Wedding Receptions - What We Do

We work with you as needed to ensure all the needed details are planned and well understood. We send a questionnaire sheet that summarizes the “who-what-where-when” details and usually puts all important details on paper for us to read over during the planning. Even if all the details are squared away, we always call or email approximately one week before the wedding just to make everything is still happening to plan. You will always be planning directly with the DJ who will be at the reception, so no one else can give their interpretation of how your wedding should be. You will be able to reach us on our cell phones or email anytime.

We will arrive at least three hours before the beginning of the CEREMONY. This means that we allow ourselves three hours plus the time it takes for the ceremony to happen and the guests to arrive. If we are travelling several hours, we usually add even more time than needed. If we are running sound at the ceremony itself, we usually arrive four or more hours before the start of the ceremony. We set up, test, and adjust our equipment as needed. Our setup will be neat and professionally presented. Cords will be run in a safe manner and tied and taped wherever necessary. We always bring backup equipment. All of the equipment will perform properly and will not buzz, crackle, or pop. If for some reason there is a problem, we will switch to backup gear right away.

It almost never takes the entire time to set up. We use this extra time to get cooled off, rehydrate, and change clothes so that we will not be sweaty or still trying to finish setting up when guests arrive. We wear the appropriate attire, which is usually slacks or khaki pants, with a button down shirt and tie, and a jacket. If you feel this does not match up with the tone of your reception, let us know ahead of time.

During the reception we will be dedicated to the task of making your reception a success. We will line up the bridal party when they are ready to enter, and read back everyone's names before hand to make sure they are in order and that we can pronounce them correctly. We announce major events that need crowd attention (entrance of wedding party, cake cutting, toasts, prayer, meal, bouquet and garter toss, dollar dance, etc.). We make sure that ALL guests in the reception area can hear the announcements. We keep the reception running on time, in a smooth orderly manner, or both. What I mean by this is that wedding receptions are commonly behind schedule even before the guests arrive. If this is the case, we take the entire picture into consideration. Rather than enforce the schedule to the second, we make sure the reception is smooth and comfortable and that everything gets done, without feeling rushed.

We work with the photographers, videographers, wedding coordinators, venue attendants, caterers, and anyone else of importance to keep them aligned with the flow of events. This includes making sure the photographer is in position before we start announcing the bridal party entrance or counting off the bouquet toss. We make sure the champagne is ready and the best man has his speech ready right before the toasts. We verify that the caterers are ready to go before we have the blessing before the meal. The list goes on, and we are there to orchestrate your reception.

We have background music on during the reception which is generally upbeat country, rock and roll, or oldies music similar to what was asked for during the dance, unless you specify other music particularly for dinner time. The music will be loud enough to keep guests comfortable and able to talk. We often walk around to hear the loudness, as well as look around to make sure no one is leaning in because they cannot hear over noise. Conversation will be easy during dinner.
When it’s time to kick off the dance, we do what we do best: entertain the crowd with music. We play the songs you specify for the first dance, father and daughter, mother and son, etc. We play music that the crowd knows and enjoys, within the outline of music you’ve specified beforehand. However, we do try to avoid cliché wedding music (YMCA, Macarena, etc.) unless requested. You will hear all the "Must Play" requests you gave us ahead of time, and will not hear any of the "Do Not Play" music.

The music will be loud and clear on the dance floor. Our goal is to have the dance floor loud while it is still possible to have conversations in the other parts of the reception venue. This is usually not completely possible because of the layout and acoustics, but we will still do the best with what we have. We usually re-adjust the PA system before the dance starts to cover the dance floor more directly rather than where the guests are seated for announcements.

During your first dances and bouquet tosses, we are sure to have the lighting set the way the photographer prefers. Usually this is with many of the lights on, but it varies depending on the equipment they have. During the remaining dance, we generally try to make the dance floor darker so people will feel most comfortable. We have enough moving lights to make it easy to see on the dance floor, without having to have the stark-white building lights turned up all the way.

We do take requests from anyone, but honor any restrictions you set (Ex: “no hip-hop or explicit music”, etc.). Requests from the bride and groom are obviously the highest priority followed by the bridal party and parents of the bride or groom. If there are a lot of requests we play them as we see fit, which may not necessarily be in the order they were requested. For example, we may hold off on the louder “booty-shakin’” music for a little later than the first few songs of the dance when most of the older guests are still there. If there are several slow song requests we group them together, but not too many in a row, of course. We also generally ignore inappropriate requests such as from small children for Hannah Montana, and any requests from guests for anything that cannot be danced to at all and does not fit at a wedding (heavy metal, techno/house, etc.).

During the bouquet and garter tosses we announce for all the single ladies or single men to come to the center of the dance floor. We do not take it upon ourselves to call anyone out by name or force them to participate. We may play some fun music during the tosses or garter removal. We will not do anything ridiculous to the effect of encouraging the groom to use his teeth when pulling the garter off. When the bridal party is entering and during cake cutting, we generally let background music play, unless you specifically ask for songs for these times. During prayers and toasts, there is of course no background music.

When it approaches time to leave, we approach the bride or groom and make sure they are ready to leave. We’ll announce for all the guests to line up outside the entrance to see the bride and groom off and play any last dances. We usually do not announce the bride and groom as they are leaving, because the guests are usually outside and would not be able to hear. If you ask us to continue playing after departure, we will if there are guests left over after the bride and groom leave.