No exaggeration, this was the best money I've ever spent. I would give 100 stars if I could.
I love to dance, and used to hit dance clubs every week in my teens and twenties (for reference: that was in the mid-90's to late 00's, and I love... pop, hiphop, funk, reggaeton, world music - anything with a beat). So I really wanted a packed dance floor at our reception, but wasn't sure we could/should spend so much on a band. As the date got closer, I couldn't resist and decided to check into it. I think we contacted JJ&T Entertainment only 6 weeks before the wedding! We sent a list of some of our favorite artists to give an idea of our music preferences, and they quickly replied with several options.
All of the bands they sent us looked cool, but we were most impressed by Nightlife's very professional video. They seemed high-energy without being too cheesy, and their video showed they could do a wide range of styles of music.
Nightlife turned out to be AMAZING. It was cold, rainy and muddy, plus there was a bad generator cord so the power kept flickering in the tent. But they were such pros that they saved the whole evening.
After the ceremony, we went into the house for family photos - and I was worried because the weather had slowed down the caterers and appetizers hadn't been served yet. But when I peeked outside, I was surprised to see the tent was already rocking - Nightlife had everyone jumping around.
This band is so engaging!! They came out and mingled with everyone and kept the energy high. The kids loved them - one 9-year old guest was entranced by the singers and copying their dance moves, and next thing I knew they had her up on stage with them! We had a wide range of guests - blue-collar folks, teachers, lawyers, millenials, Gen Xers, boomers, and grandmas in their 80's - and they were all bopping around. My shy relatives, who answered their invites with "I'll come as long as you don't make me dance," were grooving all night. Even my groom's Southern Baptist cousins got on the floor! (I should also mention that the band kept a good eye on the crowd... when the grandmas went to bed and the college friends brought out the jello shots, the music shifted accordingly).
When the band took a well-deserved break, they put on a bunch of artists we had mentioned we liked - I think they'd created a custom playlist of recordings for us!
We had lots of changes to the schedule due to the weather: we had to cancel the end-of-the-night bonfire, and everything was running an hour behind. And because the wedding was on the same date as the March for Science, we did a "wedding march for science" thing that we didn't really explain to the band in advance. But the musicians rolled with all the craziness seamlessly and cheerfully!
Throughout the night, everyone kept saying, "Where did you find this band?" By the end of the night, they were saying, "Best wedding EVER!!" And I don't think they were doing this just to flatter us, either - many folks stayed much later than expected, and got hotel rooms instead of driving home as planned.
It was a FANTASTIC experience overall. I am just hoping that my newly engaged friend will hire Nightlife so I can dance my tail off again soon!