Yesterday, I took a crack at Wedding DIY by brides. Actually, I’m beginning a campaign for quality and professionalism, across the board, in the wedding industry.
The post struck a resonant chord with wedding professionals from all corners. In that spirit, I repost this item from two years ago, to demonstrate how the disc jockey entertainment industry pushes back.
Wedding DIY Stinks: Hire A Professional
Originally posted 5/30/2009
I’m a huge Apple fan. Computers, iPhone and iPods. However, somewhere along the line, the media seemed to have decided that using an iPod at one’s wedding to save money was an idea whose time had come. Not exactly.
In the wake of the appearance on Fox 5 TV Chicago by Jenny Lefcourt, VP Business Development, Bella Pictures, many wedding professionals were up in arms. The phrase ‘Dump The DJ.’ had a particularly catchy and nasty ring to it. To Mobile DJ Entertainment Industry Leaders, it felt like a slap in the face of the highest order, and they were not going to stand for it.
Many professional disc jockeys contacted Bella Pictures, directly. The American Disc Jockey Association, led by Dr. Drax chose to apply pressure behind the scenes and develop its own video demonstrating the results at an actual iPod wedding.
This video is several minutes long. It has a beautiful set up, and then shows you exactly a DIY iPod Wedding crashes and burns. The iPod-driven reception is not staged. It is video from an actual reception. Just click on the controller play button (just below the screen) to see the clip.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
Dj or Ipod??
Depends if you’re talking a cheesy DJ, or a Good DJ?
I assume you’re smart enough to steer clear of Cheesy DJs. Yet, I�m constantly surprised at how many brides KEEP hiring these amoles! Amazing, when, if you just asked your facility manager, planner, or photographers WHO are the good ones, there are so many NON cheesy DJ’s. Most of all, don’t get adrenalin-bamboozled at bridal shows by flashy lights and “Emcee/Deejays” with tacky sequin vests and outdated euro-tacky collar-studs.
The overarching moral of the “ipod / DIY/Laptop/ Ipad wedding” story is that couples honesty “don’t know what they don’t know” – and then its too late.
I will share just some of the “make or break” nuances that no one discovers until it�s too late, and they could have had a MUCH better wedding day.
So to your point – no – a Non Cheesy, Classy, Professional DJ is not a “must”,
if you don’t want:
1) correctly done introductions,
with no muffled sound/mic levels,
and with crucial volume-riding between couples
2) photographs of people with their eyes open, smiling, not looking away.
(guess what the DJ has to do with this??) Same goes for video moments captured�or MISSED forever – what could the DJ possibly have to do with this?
3) perfectly executing your custom music-drops for each couple as they enter
4) awkward dead air.
embarrassing timing miscues
missed moments
important events remembered
5) “atmosphere” – to keep people from leaving, and bring together the rest of all your hard work
6) to not have to spend literally several days collecting, assembling, going back and forth, collecting random requests, deciding about music, creating playlists upon playlists – especially when “next song timing” cant be decided until you SEE what is working to the songs that is PLAYING! Even with the most rowdy crowds (and maybe more so) — Bottom line: Song -by-song crowd reading / human decision-making is the KEY to keeping people on the floor
7) If you don’t get the right size speaker s and place them specifically, your hip hop & 80′s songs will sound like an AM radio – NO dancing vibe. If you don’t want to begin learning about standing-waves, floor coupling, and time alignment and you want sound complaints and poor audio dance impact, mid-high arrays that are steerable, backup equipment. picking up, delivering, setting up, taping down, relocating extra systems for different locations, packing up, worrying is there a tech on-call if there�s a failure?, worrying about people with hangovers returning it all on time before additional day charges are posted, back injuries – and then paying for all this. Proper research, rentals, time and stress are have a way of going way over budget all MONEY.
9) to not unpleasantly surprise your best man/ Usher/”friend” –
to not only miss the fun – but by realizing that to prevent your reception from becoming a disaster, they end up stuck being the full-time music chooser, volume-correcter, playlist glitch apologizer, system rebooter, Audio system overheating failure head-scratcher, dancefloor clearer, smooth segue fail-er, red-faced mic interference causer, complaint/suggestion/request fielder, song by song graphic EQ correction engineer, event announcer MC, old people pleaser, young people pleaser – ALL WHILE being the event/timing liason between the catering staff, wedding planner, photographer/videographer and guests.
10) WARNING!! Anyone who says “the hall has speakers” is likely to have terribly distorted sound, and will be paying for a huge repair bill to fix blown speakers you caused. Talk about sounding like you know what. ONE pop song with ANY bass, and your event is HISTORY. Fair warning.
Heres a good analogy:
Youve paid through the nose for the most expensive imported ingredients for a tricky dessert recipe – to be made live on TV.
Youve got ONE shot to get in right – in front of a live audience watching.
You need a chef.
Do you put the ingredients in the hands of:
1) a cheesy, “i saved money on him” chef
2) a friend who “assures you” they can do it
3) someone who has done it thousands of times and already knows the hidden pitfalls and tricks of the trade to guarantee success.
People: Yes, there are 2 kinds of DJ:
Cheesy ones, chosen by couples who either didn’t do basic research, accepted an offer of a gift or friend of a friend “deal”, or went by “price”
(or actually liked the DJ they chose, and are cheesy people themselves!!)
And then there are: Sophisticated, elegant, “less is more” Wedding DJ’s – who actually know YOUR eclectic music, and can mix, segue and time your choices artfully, with authority, and assemble them song by song, in the moment, in way that a playlist can NEVER predict, and will amaze you and your guests.
Bottom line: There is nothing that has LESS atmosphere, makes people feel less appreciated and feel more tacky or awkward than trying to be polite by reacting to an unmanned “box” for the biggest day in your life. If they say they loved it, its because most don’t want to hurt your feelings. This isn’t a biker bar. A TASTEFUL DJ is the backbone of everything going n in front of the stage, AND of all the things you DONT see behind the scenes at a wedding,
and it is what puts a “cant afford to fail” celebration over the TOP.
After spending MONTHS to guarantee the most beautiful and fun event, and when there ARE experienced, insured, musically tasteful, upscale wedding-expert DJ’s that your guests HAVE seen and raved about, NOTHING says low rent or “cheesy” to your guests more than dancing to an inanimate box like the one in their TV room.
The DIY idea seems like a cool idea on first blush. For less important weddings or low-dancing focus, there are couples that were “fine” with it. But what are they going to say, that they blew their own wedding day? If you or I were there at weddings where the bride said it “rocked”, the GUESTS very well could have been looking at each other “these poor guys, lets get outa here”. You know what I mean.
For important weddings, with a lot on the line, the more you understand that the DJ’s role is actually the most complex of all on the wedding day, the more you see what a gamble you are taking with something that you have your heart set on being PERFECT.
Is a laptop or “friend DJ” worth trading the success of what your day “COULD” have been? A NON-Cheesy DJ is the BEST investment you will spend for your wedding day.
Without hyperbole: It is truly the glue, the backbone,
and the make-or-break vendor of all.
Jon March, VP
PowerstationEvents.com
Cheshire CT