Year: 2022

Recently, we had a wedding venue coordinator bring us into the room of a well-known wedding reception hall over in Albany, NY. The room was beautiful, as always. This particular venue has great lighting, superb decor, and has a really nice dance floor entirely surrounded by well-decorated tables.  Everything on this particular day was just great, except for one common thing…

…Poor Placement of The DJ booth.

The DJ table was about 75 feet away from the dance floor. The entertainment was buried by at least four dinning tables, off in a distant corner of the room.

“Uggghhh!” I thought to myself before speaking. “Is there anywhere else I can set up?” I asked, as politely as I could.

She answered, “No. That is where we ALWAYS put the DJ.”

“If the wedding party has a band, do you put them in the same place?” I asked.

“Well, not really. We usually put them right next to the dance floor.”

This is a common problem with wedding venues.

OUT OF SIGHT – OUT OF MIND

There is also a very popular wedding hall in the Schenectady, NY area that likes to put the DJ way up high on a balcony. This looks great to your venue hall, and may look neat in the final pictures too. However, this idea is all about visual. It doesn’t take sound quality or guest interation into consideration. Therefore, in a number of words, this option on an entertainment perspective actually totally SUCKS!

Just a tip… treat the DJ as your entertainmant for the night, as you would any other performer that interacts with your crowd. It really is best to have what ever entertainment that you choose to provide for your guests very close to the dance floor. This is important for a number of reasons.

Make sure and discuss this request with your venue provider’s event organizer. Quite often, their agenda is very food & service-driven. This means they do not always have in mind the best interests of optimal entertainment requirements.

Here is a list of things to think about when making your seating plan and placing your entertainment spotlight for the night:

1) IS THE DJ CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE DANCE FLOOR? – No matter what your hall organizer says, the entertainment should ALWAYS be right near the dance floor, period. They should also have a clean path with no seating in front of them.

A wedding venue knows food, and knows how to treat their guests, but they are not entertainers, nor do they know much about music equipment placement. Ask any good DJ and they will tell you it is not a good idea to be far away from the dance floor.

2)NEVER PUT TABLES IN FRONT OF THE DJ – First off, the sound quality will be terrible when ever you put something in front of a speaker. Obstacles will hinder the sound from reaching the dance floor properly. Secondly, the guests sitting in front of the DJ booth will be blasted by sound all night. Those will then be considered the worst seats in the house.

3) CAN THE DJ BE SEEN BY ALL? – The DJ or band often makes announcements. You don’t want your guests wondering where this mystery voice is coming from like a blue light special announcement at K-mart.

4) CAN THE DJ CONNECT WITH THE CROWD? – It is very important for the DJ, much like a band, to connect with the crowd. Seeing what is working and what is not is a huge part of being a mobile disc jockey.

5) WILL THE DJ BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE CROWD ? – If your wedding DJ is placed far away, requests become very difficult, or sometimes almost impossible.

A balcony set up typically doesn’t work well for a mobile DJ. (Balcony DJ booths only work in night clubs because the place is hard wired with smaller speakers everywhere in the hard to reach dead zones.)

BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF A BAD WEDDING HALL LAYOUT:

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In the picture above, I would have just switched the table to the right of the DJ and the cake. This would leave enough space so that the DJ booth could have been strategically tilted so that the soundwaves travel to the dance floor with no hindering obstacles.

In a big hall, it is impossible to do a 75 feet away corner set up, facing the back of your guests with tables in front of you blocking the sound. In the picture above, 24 people are being blasted by the DJ. They wouldn’t be happy either.

Overall, in a wedding reception setting, your DJ/MC placement is critical. Do not let the hall put your entertainment in a closet.

When it comes to dancing, “The King of Dirty Dancing” Patrick Swayze once said, “Nobody puts baby in the corner.” The same should go for your wedding DJ.

Keep this in mind when laying out your wedding seating charts. For more on this common problem, check out our article, How To Seat Your Wedding Guests.

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This summer, I did a number of gigs in Altamont. One venue I particular like is at Helderview Weddings at Orchard Creek Golf club. It is a great place to hold your wedding in Altamont, NY.

Hidden in the foothills of the Helderberg mountains in Altamont, NY, Helderview at Orchard Creek Golf Club provides the perfect setting for both a great wedding ceremony and reception. With the full wedding celebration at one location, you can have an elegant indoor or outdoor ceremony with lots of greenery anda mountainous background, with a reception in a modern pavillion that closes up to brave the elements when needed.

Besides the ability to customize to just what you are looking for in a venue, the food is great. I had an awesome prime rib there, and also a chicken dish this summer when I was the DJ for a few weddings.

Also, I was the DJ for a really cool corporate country-themed event. At that gig, the caterers did a great job customizing their menu for the event at hand. Getting the country theme menu right they featured ribs, BBQ brisket, fried chicken and all kinds of good ‘ole country eats for the guests to grub on.

No matter how you look at it, if you are interested in having your wedding in or around Altamont, check this place out, Orchard Creek!

Planning a wedding with great flowers in the Albany NY region or beyond? If the answer to that question is “yes,” then maybe you will want to try this idea out… “Tiny Flower Pot Wedding Place Cards’

What a better way than to kick off your rustic wedding with little tiny live flowers as the place cards to show your beloved guests to their seats!?

What this couple did was they went to a craft store and bought loads of little vase-like jars, but super small. The next step is easy: Just get some nice flowers, chop them up. Stuck them into little bottles like these, and add the place card tag – and you are done!

LOWERING THE BAR MITZVAH DJ

On the Monday, September 8, 2014 episode of @Midnight on Comedy Central, I was featured as the subject of a bit about DJs. I was spoofed hard, but I loved every minute of it!

You may recognize @Midnight host Chris Hardwick from AMC’s Talking Dead and Talking Bad. He is the after-show guy for both Walking Dead and Breaking Bad who immediately discusses the new episodes with celebrity superfans. He is a self-proclaimed nerd as I am, so being a fan of both of the AMC award-winning shows myself, it was my great to be ribbed by one of the best.

ABOUT THE SHOW – @MIDNIGHT: This episode of Hardwick’s relatively new show @Midnight features three comedians “playing” on a game show-like set who buzz in and comment on topics like the news, the entertainment world and odd clips from the internet. This one was about WACKY DJ pictures like myself who do weddings and even more particular, BAR MITZVAHS.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES: The picture of me featured was taken at a Halloween wedding I DJ’ed for my good friend and fellow DJ, Pete Sefcik. Chris Hardwick and The Sklar Brothers really had some fun at my expense! Although it was in costume, I was supposed to be dressed as RUN-DMC’s Jam Master Jay in the picture, but really only looked whiter than WonderBread. Alas, I deserved every bit of their spoofing.

This clip is a total riot and I really loved the exposure! Thanks Chris! You are the man!  🙂

Recently, we did a wedding at Greywackie Meadows in Cropseyville, NY. If you haven’t seen this venue, it is a nice rustic barn setting, but modern and spectacular.

Check out this cool idea – using a Butter Barrel to collect your guests wedding cards! What a super creamy idea! Just spread it out and let the fun begin!

 

Other than mail order Russian brides, there are some different traditions that revolve around Russian weddings. Whether you are a Russian bride or groom-to-be, this is a great list of Russian traditions that may help you come up with some great ideas to commemorate and celebrate your ancestral roots of Old Mother Russia.

First off, did you know that Russian weddings are much longer than the traditional American wedding of today in that they typically go on for two full days?

THE KISS PRINT NAPKIN – Before the wedding ceremony, it’s tradition for all Russian grooms to accomplish a few prenuptial traditions. For example, when he comes to pick up his bride, the groom may be handed a napkin with lipstick prints of the bride and her attendants on it. In the unfortunate case that the groom can’t pick out which is his bride’s kiss print, he must pay a fine to the bride-to-be. In jest, Grooms who guess wrong may have to cover a shawl with money to reassure her.

PRE-CEREMONY REGISTRATION- The official traditional Russian ceremony is only one part of the entire wedding event. To start things off, the bride and groom arrive in separate cars and are lead into different rooms that are ideally a decent distance apart before filling out the regestration papers. Next, the couple wait until they are called.

PRE-CEREMONY BUTTEFLY TOSS – Once the Russian bride and groom exit the civil marriage registration office, it’s time for picture taking to commemorate the occasion. Friends and family members toss flower petals, coins, and sometimes release butterflies to wish the couple good luck. And before they leave, it’s tradition for the groom to sweep the bride up in his arms and kiss her in front of all assembled, among flying butterflies.

PRE-CEREMONY BREAD PRESENTATION – Before exiting the registration hall, a member of the bridal party, or sometimes another special person is assigned to present the bride and groom with the ceremonial bread and salt tray, which will be an interesting part of the Russian wedding tradition. Next, the bride and groom are lead into the actual ceremony hall where the actual rites and vows are to be held.

BRIDAL PARTY SASHES – It’s tradition for the best man and maid of honor to wear sashes over their clothing.

RUSSIAN WEDDING RUG – For the ceremony, the bride and groom stand on a traditional wedding carpet and the officiant reads a welcoming speech and then asks the bride and groom to confirm their reason for being there. Very much like our American tradition, the Russian bride and groom then engage in an exchanging of rings, the couples sign in the registry, and then the witnesses sign and the couple are pronounced man and wife.

BREAD BITING TRADITION – A platter of bread is presented during the ceremony to the Russian bride and groom at hand. This part of the ceremony symbolizes the hope for a healthy long life with prosperity for the couple. The bread is then bitten into by both the bride and groom, and the joke is that the one who takes the largest bite will make all the major decisions and essentially be the one who wears pants in the family!

DECORATED BRIDAL RIDE – After the wedding, the bride and groom make a nuptial tour of their town’s historic sites. To transport themselves and their guests to these locations in class, many Russian brides and grooms will hire a fancy limousine covered in with gold decorations and flowers. Quite often, villagers will see the couple’s names painted on a side window, and wave good luck in support of their neighbors’ happy day. When the couple cannot afford a limo, most just have their bridal party pimp out their ride, or borrow a friend’s car suitably tricked out ride, as well. Either way, the bride and groom ride in style.

FIVE STOP TOUR – For Russian brides and grooms the historic town bridal tour is not only a matter of showing up in a specific and often scenic location for photography reasons, the ride is a symbolic act that assures a long and happy marriage.

Typically, the bride and groom make pitstops at five different places around the city that hold special meaning for citizens. There they have post-wedding photos snapped, and at each stop-off, the bride and groom leave flowers to symbolize their contribution as husband and wife to the history of the town/village.

DOVE RELEASE – The couple sometimes simultaneously releases a white dove, as tradition, to symbolize and emphasize the purity of their love, near a waterfront.

BRIDAL RANSOM – There is also a silly tradition of “the stealing the bride”, when the groom takes his eyes off the bride, she might get stolen and the groom will have to pay ransom! All in jest, of course!