With all these services now being offered by your DJ company, you have a wider range of pricing which throws a curve into your possible budget. To help you understand the costs of what you are getting it is highly recommend you visit each company you are considering. This will allow you to see first hand what your DJ companies are offering and compare services to pricing and not hours to pricing.  Photo by Tim Miller Photography Q. Why do DJ’s have such a degree of pricing differences?A. Pricing amongst DJ companies varies from a few hundred dollars to thousands. You might be thinking, “I just need a DJ to play music, right?” Wrong. Choosing a DJ for your event depends on many factors. Is your DJ a full time DJ? Full time, what does this mean? Does your DJ have a full time job during the week and DJ for fun on the weekends? If this is the case, the concern would be: will your DJ be available during your entire planning? How quickly will they get back to you with answers to your questions? What type of DJ are they? A Club DJ, Radio DJ, Wedding DJ? What does your DJ specialize in? Finding a DJ that is full time but does not specialize in your specific event style may not be the best choice for you. In addition to being a full time DJ, do they continue to further their education? Do they attend four of the major conferences yearly? DJ Times Expo in Atlantic City every August, Mobile Beat DJ Expo in Las Vegas every February, Wedding MBA in Las Vegas every October and LDI Conferences throughout the year. These are few examples of why some DJs may charge $500 to celebrate your 5 hour wedding and why others are able charge up to $5000 or more for 5 hours. It comes down to Experience and also Peace of Mind.  Q. Lots of people like to save money and have friends use speakers with an iPod or rent a portable system, what do you say to Brides who are thinking about this?A. Having a friend who wants to give a gift to you by providing music may not be the best choice for your special event. Your wedding reception is much more than playing your favorite music mix. Although people will still hear the music playing in the background, it takes a true professional to be able to properly announce your evening and “read” your guests to get them involved throughout the night. People can listen to their iPods in their car or home. This is a special event that you want people to remember. Hiring a full time professional would give you complete “Peace of Mind” that your event will run smoothly. Q. If a crowd just isn’t dancing, what do you do to spark or ignite “fun”?A. During your event there may be times that your dance floor is not full. This is where a professional DJ team comes into play and you get what you pay for. The ability and skill of your DJ “reading” your guests and understanding their musical preferences and know what they will like keeps them dancing. It may be going to a slow song, change up the genre or spark up the music with an all time favorite. Whichever choice is made, it’s made on experience and the ability of the DJ to understand you and your guests wants and needs. Q. If I have something special that I want to happen, will you help me plan it all out?A. Absolutely! Every event is unique and special and is personalized to the exact specifications of the client. Your DJ should give ideas and/or suggestions to help build off your ideas to make your event even more personalized and memorable for you. 
“Every event is unique and special and is personalized to the exact specifications of the client.”
-Kevin Ramaley
1 Comment
This guest blog was written by Parker Radbourne, of The PK Photographs, a wedding photographer in San Antonio. He’s had a camera in his hand since middle school, and loves the winters, and even summers, of Texas since relocating there a few years ago. His obsession with weddings started with his first out-of-high-school job at a wedding retail shop that sold / rented everything wedding except for the dress, the ring, and the cake. A detail orientated photographer, he’s picked up on a few small and easily remedied situations that frequently pop up on the wedding day, and has put together a blog post for us on that topic! A Less Stressed Bride When your wedding day is finally here and the preparation, planning and hours with a glue gun are finally behind you, it’s time to enjoy your hard work. Yet, the big day can still be a bit overwhelming with everyone coming up to you with questions on where this goes, who is taking care of that, and what time so-and-so will be arriving, it can be a lot to handle. You’ve likely delegated a lot of tasks out to members of your bridal party in getting ready for your big day, but what about on the day itself? The more that can be taken off of your plate, the smoother and easier they day will be for you. I mean, it is YOUR wedding day. We have a few tips to help with this. 1. Have Someone in Charge of Snacks and WaterYou won’t even think about eating until you smell the food at your reception, but fainting isn’t fun, either. Have them bring granola bars, bottled water, and other snacks for the bridal party and family to keep everyone full of energy and strength. Don’t forget about napkins or wipes, so nothing gets dirty! 2. Have one of your Bridesmaids be the Bustle ExpertHave a bridesmaid or two with you when you learn how to get your dress bustled at the store, and have her record a video of it and practice doing it herself, so it goes smoothly on your wedding day. 3.Give a Copy of the Timeline for the day to the Most P unctual P erson on Your Team If you don’t have a day-of coordinator or planner, make sure you give a copy of the timeline for the day to the most punctual person on your team. This is vital to keep everyone on time while getting ready, the ceremony, and formal portraits. Usually, the DJ or emcee will help run the reception events on time. 4.Give Learning Tasks to Groomsmen Task one groomsman with learning how to tie bow ties, and another with learning how to fold pocket squares, (hint, the squares can be folded before the wedding day). As a wedding photographer I have diagrams on my phone showing how to fold a pocket square, tie a bow tie, tie a straight tie, and how to pin on a boutonnière. At almost every single wedding I end up texting these to a groomsman! 5.Let the Guys know Who Gets FlowersMake sure one groomsman, or the groom himself, knows what different corsages and boutonnieres will be arriving, and which goes to whom, (hint, some florist's will label each one for you, this is a huge help). 6.Have Someone in Charge of Clean Up Task one groomsman and one bridesmaid with keeping an eye on the cleanliness of the rooms while getting ready. Have them try to keep everything, (bags, purses, shoes, clothes, etc.), in one corner of the room so when your photographer and videographer arrive they can start capturing the moments then and there, and aren’t spending 10 minutes cleaning up the room so it is ready to be photographed. 7. Give the Formal Photo List to Someone in Your Bridal Party Make sure a member of your bridal party who knows both families best has a copy of the shot list for formal portraits, and has made time to reach out to everyone on that shot list so they know to hang around after the ceremony. Too many times someone has to run and find Uncle Joe who was excited to eat, drink, and dance, and is already on his way to the reception hall. We don’t want to exclude him from these once-in-a-lifetime portraits, but we also don’t want you to be late to your reception. This member of your bridal party can also help the photographer expedite the formal portraits by having the next group ready to jump in as the previous group finishes. Don’t forget the most important task of all: to have fun and help you celebrate your marriage! Make some memories with these very special people on your wedding day, and don’t forget to thank them for all of the time, energy, and support they’ve given you! Thank you for the blog Parker Radbourne! Take a look at his photography here,
Guest Blog by Sharon Dickinson of An Affair to Remember  Well, you’ve been dreaming about this day, since you were young! The love of your life has asked you to be their husband or wife, and you’ve said yes! Now what? Here is a list of 10 things to do, after accepting your partners proposal. 1. Tell your parents Allow them to have the honor of finding out that you have become engaged and be ready to celebrate! You might even consider letting the family you don’t see or talk to all the time know too!  2. Call your closest friends Make sure you call your closest friends, so they find out the great news from you, not from Facebook! This is one of those things that should be done personally! 3. Decide on how many guests Take a look at your friends and family and get an approximate idea of how many guests. The amount of guests is important when thinking about save the dates. This Information is important to a wedding planner as well, so they are able to refer you to the best locations suited to handle your affair. 4. Set your budget Decide on how much you will have to dedicate to your wedding and also if anyone else will be contributing, such as parents, grandparents, etc. You will need a realistic budget so that you and a planner (if used) can determine what services fit your budget. This will also give you time to start saving for each of your services. The worst thing you can do is plan a wedding for $30K and when it comes time to pay the bills find out you don’t have the funds and end up having to take out a loan to pay it off. 5. Set the dateThe main question you will be asked is “Congratulations, when is the date?” If you set the date right away you’ll already have an answer to the most often asked question. You also need to know the date when looking into where you will hold your ceremony and reception and finding availability of other wedding vendors. 6. Save the date
Helga and Dave are the sweetest couple! I met with Helga at Melt to go over the plans for her wedding and I loved her story of how Dave and her met. We walked around Melt and she showed me where everything was going to be taking place. It was a more intimate wedding but it was still beautiful! Melt is a restaurant at the Promenade Shoppes at Saucon Valley and it has a gorgeous interior. From the stairs to the chandeliers, everything gives an upscale elegant feel! It's a great place to have a wedding!
 
 
  I hope you enjoyed these photos! Leave a comment with your thoughts!
|
Rachel Amelio Photography
Categories
All
Archives
February 2016
|
RSS Feed