Huntly's JP the DJ is highly commended at Scottish Wedding Awards
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A DJ from Huntly has been highly commended at the Scottish Wedding Awards.
Having twice previously made the awards final, JP the DJ was "blown away" to receive recognition for his efforts at the event in Glasgow.
JP – full name John Patrick Gallagher – was born in Newcastle and moved to Huntly from the Lake District in 2013.
Since then he has been DJing at events right across the north of Scotland – and was delighted to receive a commendation for his efforts at weddings.
"It was my third time being a finalist so I was blown away to get high commended," he said.
"It's great recognition for my business to walk away with a commendation. It's like coming second place, so I'm trying to build on that and keep pushing forward."
JP was runner-up to Buckie's DJ Paul T, who he considers a good friend.
"We were sitting together at the ceremony and we were hopeful that one of us would win," he said.
"I'm really pleased for Paul – we bounce ideas of each other and if one of us is too busy to take a booking we get in touch with each other.
"Everybody wants to win themselves, but when it's one of your friends, who you work with and who has been going a lot longer than you, coming to second place is OK.
"There are a lot of DJs in the central belt so for us to come north with first and second is fantastic."
JP is currently juggling two jobs as he works full-time for Aberdeenshire Council, managing bookings for the area's town halls.
He said the reaction to his commendation has been incredible.
"I've had a lot of messages on social media," he added. "Because Huntly is quite a small town, almost everyone knows everyone.
"I was walking into work and everyone was congratulating me – even people who I didn't know knew what I do!"
A spokesperson for The Scottish Wedding Awards 2023 said: “We are thrilled to have been able to celebrate the very best of the wedding industry in Scotland.
"The winners truly deserve this recognition for their exceptional work, and we hope that their success will inspire others in the industry to strive for excellence.
“Each winner demonstrated exceptional skill, talent, and dedication to their craft, and should be proud of their achievements.
"We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all the winners and finalists.”
