As October draws to a close, so does the "wedding season." The months ahead are traditionally the slow months for those of us in the wedding industry.
According to a survey conducted by The Wedding Report, nearly three-quarters of weddings (73.5%) take place in the six months from May to October. Only one in four weddings (26.5%) occur during the other six months.
In recent years, September and October have surpassed May and June as the peak wedding months, according to The Wedding Report.
The least popular months for weddings? January and February, followed by December and March.
One take-away for brides: If you're budget conscious but still want to hire the best quality vendors, schedule your wedding in the off-season, when many wedding vendors offer their services at off-peak discount rates.
_____
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Rockin' Recessional
Here's an idea that I think is fun, and that ends your ceremony with a bit of a kick.
Lots of brides and grooms who choose traditional classical music for most of their ceremony -- the prelude and processional music -- switch to a rock'n'roll, R&B, or pop song for their recessional. The recessional, of course, is the song played just after the officiant pronounces you husband and wife, and you walk together back up the aisle, away from the altar.
Here are just some examples of songs for a rockin' recessional:
With their lyrics about the joys of love, these songs suit the moment when you've just been presented as husband and wife, and have shared that first married kiss. And with their upbeat tempo, they signal to the guests that, with the ceremony over, the party is about to begin!
__________
Lots of brides and grooms who choose traditional classical music for most of their ceremony -- the prelude and processional music -- switch to a rock'n'roll, R&B, or pop song for their recessional. The recessional, of course, is the song played just after the officiant pronounces you husband and wife, and you walk together back up the aisle, away from the altar.
Here are just some examples of songs for a rockin' recessional:
- "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" by McFadden & Whitehead
- "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles
- "Beautiful Day" by U2
- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen
- "Happy Together" by The Turtles
- "Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson
- "Hold On, I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave
- "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown
- "I Walk The Line" by Johnny Cash
- "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees OR Smash Mouth
- "It's Too Late To Turn Back Now" by Cornelius Bros. & Sister Rose
- "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green
- "Signed Sealed Delivered" by Stevie Wonder
- "With This Ring" by The Platters
With their lyrics about the joys of love, these songs suit the moment when you've just been presented as husband and wife, and have shared that first married kiss. And with their upbeat tempo, they signal to the guests that, with the ceremony over, the party is about to begin!
__________
Friday, October 23, 2009
In Praise of Autumn Weddings
I love autumn weddings, because I love autumn.
There is a chill in the air, which can be invigorating. But not the bitter cold of winter. The autumn air is often crisp, autumn night skies often clear.
It’s a time of harvesting, gathering, bringing things home. A time celebrated with hearty food and the soothing aromas of spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. The start of the holiday season, with Thanksgiving and Christmas waiting in the wings.
There is a slight tinge of sadness in the air in autumn. Yet it is a beautiful kind of sadness – for as the leaves dry up and just before they fall, they give us those exquisite bursts of warm browns, orange, golden, and red. The color palette of autumn foliage is one of the beauties of nature. And we understand that the trees aren’t dying, they’re just going through a natural cycle, leading to the rebirth of all the greenery in the spring.
There is something cozy about an autumn wedding. With winter approaching, we’ll be spending more time indoors, doing cozy, intimate things. For a newly married couple, that means lots of quality time cuddled up together, curled up in front of a fire, enjoying the warmth of your home and of each other’s arms.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Guest Book Idea
Here's an alternative to the traditional, somewhat stodgy guestbook for your wedding reception.
Instead of just setting out a guestbook, you can provide each guest (or each couple) an individual "guest page" which contains prompts for them to write more than just their names and "best wishes." At the end of your reception, you collect all the pages and compile them into a keepsake book.
There's a company that makes such a product. It's The Guestbook Store.
Here's how they describe this:
I like this idea. All too often, at wedding receptions, I notice that many guests don't even notice the guestbook. And even if they do, they can't think of anything unique to write. And this is true even if I'm asked to make an announcement reminding the guests there is a guestbook sitting out there awaiting signatures.
_______________
Instead of just setting out a guestbook, you can provide each guest (or each couple) an individual "guest page" which contains prompts for them to write more than just their names and "best wishes." At the end of your reception, you collect all the pages and compile them into a keepsake book.
There's a company that makes such a product. It's The Guestbook Store.
Here's how they describe this:Rather than a book of autographs likely to be stored away, these non-traditional guestbooks personalize your event and capture guests' memories and heartfelt wishes of your special day.
Each guest at your event will receive their very own guestbook page to fill out and share special messages at their leisure. After your event, simply place the completed pages in one of our many guestbook album designs and enjoy!
I like this idea. All too often, at wedding receptions, I notice that many guests don't even notice the guestbook. And even if they do, they can't think of anything unique to write. And this is true even if I'm asked to make an announcement reminding the guests there is a guestbook sitting out there awaiting signatures.
_______________
Friday, October 16, 2009
HOW LATE IS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER STAYING?
Some wedding photographers always stay until the end of your reception; their contract includes total coverage of your wedding celebration.
But many photographers stay only for a predetermined number of hours, depending on how many hours you've contracted for. That may mean they're scheduled to leave before your reception is scheduled to end. Sometimes, even before special moment such as the cake-cutting or bouquet toss take place.
Now, if you're aware of that and okay with that, so be it.
But sometimes what happens is that very early in the planning process, the wedding couple contract for X number of hours with their photographer, and much later in the planning process, when they finalize the reception schedule, they neglect to check whether the photographer's hours cover all the events they've scheduled.
It's easy to get mixed up about this, because your photographer's hours typically start BEFORE the event does, with pre-ceremony photos, and because you probably signed your deal with the photographer long before you worked out the timing of moments like your cake-cutting, bouquet toss, last dance, and so on.
My advice? Unless your budget forbids it, hire your photographer for the duration of the event. That avoids situations where someone has to choose between not having professional shots of some memorable moments or reshuffling the schedule on the fly to accommodate the photographer's departure time.
Another option is to schedule ALL the special moments early in the reception so as to take place within the photographer's slated time. But that to me seems like the tail wagging the dog.
Besides, at plenty of receptions all sorts of spontaneously fun -- and very photogenic -- things occur as the evening progresses. If your entertainment is going strong, you might miss having some great candid shots of your guests tearing it up on the dance floor if your photographer leaves before the end.
But many photographers stay only for a predetermined number of hours, depending on how many hours you've contracted for. That may mean they're scheduled to leave before your reception is scheduled to end. Sometimes, even before special moment such as the cake-cutting or bouquet toss take place.
Now, if you're aware of that and okay with that, so be it.
But sometimes what happens is that very early in the planning process, the wedding couple contract for X number of hours with their photographer, and much later in the planning process, when they finalize the reception schedule, they neglect to check whether the photographer's hours cover all the events they've scheduled.
It's easy to get mixed up about this, because your photographer's hours typically start BEFORE the event does, with pre-ceremony photos, and because you probably signed your deal with the photographer long before you worked out the timing of moments like your cake-cutting, bouquet toss, last dance, and so on.
My advice? Unless your budget forbids it, hire your photographer for the duration of the event. That avoids situations where someone has to choose between not having professional shots of some memorable moments or reshuffling the schedule on the fly to accommodate the photographer's departure time.
Another option is to schedule ALL the special moments early in the reception so as to take place within the photographer's slated time. But that to me seems like the tail wagging the dog.
Besides, at plenty of receptions all sorts of spontaneously fun -- and very photogenic -- things occur as the evening progresses. If your entertainment is going strong, you might miss having some great candid shots of your guests tearing it up on the dance floor if your photographer leaves before the end.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
YOUR FLOOR PLAN & YOUR MUSIC
As a professional wedding DJ, I do everything I can to keep the bride and groom and their guest happy. But I can’t repeal the laws of physics.
If your grandmother is seated three feet from my speakers, the music is going to sound too loud to her -- even during dinner, when I’m trying to play soft background music. And if your venue sticks the DJ in a corner far away from the dance floor, the music might lack the “punch” that energizes dancers.
What I’m getting at is this: Correct placement of the DJ or live band relative to the guest tables and the dance floor is critical to the success of your reception. It is not rocket science. The sound system should be adjacent to the dance floor, and should NOT be butting up against the tables where guests are seated for dinner.
You’d think this would be obvious. And you’d be right. Sadly, some reception sites and caterers ignore this obvious point. That’s why I always ask to review my clients’ floor plans in advance.
I recently had to convince a hotel wedding coordinator to modify a plan that placed the DJ in a corner, with many guest tables smack dab in front of him, situated between him and the dance floor.
When I objected, she said: “We’ve done it this way for years, and I’ve never gotten any complaints.” I had to tell her the truth: “Believe me, there are complaints. But you don’t get them; the DJ does!” Think about it. If the entrée comes out cold, the guests don’t complain to the DJ. And if the music sounds too loud, they don’t complain to the banquet staff.
By the way, although this hotel coordinator was miffed at my candor, she agreed to alter the floor plan, and that wedding reception was a great success.
One of my goals as a professional wedding DJ is to trouble-shoot potential problems in advance, so that your wedding day goes smoothly. And I know from experience that if guests are seated too close to the DJ’s equipment, you’re asking for problems. Fortunately, these problems can be avoided. Often, minor readjustments of the floor plan do the trick.
In cases where it’s impossible to allow a sufficient buffer between the DJ and the tables (for example, if your guest count bumps up against the room’s capacity), there is a fallback solution. Simply avoid sitting older guests at the tables that are closest to the sound system. Seat only guests in their 20s and 30s at those tables.
By having your DJ or bandleader review your floor plan in advance, he can spot the potential problem and recommend which tables should be moved or be reserved for younger guests.
If your grandmother is seated three feet from my speakers, the music is going to sound too loud to her -- even during dinner, when I’m trying to play soft background music. And if your venue sticks the DJ in a corner far away from the dance floor, the music might lack the “punch” that energizes dancers.
What I’m getting at is this: Correct placement of the DJ or live band relative to the guest tables and the dance floor is critical to the success of your reception. It is not rocket science. The sound system should be adjacent to the dance floor, and should NOT be butting up against the tables where guests are seated for dinner.
You’d think this would be obvious. And you’d be right. Sadly, some reception sites and caterers ignore this obvious point. That’s why I always ask to review my clients’ floor plans in advance.
I recently had to convince a hotel wedding coordinator to modify a plan that placed the DJ in a corner, with many guest tables smack dab in front of him, situated between him and the dance floor.
When I objected, she said: “We’ve done it this way for years, and I’ve never gotten any complaints.” I had to tell her the truth: “Believe me, there are complaints. But you don’t get them; the DJ does!” Think about it. If the entrée comes out cold, the guests don’t complain to the DJ. And if the music sounds too loud, they don’t complain to the banquet staff.
By the way, although this hotel coordinator was miffed at my candor, she agreed to alter the floor plan, and that wedding reception was a great success.
One of my goals as a professional wedding DJ is to trouble-shoot potential problems in advance, so that your wedding day goes smoothly. And I know from experience that if guests are seated too close to the DJ’s equipment, you’re asking for problems. Fortunately, these problems can be avoided. Often, minor readjustments of the floor plan do the trick.
In cases where it’s impossible to allow a sufficient buffer between the DJ and the tables (for example, if your guest count bumps up against the room’s capacity), there is a fallback solution. Simply avoid sitting older guests at the tables that are closest to the sound system. Seat only guests in their 20s and 30s at those tables.
By having your DJ or bandleader review your floor plan in advance, he can spot the potential problem and recommend which tables should be moved or be reserved for younger guests.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
NO MUSIC, PLEASE
"No Music" may seem like an odd header for me, who not only DJs for a living but has been a lifelong music lover. (Indeed, my never-ending love for music is what led me to a DJ career.)
However, as I spend more and more hours on-line, there is one place where I do NOT welcome music: on websites!
What I'm referring to are websites that automatically play music when you visit them. Many wedding vendor websites do this.
I understand the thinking behind it. We all want our wedding websites to convey elegance, charm, romance, and a nice ambiance -- and music helps set the mood.
But wedding websites shouldn't act like music boxes -- open 'em up and they play a tune. Here's why.
ONE: Many wedding couples do wedding planning while at work. (In fact, TheKnot.com gets more traffic Monday-Friday 9-to-5 than during any other time slot.) A bride doing personal web-surfing in an office environment doesn't want her co-workers and boss alerted by loud strains of Sinatra when she clicks on your web page!
TWO: Many people listen to their own music while on the computer. While they surf the 'net, they might be spinning a CD in their CD/DVD drive or listening to iTunes or tuning into web radio. No one appreciates having his or her favorite music interrupted by some OTHER music popping up unwanted from a website.
I know, I know: Nearly all auto-play music websites have a button somewhere on the page that can disable the music. But by the time your visitor locates and activates the off-switch, she is already annoyed. And annoyance is NOT the "mood" you want music to foster.
However, as I spend more and more hours on-line, there is one place where I do NOT welcome music: on websites!
What I'm referring to are websites that automatically play music when you visit them. Many wedding vendor websites do this.
I understand the thinking behind it. We all want our wedding websites to convey elegance, charm, romance, and a nice ambiance -- and music helps set the mood.
But wedding websites shouldn't act like music boxes -- open 'em up and they play a tune. Here's why.
ONE: Many wedding couples do wedding planning while at work. (In fact, TheKnot.com gets more traffic Monday-Friday 9-to-5 than during any other time slot.) A bride doing personal web-surfing in an office environment doesn't want her co-workers and boss alerted by loud strains of Sinatra when she clicks on your web page!
TWO: Many people listen to their own music while on the computer. While they surf the 'net, they might be spinning a CD in their CD/DVD drive or listening to iTunes or tuning into web radio. No one appreciates having his or her favorite music interrupted by some OTHER music popping up unwanted from a website.
I know, I know: Nearly all auto-play music websites have a button somewhere on the page that can disable the music. But by the time your visitor locates and activates the off-switch, she is already annoyed. And annoyance is NOT the "mood" you want music to foster.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Addendum to the E #1 Question
Just to clarify my October 1 post which emphasizes the importance of a hiring a DJ who subscribes to one of the professional music services (such as TM Studio's Prime Cuts or HitDisc, or Promo Only or ERG).
I don't mean to suggest you should hire a DJ who gets ALL his music from those sources. Those services are where professional DJs keep up-to-date with the latest hits each month and each year -- and with the clean edits of those hits.
But if the new-release services are the DJ's ONLY source of music, he's going to be missing much of the music you probably want for your wedding reception mix. Those services don't provide the great rock, pop, and R&B hits of the '80s, '70s, '60s, and '50s.
In other words, a subscription to these music services is necessary, but NOT sufficient, for a wedding DJ's comprehensive music library.
I don't mean to suggest you should hire a DJ who gets ALL his music from those sources. Those services are where professional DJs keep up-to-date with the latest hits each month and each year -- and with the clean edits of those hits.
But if the new-release services are the DJ's ONLY source of music, he's going to be missing much of the music you probably want for your wedding reception mix. Those services don't provide the great rock, pop, and R&B hits of the '80s, '70s, '60s, and '50s.
In other words, a subscription to these music services is necessary, but NOT sufficient, for a wedding DJ's comprehensive music library.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The #1 Question a Bride Should Ask a DJ, But Doesn't Know to Ask
Wedding couples sometimes aren't sure what questions to ask a DJ they're considering hiring
Some of them rely on lists of "what to ask" found in bridal magazine or wedding websites.
In either case, they almost never ask the following crucial question:
If your prospective DJ can't answer that question or doesn't know what you're talking about, don't hire him.
You see, the way all professional DJs (and I do mean professional, as opposed to hobbyist DJs) keep up with all the latest music is by subscribing to one of the three professional music services that supply DJs -- and radio stations, I might add -- with weekly or monthly copies of all the hot hits (be they pop, rock, R&B, hiphop, country, or other genre).
The three are TM Studios (producers of the Prime Cuts and HitDisc series), Promo Only, and ERG Music.
These companies, which are unknown to the general public, provide their weekly or monthly updates on CD or via mp3 download. They offer various packages covering specific genres or the best of all genres. Exactly which one one your DJ gets isn't so important, as long as he subscribes to one of them.
Without a subscription to one of these professional music services, it is virtually impossible for a DJ to keep up with ALL the latest hits on an ongoing, consistent basis.
Furthermore, these services provide the CLEAN, radio-edit versions of these songs.
I don't have to tell you how important that is for a DJ playing any sort of hiphop at a wedding reception. What you might not realize is how important it is no matter what genre he's playing. (For example, did you know that James Blunt drops the "F-bomb" in his pop-rock ballad "You're Beautiful"? Probably not, because it's deleted from the version you hear on the radio. But if your DJ is using the retail CD version, you're in for a surprise!).
If you're a bride or groom or wedding planner, you've probably never heard of TM Studio's Prime Cuts or HitDiscs, or Promo Only, or ERG Music. And that's my point, exactly. These are tools known only to, and used only by, professionals. (In fact, I had to sign an affidavit stating that I am a professional DJ in order to subscribe subscription, because these services are NOT licensed for the general public).
Some of them rely on lists of "what to ask" found in bridal magazine or wedding websites.
In either case, they almost never ask the following crucial question:
"WHICH MUSIC SERVICE DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO"?
If your prospective DJ can't answer that question or doesn't know what you're talking about, don't hire him.
You see, the way all professional DJs (and I do mean professional, as opposed to hobbyist DJs) keep up with all the latest music is by subscribing to one of the three professional music services that supply DJs -- and radio stations, I might add -- with weekly or monthly copies of all the hot hits (be they pop, rock, R&B, hiphop, country, or other genre).
The three are TM Studios (producers of the Prime Cuts and HitDisc series), Promo Only, and ERG Music.
These companies, which are unknown to the general public, provide their weekly or monthly updates on CD or via mp3 download. They offer various packages covering specific genres or the best of all genres. Exactly which one one your DJ gets isn't so important, as long as he subscribes to one of them.
Without a subscription to one of these professional music services, it is virtually impossible for a DJ to keep up with ALL the latest hits on an ongoing, consistent basis.
Furthermore, these services provide the CLEAN, radio-edit versions of these songs.
I don't have to tell you how important that is for a DJ playing any sort of hiphop at a wedding reception. What you might not realize is how important it is no matter what genre he's playing. (For example, did you know that James Blunt drops the "F-bomb" in his pop-rock ballad "You're Beautiful"? Probably not, because it's deleted from the version you hear on the radio. But if your DJ is using the retail CD version, you're in for a surprise!).
If you're a bride or groom or wedding planner, you've probably never heard of TM Studio's Prime Cuts or HitDiscs, or Promo Only, or ERG Music. And that's my point, exactly. These are tools known only to, and used only by, professionals. (In fact, I had to sign an affidavit stating that I am a professional DJ in order to subscribe subscription, because these services are NOT licensed for the general public).
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