When it’s time to get the wedding party started, guests like to hear music that has a familiar ring to it.

The nostalgic notes of the song the newlyweds fell in love to, the wistful melody of the music played during the father-daughter dance, the song that gets everyone off their feet on the floor.

That’s where Joe Ring can help. He’s the man behind the music at Ring DJ Service in Oregon.

When he’s hired to do a wedding, the goal is simple: Keep people entertained, but doing it takes some skill.

He’s got to work with the wedding couple to plan out the playlist. There are family favorites and special songs to be chosen and details to nail down — but even the best-laid plans can use some fine-tuning once the reception gets underway. A good DJ has to be able to read them room and sleuth out what’s keeping spirits up and not bringing the party down. Music can make or break a mood, tapping into special memories and making new ones, and Ring wants his services to be unforgettable.

How’s the crowd doing? What gets them out of their seats and dancing to the beats? Are they having such a good time that they forget the time? Those are the kinds of questions he asks when he’s on the job.

It’s not enough to just have a good ear for music, you have to have a good ear for listening, too.

“I enjoy getting to know people,” Ring said. “Part of the process is getting to know the people who I work with, and then walking through their lives and figuring out their formative events. Then I find the art and the people that they interacted with and were there during those periods of time. Typically, that’s how I find people’s favorite songs, because it touched them during a specific formative event in their life.”

Ring likes to craft his music lineup to what the couple wants, but if they get stuck, he’s more than happy to come up with some suggestions. When it comes to time for the tunes, Ring has found that celebrations tend to to flow better if he sticks to playing music — the guests are there to hear music, not the DJ, but he can take up emcee duties if couples wish, he said. If there’s any lull in the fun — something DJs try to avoid — Ring is more apt to shift the mood with music, rather than filling gaps with conversation.

He can also bring some extras to help set the mood, such as fog and light displays.

So far the DJ gig has been a good one for Ring. Before 2024 was even over, his 2025 weekends were filling up with bookings. If you’re looking to line something up, the earlier the better to get a date locked in.

Ring enjoys getting to know the people planning the event, learning their likes and dislikes. It helps shape a playlist — favorite songs, what kinds of music will be played and when. You don’t want people just sitting cooling their feet; you want them tapping their toes and heading for the dance floor.

No genre is off-limits to Ring, he can work with all of them.

“I try to leave no stone unturned when we’re setting up with a couple,” he said. “I’ll ask them about their high school or college friends, or this or that side of the family, and figure out what they are into. When that group is out on the floor, I can recognize that they like a certain kind of music.”

Born and raised in rural Oregon, DJ’ing isn’t his primary career; he raises Gelbvieh and Angus cattle with his brother Michael on the family farm as Ring Brothers Beef, and sells cuts of meat online.

While farming is in Ring’s roots, so is music. His father,Tim Ring, played bass guitar in local bands and in church and did some DJ’ing of his own. After Tim passed away, Joseph took over much of his father’s equipment, which helped amplify his own interest in music.

As Ring found out, having all that equipment opened the doors to being invited to DJ parties.

“You have the stuff, and then someone asks you if you can play at a party,” Ring said. “You do that for a while, and then someone else asks you to do a backyard wedding, and then you’re doing 20-30 a year.”

Ring began making music a business in 2020, which was a rough year for the wedding industry as the coronavirus pandemic derailed and delayed plans. With many couples being forced to rework their wedding plans that year, Ring wound up doing smaller weddings.

“People would cancel their 200-300 people weddings because of Covid, and then they would do a family get-together kind of wedding part with 40 or 50 people, and then they would have me do that,” Ring said.

He’s also taken his talents to community events and local taverns, but weddings are his primary business, he said, and for every wedding he’s done, he’s picked up at least one or two more, he said.

“I started out with a low price point, did it for a lot of mutual friends, and then friends of those friends, and ever since then I’ve picked up other people from the weddings I’ve done,” he said.

One of the biggest things experience has taught him is keeping a sharp eye during the events on what’s going on in the room, not simply being focused on playing music. It keeps him on his toes, and no one reception ends up being the same.

“Reading the crowd, reading the room and helping to facilitate their big day is what I really love about it. It was something that I developed growing up. Reading emotions and being aware of the way people are interacting around them, I think drove that talent into me, and this is the way I’ve been able to channel that.”

Once couples get their wedding itinerary set in place, Ring will contact them to go over everything. It’s better for both the couple and the DJ to know how the music is going to take shape beforehand, to ensure there aren’t any lulls or awkward moments at the wedding, where perfection is paramount.

“What I would really need is when they have their whole schedule nailed down, I’d like to spend a phone call with them to walk through their day, point by point, and make sure we have background music lined up for each little piece during their ceremony — when they’re walking into it, or during cocktail hour — all of the little things.”

“You’re employing a person who can craft the vibe that you are looking for,” Ring said. “You’re saying, ‘I want you to use the skills that you have to create the vibe that I want.’ That’s what I’m trying to do, I’m trying to make them feel a certain way about their day. If you have the right DJ, he or she should be able to sculpt that experience with what you want that day.”

Give him a ring: Find Ring DJ Service on Facebook or call 815-757-3022 for more information.