Here is an idea… How about a wedding fit for a King? An Elvis-themed wedding can be as elegant and fancy, or as fun and crazy as you would like it to be.
Elvis had many faces over his life. He was a lady killer, rockstar, country man, Las Vegas staple, and clean cut man of class, depending on when you saw him over his career. Also, Elvis’ Blue Hawaiin period can allow for a more laid back pacific feel.
So what can you do?
First and foremost, pick out the Elvis look you want most and dress your bridesmaids and groomsmen accordingly. If you still want some traditional tuxedoed look for your wedding ceremony and really only want the Elvis theme for the reception, the perfect way to incorporate the theme subtley is by dressing only the goormsmen of the wedding party’s feat in Blue Suede Shoes. Then choose a matching shade of blue for the bridesmaids gowns!
But if you really want to go all out, how about ushers who are all dressed as Elvis impersonators for the big day? And how about a ballad for the wedding march and walk the aisle to Elvis singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”.
Once you hit the reception, anything goes.
Peanutbutter and banana sandwich horsduerves are a must for a conversation piece. Also, add some 50’s sunglasses on every table and some hawaiin leighs.
Door prizes rock. They create anticipation, excitement, and also increase the amout of guests. It is not unheard of for office parties these days to charge a little bit more for their party admission so that door prizes can be given away, in raffle form, and people are willing to pay it.
My partner in crime, Maria DJ (of MariaDJ.com), she just did a great one for ITT where they gave away a laptop and iPods, and all kinds of cool gadgets! There isn’t always that much left over revenue for super high-end prizes, but with a little planning, door prizes can still happen and they can still be fun.
Last weekend, I was the disc jockey for a real fun party with gift certificates to places like Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot, and Target. People ate them up, on the edge of their seats, waiting for me to read the winning numbers. We also did a Twist, Macarena, Electric slide and Limbo contest with prizes for the best dancers.
There is a fine line, however, between giving out LOTS of door prizes so that everyone gets something, and also watering down the prizes too much so that they are not appreciated.
At a recent office holiday party that I DJ’ed and MC’ed for, they tried something new this year. Rather than giving away 4 or 5 gift certificates at about 20-25 a piece for various locations, they gave away a load of 5 dollar ones.
In the end, people didn’t seem to care as much and weren’t excited, as the give-away was kind of drawn out and with not much pay off.
This is NOT a DJ Kenny Casanova Set Up. A Professional Disc Jockey is very concerned with image.
The other day, I saw a message posted on a message board explained how to DJ your own wedding. I was like, “huh? How can you do that?”” It is true that you could save money, but at what expense? I just thought I would throw a few thoughts at you on why I believe that the professional DJ is needed especially at a wedding, at all costs.
1. If you are planning on anything traditional at your wedding, you know that you will need a sound system, including microphones for things like speeches, toasts and/or blessings.
2. An iPod cannot speak and offers no interaction with the guests. A good DJ hypes up great introductions, instructs on custom activities and also special announcements. If you have a crowd that needs prodding to jump up and dance on their own, an iPod will just sit there and allow the night to unfold into a boring reception.
3. While the iPod itself may cost less than a professional wedding DJ, how do you plan on amplifying the music? Sitting around an iPod dock isn’t going to cut it. To rent professional equipment, you come very close to some DJ’s actual price.
4. The professional wedding DJ also acts as a wedding planner/organizer. An iPod doesn’t know when is the best time to toast, dance, eat, drink and/or cut the cake actually is. , etc. Experience is something that can’t be pre-programmed.
5. A professional wedding DJ doesn’t just play random “shuffled” songs. The good DJ looks at the audience at hand, reads the crowd and constantly adjusts the music selections to get or keep people dancing.
6.Finally, what happens if your rented equipment fails. Do you want to rent an additional backup system to have on hand?
If you are having a laid back small reception, you may be able to get away with supplying your own background music. However, if you are hoping for a crazy party with dancing, energy and excitement, no machine can replace a man.
Drop me a line with any comments! I would love to hear them. ken@theDJservice.com
The Peas have just given their fans a taste the album’s first single dance track “The Time (Dirty Bit).” This track samples the iconic theme from “Dirty Dancing,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
“You should expect deeper, a little bit darker electro beats and a little bit more of relationship issues on this one, a little bit more touching on that.” Fergie told MTV News. “But darker beats and a lot of funny stuff, as well, a lot of funny stuff.” Fergie said the song, “sort of sums up the current vibe of our group.”
Is Using a Wedding Planner Really The Right Choice for Everyone?
Not everyone can afford a real wedding planner, and quite often, some people do not even want one. Sometimes it would seem the quote “the more the merrier” when it comes time to do some wedding planning, however, for some, this may not be the case. In more cases than not, having “too many cooks will spoil the brew.”
Most often, people can help and everything will be just fine and turn out exactly how you wanted. However, wedding party members or relatives who either take it on themselves to become part time wedding planners can either become an asset to you, or can actually be a source of stress.
There are a few things to think about when bringing friends and family in for additional help.
1. Are you deciding for yourself what you are expecting the extra person to get done?
2. Do you really want to give them ultimate control, or rather guided direction? It is best to ask a few people for help with one small goal, then to put a lot on one person and have someone feel like they are actually in charge. If you put a family member “in charge” things may not go exactly your way, with the wrong person at the helm.
3. Has the person in question been helpful before, or are could they potentially be overly opinionated and pushy in times of stress?
4. Can you risk the friendship? I have heard horror cases where differences in taste result in problems. Weddings are stressful and can cause all sorts of in-fighting.
5. Does your spouse REALLY like the idea of the person helping?
So if you choose not to have Aunt Bertha run things now… You are not alone. If you have rented a hall that often books weddings, usually there is a person in charge of things that go with your expense. Use them!!! (Remember, however, they also have their own agendas as far as things to cut corners and save money. One way they do this is to push to have the cake cut earlier so that they can send staff home.
Also your wedding DJ is often your best bet for party planning at the reception. If they are a professional, not only will they be able to read your crowd and play all the songs you want, as well as others will enjoy, but they will organize the events along with your caterer and photographers so that everything comes off without a hitch.
VJ Video Jockey – DJ kenny Casanova Albany Weddings
Today, a “VJ” is a Video Jockey, but not like the ones you used to see on MTV and VH1. They are a hybrid between a mobile DJ and a performance artist who plays music and creates moving visual art from video on large screens, often at events such as concerts, nightclubs and music festivals.
With media files being easier to handle and manipulate and share across the board, it was only a matter of time before mobile DJ’s added visuals to the act, i.e. music videos and the like.
Hitting most of the major cities’ club life, we are now seeing a trend for DJs to move into the video world. There is now a growing need to add some kind of visual for every audio track played. This mindset is spreading like wildfire.
What some VJs are doing now are playing all music video format for dancing, with inserted video backdrops for tracks that people want to hear that do not have a music video available.
Following the trends being set by others, I now offer the same packages to my customers! Word up!
