song to play right about NOW. And it was. We also received sneaky intel that Kings of Leon was one of Malinda’s fav bands, so we chucked that on too and it went down a treat!
We also covered classic rock, with requests from Malinda and Ben including: “Fortunate Son” (Creedence Clearwater Revival), “You Really Got Me” (The Kinks), and “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. An undoubted highlight of the night was Malinda’s dad leading a singalong to Matchbox Twenty’s “3am”. A fantastic, good-fun, memorable family moment.
As the night rounded out, we surprised guests with Ben’s sneaky request for “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine, which certainly got people’s blood pumping! Overall, it was such a fun night to be a part of and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Malinda and Ben said:
"We had the most magical day and night, and you guys played an epic part in it! It was honestly amazing, and all our guests raved about you. You completely nailed our selection and the music all night reflected us and our friends and family. Music is so important to us and we loved the passion and energy you brought! If we ever need a DJ in the future we know exactly who to go to! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
We're available for hire as wedding DJs in Adelaide if you think we're the right fit for your wedding.
Credits list:
Photographer: Mark Simmonds Photography
Venue: Simon Hackett Winery
