At a glitzy ceremony in London last night (Wednesday 16th January), Alan Marshall was announced as the Wedding DJ of the Year 2019 as part of the national Wedding Industry Awards. Beating off stiff competition from the other regional winners in his category, Alan accepted the award in person in front of a large crowd of wedding industry professionals.

Recognising excellence across all types of wedding suppliers, the Wedding Industry Awards use a combination of client voting and industry judging to select the winners. The competition begins with nominations from suppliers, followed by a period of voting where their clients from the past year are encouraged to not only rate their performance but submit written testimonials. Each entrant’s application – along with their clients’ votes and testimonials – are then reviewed by a judging panel who select a winner for each area of the country ahead of the regional award presentations. A further stage of judging then takes place, with the panel revisiting the applications and testimonials of the regional winners, to establish an overall national winner.

This year’s regional winners in the DJ category were All Star Disco (North West), Sheffield Wedding DJ (Yorkshire & North East), Vibe Entertainment (West Midlands), Dream Wedding Entertainment (East Midlands), Sweet Vibe Events (East of England), Alan Marshall (South Central), Brian Mole (South East) and Iggy Davis (South West). The judging panel for the DJ awards was made up of Pro Mobile’s Editor, Eddie Short, as well as past national winners Mark van den Berg, Terry Lewis and Andy Murphy.

Based in Andover, Alan is a full-time professional wedding DJ who specialises in acting as the MC for a couple’s full wedding day. A regular participant in the Wedding Industry Awards, Alan was recognised as ‘highly commended’ in the 2018 awards and is overjoyed to be this year’s overall national winner.

“To say I am overwhelmed would be an understatement,” Alan enthused this morning. “After winning Highly Commended nationally last year, myself and the team at Alan Marshall Celebrations have worked tirelessly to raise our game to be worthy of such an award. Over the last year I have hoped, prayed and even dared to dream we could win, but when they read out my name last night it felt surreal, like time had stopped for a second, as those around me re-confirmed the win and I haven’t stopped smiling since! For anyone considering entering next year, I highly recommend you do – not only for the potential benefits to your business but for the feeling of elation I am experiencing right now!”

In addition to the main Wedding DJ of the Year award, South East regional winner Brian Mole was also presented with a national Highly Commended award. This was in acknowledgement of the quality of his entry and the feedback submitted by his wedding clients.

“Nothing can prepare you for that moment when Damian reads out your name! I am very proud and humbled to have won the award for National Highly Commended in the Wedding DJ of the Year category. This is not only down to a lot of hard work, but having the best clients, working alongside the best suppliers, in the best venues, for what is essentially the most important day of a couples lives. I often tell people this is why I really do have the best job in the world! None of it would have been possible without the help from my amazing colleagues whom I network with, and attend training with, so it was a double celebration to see my friend Alan win the title of National Best Wedding DJ. I am also thrilled to have seen many of my industry colleagues also win awards throughout this amazing process.”