Honestly, there is only one thing you really need to think about when putting your guest seating chart together… KEEP THE OLD PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE DJ!!!
God bless them, but they hate loud music.
That is ironic, you might say, as these are the same people who can’t hear well, often due to age. However, it never seems to fail. Those who can’t hear well, will be the same people to ask the DJ to turn down to an inaudible level, all night long. Then, people in the back of the hall will ask the DJ to turn up the volume. What can you do?
Don’t let this problem ruin the party! Just sit the elderly wedding guest as away from the DJ table, as best you can!
A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN PLANNING YOUR WEDDING
If you are ahead of the game, you already started planning in the fall. If not because you hiberating during the coldness of this winter, here are just a few things to think about upon the arrival of the wedding planning season crunch…
VENUES – When booking a hall/caterer, the most expensive part of your wedding can be scary. There are ways to save. Some halls like The Museum of Dance in Saratoga and Pruyn House of Latham allow you to select your own caterer. If you can book anyone, you can find deals, think outside the box, and even DIY bartender and save a ton!
INCLUDE YOUR DJ IN TIMING OF EVENTS –Â A good DJ who has done a bunch of weddings knows when things should happen. Another thing to think about when planning with venues/caterers is they really know food, but they don’t always include what is best for entertainment reasons into their agenda.
Case in point… THE CAKE. Sometimes the event organizer provided by the hall may push for the wedding cake to be cut and served immediately after dinner, this way they can “get it out of the way.” Â However, Â I have seen this be a disaster with some groups. The moment after the cake is cut, people bail and the hall is then empty for two more hours. The cake is a point of exit for many. Golden tips like this are often easily tapped when your DJ is consulted. Just ask!
PLAN EARLY – Make sure and give yourself at least 6 months ahead of time to book your entertainment and up to a year ahead for your venue.
HOT THIS YEAR – Last year was the photo booth. This year, wedding pops are predicted to be the new THING for this wedding season.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN PLANNING YOUR WEDDING LAYOUT
DJ Kenny Casanova gives you some things to think about with your wedding floor plan in this video blog. Touching upon the elderly, DJ placement, and how to get the best music quality from your DJ, if you are creating your wedding reception floor plan right now this is certainly worth under 3 minutes of your time.
You will not only hear some nifty ideas that will save you from having problems, but also get some ideas on what to think about when on offering the most you can from your entertainment through correct placement.
One fun addition to your wedding celebration in recent years is including a Slideshow for all your guests. These can really be a great success when done properly and can add a great bit of mood to the atmosphere you may want to set. However, if done incorrectly, they can fall short.
TOP 10 IDEA LIST ON – HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL WEDDING SLIDESHOW FOR YOUR RECEPTION
The Wedding Slideshow is one of our popular DJ packages. It has become something many couples want to add, but don’t really know how. Having been the disc jockey in countless weddings in the Albany & Saratoga Springs NY region, I have seen quite a bit of good ones and also, some really bad ones. Here is a list I have put together to help clients understand what they should think about when considering a wedding slideshow.
TOP 10 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN CREATING YOUR WEDDING SLIDESHOW
1) PRESENTATION – Do we want the slideshow to be a featured activity as an event with a start and finish, or rather a backdrop decoration on a continuous loop?
2) PICTURE COUNT –  Usually around 75-100 pictures is great for an event slideshow where your guests are instructed to watch a music video-like powerpoint presentation of pictures.
If you have a lot of pictures, it is best to make your wedding slideshow a continuous loop as a decoration in the background. Having your guests watch a 10-15 minute presentation as an event is too long and they will lose interest before the end of the slideshow.
3) MUSIC SELECTION OR NOT – Featured activity should be announced as an event and works best when set to music packaging it like a music video, with maybe one or two songs. (More than three songs begins to feel too long and your audience may lose interest.)
4) WHEN TO PLAY SLIDESHOW – “What time of the night should we show it?” Wedding Slideshows played as an event tend to work better during dinner while people are still eating, as to not take away from dancing time. If you are running a continuous looping slideshow as a decorative backdrop, usually cocktail hour is a good time to run it – and maybe into dinner – shutting it off during the dancing segment of the celebration.
5) ADDING SOUNDSÂ – It is best to “keep it simple.” Adding crazy sounds or many little pieces of tracks to your slideshow is distracting to your audience and takes away from the visual on the screen.
6) EFFECTS –Â Avoid distractions. Powerpoint is loaded with them and it is easy to fall into using different ones everywhere. However, multiple effects like odd slide transitions become annoying to your audience quickly.
7) PICTURE SELECTION – It is best to try and have roughly the same number of slides for both the bride and groom. Using a sequential order is also a good idea, using the oldest pictures first, building up to the most recent. Then finally, having a number of pictures of the bride and groom together at the end, is best.
A slideshow can also be effective for couples who have had a destination wedding, or an elopement and want to now share the pictures of the actually ceremony to those at the reception that were unable to attend the vow exchange.
8) PICTURE TIMING – Usually around 4 seconds (give or take) is the best period of time to use between slide transitions. If you have a really large amount of pictures, you can cut off a half a second or so to help make it move a little faster.
9) SPEAKERS – Many people I have seen have opted to go with using their little computer speakers for the event-type slideshow. This is usually, as far as I can gather, usually because they want to exactly sync up pictures with the a particular line or something in music. However, I still believe it is best to keep it simple and just select a song or two and have your DJ play the song selections – and let the pictures do their thing.
10) PREPARATION – Many people try and get by with Microsoft running a slideshow automatically, however this is not a good idea. Using a program like Powerpoint PPT or even Google presentation is better. Using software that is designed to create a slideshow better lets you select the order in which you want the pictures to appear, as well as the time the picture remains on the screen.
According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in the US is $31,213. While I’d say that may be a little high for the Capital District’s average, I do weddings all the time that top $20,000 right here in Albany, Saratoga, and Troy.
I don’t know about you, but everything I own worth $20,000, I have insured!
WHY YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER WEDDING INSURANCE
Insurance from a reputable insurance plan like the Travelers Wedding Protector Plan covers things like postponement or cancellation of the event, lost deposits, additional expenses to prevent postponement or cancellation, retaking photos if they are lost or damaged, the gifts, the jewelry, and the special attire.
Therefore if the venue is flooded or the couple (or their parents or children) get suddenly ill, they will pay to reschedule the wedding. They pay for lost deposits and even cost of reconvening your wedding party to take new photos if your photographer drops his camera in the pond!
Also, you can add on liability and liquor liability coverage to your policy. A lot of venues now require liability coverage for the event, and this is one way to do it, especially if you don’t have a homeowners policy that might extend it. If you are planning a wedding at your house or a friends house BUY THE LIABILITY.
I understand that with so many expenses stacking up while planning a wedding, often people disregard the thought of wedding insurance as just an expense they can skip, but it is precisely because of those stacking up expenses that a couple needs wedding insurance.
Wedding insurance is not expensive, and if you are spending a good chunk of money on your wedding, get some peace of mind, and insure it. If you want to talk to someone about what you need, I recommend calling Kerri at 518-785-3700. She can help you determine if you should buy wedding insurance and what coverage is right for you.
DATES TO KNOW BEFORE PLANNING YOUR WEDDING IN 2014 –
If you want success at your wedding, attendance plays a big part.
There are a billion things to think about when planning your wedding in Albany NY or around the world, but what some people do not take into account is the importance of the actual date selection itself on the calendar.
NEVER NEVER NEVER select a wedding date because that is the only day a wedding hall has open. There could be a reason it is open that nobody has booked for that day! Do your homework and figure out what else could be happening that day before selecting.
What are the days around they day you are thinking of choosing? What other things could be happening on this date that could create competition? Choosing a “Holiday Weekend Wedding” can totally have it’s pros and cons, but however, sometimes the nostalgia is not really worth it, in the end.
THE PROS OF PLANNING A HOLIDAY WEDDING –
1) HOLIDAYS ARE EASY TO REMEMBER
2) HOLIDAYS HELP PROVIDE YOU WITH A THEME TO FOLLOW
3) GUESTS MAY HAVE OFF OF WORK – Another great thing about planning a holiday wedding is that your guests will have an extra day off of work 9usually a monday) for recovery and travel time. Or, a holiday weekend can allow for a better Sunday wedding, which incidently, is often more affordable that a Saturday wedding works out to be.
 THE CONS ON SELECTING A HOLIDAY FOR YOUR WEDDING  –
1) TRAVEL INCREASE – Traveling costs are traditionally more on holidays, bottom line. Your costs and the the cost for your guests’ airfare traveling and/or hotels are often higher on holiday weekends, due to supply and demand of travelers.
2) GUEST ATTENDANCE – Choosing a holiday wedding might hurt your wedding guest attendance list. Let’s face it. People are creatures of habit, and nobody likes change. Some families have other regularly scheduled commitments and traditions for on-going standing holiday weekend and, more often than not, these are traditions are ones that some people would not want to change, no matter what the cause.
HOLIDAY WEEKENDS FOR 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 17, 2014 Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 26, 2014 Memorial Day
Friday, July 4, 2014 Independence Day
Monday, September 1, 2014 Labor Day
Monday, October 13, 2014 Columbus Day
Tuesday, November 11, 2014 Veterans Day
Thursday, November 27, 2014 Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, December 25, 2014 Christmas Day
3) RELIGIOUS DAYS –
While you may or may not recognize a number of religious holidays, your guests might. Think about religious holidays when choosing your wedding date. There may even be church restrictions on if you are allowed to marry at these times, so you may have to make some calls if you go against this one.
Palm Sunday
April 13, 2014
March 29, 2015
March 20, 2016
Easter Sunday
April 20, 2014
April 5, 2015
March 27, 2016
Passover (begins at sunset the night before)
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Friday, April 22, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
Tisha B’Av (begins at sunset the night before)
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Rosh Hashanah (begins at sunset the night before)
Thursday, September 25, 2014, until nightfall on Friday, September 26, 2014
Monday, September 14, 2015, until nightfall on Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Sunday, October 2, 2016, until nightfall on Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Yom Kippur (begins at sunset the night before)
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Hanukkah (begins at sunset)
Wednesday, December 17, 2014, until nightfall on Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Monday, December 7, 2015, until nightfall on Monday, December 14, 2015
Saturday, December 24, 2016 until nightfall on Sunday, January 1, 2017
DJ TIPS – MORE WEDDING DATE SELECTION TIPS
COSTLY HOLIDAYS – Valentine’s Day will make your floral bill shyrocket, and New Year’s will make your venue more too!
PERSONALLY SIGNIFICANT DAYS –Â Check your own calendar for college reunions, family weddings, anniversaries or other events, like big conventions or festivals in your city (call your local chamber of commerce), and any annual occasions that involve your family or close friends.
HOLIDAY WEEKENDS – Holiday weekend weddings have pros and cons. You’ve got an extra day for the festivities (and recovery!); plus, a Sunday wedding is often less expensive than a Saturday one would be. However, costs of travel and hotels may be higher. And if you’re looking to marry around Valentine’s Day, be wary of your floral bill, especially if you’ve got your heart set on red roses — they’ll likely be more expensive than at any other time of the year. Likewise, reception sites often charge a higher fee for a New Year’s Eve wedding. Also consider the impact of a holiday weekend on your guest list: Some families have standing plans or traditions that they’d prefer not to miss.