I found Ryan, the mastermind DJ behind Mixing Maryland, through my local Tuesdays Together group, and was really excited about his work and his enthusiasm to be a part of my Friendor Friday posts. Then this past week I had the chance to be a part of a Venue Show with London Town Gardens. I LOVED my styled shoot there this spring, so I was looking forward to being a part of it and meeting other awesome vendors. Near the end of the show, things began to wind down. Michelle had come with me to the show, and had mentioned being excited to chat with Adora Films about their videography business. As Michelle talked to them, I made my way back to my own booth. Not long afterwards, the man from Adora Films came over to introduce himself. He mentioned his name was Ryan, and suddenly it all clicked! This was the same Ryan I had been emailing with! Ryan not only runs Mixing Maryland, but also Adora Films! I had no idea he did both, and was super impressed with both his skill sets!! Now I will just have to get him back on the blog later to chat about his videography business, as well!

Meeting Ryan was a happy coincidence, and he was just as awesome of a guy in person as he seemed to be in our online chatting. He was easy going, while still being the cool guy everyone wants to be around. I love having a DJ on the blog today, but I also am so happy to introduce the first GUY for Friendor Friday around here!

How did you get started in your business?

I had been DJing already as a side hustle to my career job in advertising. After a while, I just loved DJing a lot more and thought I wanted to do it more and for more people. I moved on from my job to start Mixing Maryland and here we are 6 years later.

How would you describe your style and/or what is your favorite type of work (or in your case, events) to do?

Style is hard to describe in DJing, especially in weddings, but the way it can be explained is that I am an open format DJ, and so is the rest of the DJs on our small team at Mixing Maryland. It means we can mix any genre together which gives us a unique advantage as well as a much more diverse understanding and range in music. Whenever you have a large group of people with varying music tastes – which is every wedding and private event – you need to be able to read the crowd, and being diverse in our ability to mix music from across different genres allows us to keep things going no matter the mix of guests at a wedding or event. On top of that, it’s just plain fun and when we have more fun, events are better, wedding receptions are exceptional and something you’ll always remember.

How do you stay inspired? What do you do when you are in a creative rut?

DJing is fun and we love working with our couples, and as typical as it sounds, we get a lot of inspiration from that. We’re working with different couples and different crowds every week so it’s a really fun challenge and keeps things very interesting. In addition to that, I stay inspired by the artists and creatives around me. Photographers, chefs, savvy entrepreneurs, musicians, painters, actors, etc. When in a rut, I travel somewhere I haven’t been to before or I people watch. Nothing is more stimulating to me when in a creative rut than seeing new sights or people and separating myself from my normal day-to-day.

Washington DC Wedding Photographer, Virginia Wedding Photographer, Merriweather Manor Wedding

What is your favorite part about your work?

The people, hands down. The most fun jobs I’ve ever had were when I was working with people. Cubicle jobs can get stale and office jobs can be boring, but I get a lot of life from interacting with people. You learn a lot and you grow as a person based on what you gain from personal interaction, so whether it’s our couples, their guests, or the photographers, videographers, planners, caterers, etc. that we work with, it’s that connection that I love.

How do you love to serve your clients?

We’re very different from typical “wedding djs” in that we come from the club/party/bar/festival scene but tailor what we do for the couples we’re working with and the private events we do. What that means is that we’re mixing everything live on the spot, no playlists, no fading songs, we really mix, so we’re using real equipment (like real turntables), and we’re reading the crowd and vibing and mixing based on the energy in the room. Being the best DJs, the absolute best DJs, is how we serve our clients. It’s how we can promise a reception better than any they’ve been to, it’s how we know that we’re the best fit for them.

Dani Leigh Photography

If you had one tip for a bride, what would it be?

Hire Meghan as your photographer, seriously, her work is beautiful. Beyond that, we have tons of reception and DJing-specific advice since we’ve seen it all and done it all. I would love to chat with anyone about their wedding and give more detailed advice or tips anytime.

Lastly, a fun question — what is your guilty pleasure?

Follow Mixing Maryland on Instagram.