Affording your dream wedding can happen with some organization and planning
Do you want the wedding of your dreams, but don’t think you can afford it? Paying for a wedding can be really expensive, to really get everything you want. However, where there is a will, there is a way…
FOOD IS NOT CHEAP – No matter how you slice the wedding cake, your largest bill at a wedding will waht you pay to the caterers. If you will be feeding say 120 guests or so, by today’s industry stanards you are probably looking at $50 a plate, or more. Then, add $6,000 for meals to additional venue costs, and whatever package you are choosing for booze, and you will quickly come close to the $10,000 mark. If you are like many people in today’s economy, you may be asking yourself, “how can I pay for it all?
Breath easy. Aside from the most important way to save money (keeping your invite list down to save on catering), many brides & grooms have been same boat as you are in, and have come up with ways to still make their dream wedding happen.
ONLINE INCOME SOURCES – If you are like many people today and do not have a whole lot of time in your week to work extra hours, some customers have told me that offering a skill on Craigslist is a great way to pick up some extra work here and there to generate some extra income. If you do well with landscaping, carpentry, housekeeping, babysitting, or even bartending, you can go online to craigslist at any time and pick up some extra temporary work to supplement your income.
If you have a product you can sell, others tell me that Ebay and Amazon both offer storefont potential with no overhead. That means, if you have a product you can sell, you can do so on these sites and reach tons of customers, without having to pay rent or employees to man a store. If you don’t have anything to sell, some of my customers have told me that they make thousands by finding collectibles at yard sales and reselling them on Ebay/Amazon.
PART TIME JOB – However, I have found that a number of my DJ customers have decided to treat their wedding budget the same way as some families treat huge Christmas lists; by taking on a part-time job for a short period of time to make it happen. A part-time job really is a great way to pay for things, with the potential to just go back to your comfortable lifestyle, soon after the wedding kitty is full. Here are some good resources to use, in case you are thinking about taking on some side work, so that you can have the wedding of your dreams!
However, if you don’t mind throwing a few hours into the dream wedding kitty, a part time job with an additional hundred or two dollars of income for a few months may really be the way to go!
Here are some good resources to use, in case you are looking for a job, to pay for your dream wedding.
PROFESSIONAL RESUME – To get that extra little job, you really need to stand out from the rest in today’s economy. It is alll about packaging. If it is skill-based, bringing a portfolio to your interview with lots of great pictures is a good idea. But first of, you need to have a professional resume to get your foot in the door. Sometimes 100-500 people may apply to the same job, so you have to stand out from all the rest. Professional resumes are not just lists of dates and addresses, today they have finely crafted bullets with action phrases displaying what it is you did at a past work experience.
I am a succesful wedding DJ and have seen it all. Also being a certified English teacher in a Career & Technical school, I have some career resources that I would like to share with you, in order to help your dream wedding become a reality.
Resume Template <- Here is a link to a great RESUME TEMPLATE that I have created. TIP- make sure to make EVERYTHING uniform on your resume. This is your first impression to a potential employer. Make it count!
Resume Action Verbs <- It is always important to add ACTION VERBS under your work experiences. These will help the potential employer understand what kind of experience you have that may be a good match for them. This link is a list of those words that will better help them to visualize you working for them.
Resume Sample <- Here is a sample of what the RESUME might look like when you are done.
ADD A COVER LETTER – Don’t forget to add a COVER LETTER along with your resume, before sending it out. Here is a few links to some cover letter resources that I have created to help make your resume stand out from the rest:
COVER LETTER logic <- Here is a link to a list of things to think about when writing your cover letter.
Cover Letter Sample <- This is a sample of what a cover letter might look like when it is done.
Once again, they ran out of prime rib just before they got to me. With no prime rib left to serve the only rockstar room, I cried my prime rib tears on a plate of replacement chicken. Why does this always happen to me? After all, I am DJ Kenny freakin’ Casanova, right? I am the one playing the tunes! Do you want me to play all Barry Manilow?
This time, despite being an officially invited guest and friend of the bride with my RSVP of beef, I still got the chicken. The waitress even stopped by my table first and asked, “what would you like; prime rib or chicken?” However, I knew her deal. I had her number. No matter what I was going to say to answer this routine question, she knew exactly what she was going to serve before she even asked the question. I was going to get the bird regardless, and knowing that made me want to give her the bird, in return.
I get no respect, and I get no prime rib.
Is this a conspiracy theory against Kenny Casanova, Prime Rib lover and enthusiast extraordinaire?
First off, I am a man. Prime Rib is my absolute favorite!!! You don’t even have to ask the question, chicken or beef. However, I think they do to somehow almost rub it in my face or something.
How can you do this to a man?Granted, I know I am supposed to be working. I know I am supposed to be doing my job and technically not enjoying the same inch and a half thick mound of meat that everyone else around me is devouring. However, why do they ask me if I want the beef or chicken, and always say that they ran out, if it isn’t a power play by the man trying to hold the funk soul brother DJ down?
Just like Rodney, I get no respect.
As a wedding DJ, you would think I would get the scrumptious pink piece of meat dish every weekend, but yet somehow, I rather always get the shaft…
MY THEORY – This “chicken switch” practice is not at all unusual. Many halls ironically always run out of the prime rib, just before they get to me. Is this a coincidence? Many halls rarely give the DJ and other wedding professionals their best dishes, as a means of cutting costs and offering a discount to the bride and groom on their food bill. However, for the purpose of my blog and for the purpose of word of mouth recommendation from a wedding professional who can be influential to clients who may be looking for a recommendation, this sucks.
DON’T MAKE ME CHICKEN REVIEW YOU INSTEAD OF BEEF- I can’t speak on a hall’s very best dish and give a client an idea of whether you should book a hall or not out of delisciousness, when I am not reviewing their very best dish, EVER.
Don’t you want to put your best foot forwards, or are you afraid you can’t make a piece of beef that can get a good review?
HOW CAN I REVIEW YOUR BEST FOR MY BLOG? – Be forewarned! When a different dish than I have requested is forced on me, I don’t always eat it. Therefore, I may have to default on a drunk bridesmaid to step in, for the purpose of reviewing the hall for my blog. Maybe this bridesmaid will be one who doesn’t care much for the hall’s chicken dish served with mandarin garnish. One who will offer quotes for my blog with her opinion openly saying the chicken was, “plain, a little on the tough side, and really cold.” One who makes a Chef Ramsay food review look good…
Mind you, the drunk bridesmaid may have had so much to drink that all she could taste by dinner was probably rum. In this case, the hall can risk that my audience can either take her review or leave it, and tell everyone to just consider the source.
BOTTOM LINE: Don’t ask me what I want to eat, then say you ran out and give me something else. That $#i!! just teases me. Also, realize that I yeild the power of the pen in these blogs. If you cheap out and chicken me after offering the prime rib, know that I won’t jump to eat it right away. Then, by the time I actually get to the chicken and it actually is cold, know that this will hurt your grade even more and I will likely just bring it home for my dog.
Incidently, my dog will nine times out of ten say, “I love this piece of chicken,” when I give him the replacement cheap dish. You may think, well at least we will get a good review from the DJ’s dog, however, consider the source yourself. This is the same dog who also licks his butt on a regular basis.
(The opinions above are the exclusive opinions of DJ Kenny Casanova immediately after being handed chicken, expecting a huge piece of steak. While some of what is being expressed above is completely true yet in saterical form, the words are not the official opinions of TheDJservice.com.)
Always your wedding around a chance of rain!Avoid Wedding Disasters Top 10 List
There are many little things that can throw your wedding off and perhaps classify it under a “Wedding Disaster” category. However, a number of these things can be avoided with no cost at all to the bride and groom. Here is a list of things to remember when you are planning your wedding, to avoid your own wedding disaster.
1) Avoid placing your wedding date on a holiday – selecting a holiday or special day for your wedding date creates a built in competition quandary for many guests. When brides and grooms choose these type of dates, they often find from their attendance that their top priority, their wedding, is not also everyone’s #1 priority, at the same time. Making your guest choose between your special day and their special traditions does not always work out in your favor.
2) Give plenty of time for the invitation – Some people see that up to 6 months before the event is a good heads up time to RSVP. Others say even more time is essential to the success of your guest list attendance.
3) Don’t force your lifestyle on your guests – If you are vegetarian or vegan, it may not be a good idea to only offer these dishes at your wedding. A good host tries to accomodate their guests desires in order to make them happy, not force something on them. This goes for food as well as music selection.
4) Try and always plan for Saturday Night Weddings – Fridays people sometimes have to work and Sundays people have no day to recover/travel.
5) Keep the invite list numbers as low as possible – Don’t invite just anyone. Your biggest expense is usually your venue/catering. Keeping your numbers down can save hundreds of dollars with only a handful of guests.
6) Seat older people away from the DJ – Even if Grandma has a hearing aid and can’t hear well, she sure will hear the DJ if she is placed right by the speakers. She will also want the music turned down to practically nothing.
7) Have Back Up Plan for outside weddings – whether it is the ceremony or the reception, have a back up plan in case it rains.
8 ) Be careful of allowing your photographer to overshoot – While you may like many photos as possible, shooting too many is pointless and will only make you miss your reception. Signs of Overshooting could include running longer than 45 minutes during cocktail hour, or being pulled out during the dance time of your reception.
9) Create a “Do Not Playlist” for your DJ – This will ensure there are no surprises.
10) Do “The Cake Cutting” as late as possible – While the hall may push for the cake cutting immediately after dinner, remember, many people leave right after the cake. The cake cutting also can slow down the flow, when you are trying to get people to dance.
Recently at the Holiday Inn in Albany, I was the disc jockey for a real fun, high-end, Asian-fusion-themed Sweet Sixteen Party. The party was formal, and also much like an Japanese-American themed Wedding I did recently, so I thought I would throw down some ideas to help others who are thinking about a theme for their special event.
It’s okay to be different. The birthday girl at the party I did was an African-American. If you love sushi and/or Chinese food and have a huge passion for the East, who says that you can’t have an Asian-themed wedding? If you are thinking of changing things up a bit for your wedding, it doesn’t matter if the bride or groom has Oriental roots or not, it really doesn’t matter. America is about diversity. How many theme parties have you been to where the hosts actually fit the mold in their daily lives, anyhow?
Anyhow, it could be difficult and limiting to isolate your event to just Chinese or Japanese culture, since they themselves draw from so many inspirations. The modern Japanese writing system itself uses three main scripts, and one of them, Kanji, is basically made up entirely from Chinese characters/letters. Since here in the west, we often group eastern ideas and cultures together, it may be interesting to have an Asian-Fusion Theme, so you can incorporate all the fun.
WEDDING CEREMONY – For the actually wedding ceremony, there are many different eastern traditions that can easily be researched. One interesting one has the bride and groom entering the room from opposite sides and symbolically walking together. Guests then wave paper streamers over the couple’s heads for purification to keep evil spirits at away. After exchanging vows, the bride and groom each drink a symbolic glass of sake. Finally, they trade glasses nine times to symbolize their new bond.
Formal Wedding Kimonos go for well over $20,000!
BRIDE DRESS- Typically, a bride in Japan wears a white silk kimono that can cost over $20,000, but you can get something much cheaper here in the states, or even have something made. The fun part for the bride in Japan is that she gets to act like Lady Gaga at an award ceremony all night. Normally, the Japanese bride changes into up to five different kimonos throughout the wedding day.
Japanese brides often wear a traditional Japanese wig as part of their regalia. These wigs are very fancy and decorated in golden barrettes, pearls, and beautiful artificial flowers,
GROOM CLOTHING- On the other side of the ying yang, a Japanese groom wears all black. A “haori” on the top and a “hakama” on the bottom are the official terms of the traditional matrimonial garb.
DRESS CODE – The wedding party also dresses in kimonos, usually in a color chosen by the bride. Depending on the atmosphere you are looking for, you may want to encourage fun eastern attire from the guests as well. Warning… be forewarned that Uncle Charlie could probably show up as a ninja.
The reception is where you can really pull in the Asian-Fusion theme. There are so many options with this that there is no excuse if you fall short.
ARRIVAL – Though I will admit I have not seen this, coming in pulled on a hand-pulled rikshaw would kick some major bonsai!
Paper Lantern Decorations will dress up any event!
DECORATIONS – There are so many options. Bonsai Tree centerpieces, Shoji paper lanterns with Japanese script, Chinese paper parasols, Lucky bamboo plants, Fancy sushi trays and dipping dishes, Cherry Blossoms, paper wall room dividers, hanging oil lanterns. Mini Sandy Zen gardens with tiny rakes. Polished river stones can act as paperweights for napkins.
PRINTING – For the invitations, print custom invitations on Japanese Fine artisan papers and make sure to include some Chinese or Japanese letters. You could also print programs on paper fans!
FAVORS – In Japan, a nickel is a beautiful cheap coin that has a hole in it. It is said to be good luck to wear this coin as a charm on a necklace. Therefore, why not give out Good Luck Japanese Nickel Necklaces? Also, every place setting could have a Lucky Red Takeout Box & Japanese Chopsticks, and Origami. You could also go with a keepsake Porcelain Chinese Takeout Box , Longevity Chopsticks in Silk Pouches, or even Personalized Japanese Wood Chopsticks. Also, fortune cookie with pre-printed fortunes, customized by the bride and groom would be a great hit!
DRINKS – Bowls of edamame beans at the bar, Sake, Wasabe Brew, green tea, or mango sodas.
APPETISERS – Sushi, sashimi, a full raw bar spread, dim sum, shrimp tempura, spring rolls, teriyaki or yakimore sticks and noodles dishes.
MAIN COURSE – Don’t even get me started.
No matter what you do, a theme wedding is the way to go. No one will forget! …And do not be afraid to play Carl Douglas’ “Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting” and The Vapors song “I’m Turning Japanese.” You know you want to!
So the ring has been given, now, what next? Is there anything important you need to think of when choosing your actual wedding date? How to choose a wedding date, is difficult and should not be taken lightly.
How to optimize the selection of the actual calendar date for your wedding is easy when you eliminate your competion.
When you are picking a date to throw a big event like a wedding, one should approach things with a good business mind. That means, KNOW YOUR COMPETITION. Like any other important date, be smart about selection. You should act like a real good planner and think of all the reasons your guests may not be able to come on that particular day. Believe it or not, people may not make your most special date their top priority.
You probably can understand that planning a wedding on Superbowl Sunday is probably not the best idea, if you have a lot of sports fans on either side of the family. So when do you plan it?
Choosing the actual day of the week is tough, but it is not the biggest battle. Most people will agree that a Sunday or a Friday is a good idea, but Saturday seems to be even better due to commute issues for your guests either before or after the ceremony and reception. If this is true, then what you really need to focus on is which Saturday on the calendar is best to choose? To figure this out, think about which Saturday will pose the least amount of distrations to the majority of your guests.
STAY AWAY FROM HOLIDAYS – Face it. Aside from your one uncle that farts a lot, and the one cousin who gets extremely drunk even at communion, for the most part, you really want your all of your friends and family to be able to make it. However, there is one mistake that a lot of party planners seem to make… PUTTING THE DATE ON A HOLIDAY, figuring that your guests have the date off anyway.
AVOID CAUSING A BREAK IN YOUR GUEST’S POSSIBLE TRADITIONS – Yes, at first, selecting a holiday as your wedding date seems like a novel idea; getting married on Christmas Eve, or The Fourth of July, perhaps. You probably figure that most people already have that date off, and it is fun to be able to say, “we are getting married and starting our NEW lives together on NEW Years Eve!” …or something to that effect. However, placing your special date on a day where other people may already have plans, or traditions is quite often a really bad thing to do.
For one, it sometimes can make some very important people in your lives have to pick between attending either their yearly plan/tradition, or attending your function. This can upset your guests or even you when you see what their decision is. It is a bad position to put people in on both sides.
I was the DJ for one wedding that actually fell on Halloween. It was also a “no kids allowed” wedding. This meant that some of their guests had to get babysitters and also, could not go trick-or-treating with their children. So what ended up happening? Many guest with younger children left way too early for the success of the wedding reception. When it came time to dance, a large portion of the guest list had left.
AVOID PLACING YOUR DATE ON A FUN DAY – Another reason chosing a fun calendar day for your special day is not a good idea is you may loose some of the fun people who might have attended that are not all that close to you. If they are not your very best friends, but you do want them to attend, it is possible that they may succumb to the temptation of your calendar date’s competition. That can mean less people you haven’t seen in a long time, or even worse, less of a good time overall.
A good example of this might be placing your wedding date on Saint Patrick’s day. While it is not traditionally a day that people may get off of work, it is a day that many other parties and events plan on.
An Irish Wedding theme can be great! However, choosing the actual Saint Patrick’s day date for your wedding will make some of your lesser important guests to have to choose between you, and that nice pint of green beer that is waiting for them down the street at their favorite pub. Again, as a rule of thumb, keep in mind that your most special day is not always going to be THEIR most special day. And you do not want to lose guests that you value simply because you picked one day, when you could have picked another. (For some ideas on Irish theme weddings check out my blog here.)
So think twice before choosing that holiday for your special day. If you create competion for your event by choosing a bad day from the start, you are only setting yourself up for potential heartache.
Many couples spend big bucks on decorations and flowers for their wedding and it is always the attitude that letting it all go waste would be a shame. My guess is that the bride and groom certainly do not want to take home a dozen huge floral arrangements that will only just be dead by the time they get back from their honeymoon.
Therefore, because you asked for it, we have decided to add the wedding centerpiece to our popular “TOP TEN LIST” articles. Here at TheDJservice.com, we have painstakingly put together our favorite centerpiece giveaway ideas that that will keep the guests happy after the last song.
1) FIND THE PENNY
Ask someone to hide a penny either under a plate or coffee mug at the table, or underneath one actual chair at each table. The person who finds the lucky penny gets to take hope the centerpiece. You can switch the penny up, if you like, to maybe a poker chip or something else that may go along with the theme of your wedding.
2) DONATION
Want to save some money? Those centerpieces became a tax deductible write off! If you are not all about the cash, it is also nice to know that you could be brightening the day of some people at an elderly home, or hospital, perhaps.
3) REWARD THE FIRST RSVPS
With this centerpiece giveaway, you reward your most prompt RSVP responders. As your RSVPs come in, simply keep track of the order. Then when you make your seating charts, you can put a sticker inside the place card of the people who sent in their RSVPs first., or just have the DJ read a list.
4) FIGHT CLUB
If you don’t want to really bother figuring out how give away your centerpieces, you can always have the DJ announce it is a free-for-all, at the end of the night. Then let your family and friends engage in a brawl.
5) ON THE DOWN LOW
If you want to play favorites, then this is the option for you. When you visit the tables, tell whomever it is you want to take the centerpiece that they can have it. This action will let you give them to specially chosen people, without having to make an announcement that might offend someone who is eyeballing the goods.
6) HOT POTATO
Have each table pass get ready to pass around an object like a napkin, dollar bill or anything. Announce that they will pass the item hot potato style around the table. Have the DJ play music and stop it randomly. When the music stops, whoever is still holding the passable object is the winner. They get to take home the centerpiece.
7) LOTTO TICKETS
Some people today like to give lotto tickets as party favors. If this idea works for you, whoever wins the highest dollar figure at the table, also wins the centerpiece.
8 ) ANNIVERSARY MATCH
Have the DJ announce that you would like to give the centerpiece to the person to the couple whose birthday is closest to today’s date.
9) TRIVIA QUESTIONS
You could always have the DJ read off a few questions and have the guests at each table compete for the centerpiece. He or she who writes down the most correct answers, wins!
10) BIRTHDAY
Let the guests know that the centerpiece will be awarded to the person at each table whose birthday is closest to the bride’s birthday.
Pick one, or leave the flowers for the janitor! Good luck!
