Wedding Secrets  

Hidden Secrets of the Wedding Industry

Here I expose hidden secrets, so you will know exactly what you're dealing with when putting together your wedding.  It's necessary to have to explain the both sides of things, the good and the problematic, in order to make clear the reality of what you will be dealing with.  It's important to state too that I'm going to cover the problems of the business, meaning the people in it aren't necessarily the problem or bad and as a matter of fact if you speak with them you would agree that most are actually very nice people.  The real problem for brides and grooms ends up being the way disc jockeys have to operate their business in order to remain in this business.  

The Two Ways DJs Run Their Business That Are Not Really What People Want

A hidden fact is that in order to be in this line of work DJs must book and work as many events as possible, such as teen dances, club events, birthdays, car lot grand openings, and yes...weddings too.  

Multi Dj Companies

The number one way DJs do this is by offering extremely low fees to attract people to book with them, and then pay a small portion of that fee to other people to go out and DJ these events.  Unfortunately it's not uncommon for some DJs to tell couples that they will be DJing their wedding when all along they plan on sending someone else out to DJ the wedding. These DJs book the same dates over and over again and couples unknowingly play Russian roulette with who they get.  These sent out DJs often called "business partners" or "their best DJ" are almost always inexperienced and unprofessional, and normally don’t feel obligated to you and don’t really care what happens since they are getting paid such a small cut of the total fee. 

Single Operator DJs

A few select DJs, maybe one in twenty, operate as true "single operators."  These are the DJs that actually do all their own work.  This too creates problems that people are unaware of.  These DJs have to work off sheer volume of events and/or cut corners, by doing things like working a noon and night wedding all in one day, not spending the energy and time on necessary pre-event work, not spending the money on dependable back-up sound equipment, not replacing worn out equipment, and having to work a full time weekday job where by the time the weekend rolls around they are already beat. 

They have no choice, this is the only way they can compete on fees with the multi DJ subcontracting companies.  

Bluntly put, in order to book events DJs have to charge fees that conform to what's considered the average fee, and because of this they end up ruining weddings by providing poor quality, impersonal non-customized service, and no dependability; the things that could prove devastating to a wedding.  More than anything else having to do with your wedding, you really get what you pay for when it comes time to hire your disc jockey.  

What I do!  

I wont let the way other DJs run their business overtake my ethics and negatively affect what I consider to be an ethical obligation to offer only the best quality and 100% reliability.  You’ll be pleased to know that I actually do all my own work, so if you hire me you get me!  You also will be pleased to know that I never in a million years would book two weddings in one day.   Another thing I do consistently is arrive at the closest possible Starbucks or something similar, an obsessive 4.5 to 5 hours before I’m to start playing music and then move on to the venue two to three hours before music start time. A two-stage system to ensure punctuality for every wedding.  I’m also obsessive about thoroughly doing my pre-event work, testing and replacing worn equipment, and all the many other big and small things that must be done.  

These are just a few of the many reasons why I’m so fail proof and other DJs aren’t!  Neither you or your wedding will be treated as just another number with me.  I treat all couples that hire me with the same fairness and level of respect that I treat my best friends.  I make sure things are done right even behind the scene in places you can’t see, but where it will make the difference between your wedding possibly being ruined or being a great success with great memories.  

Big, Small, Multi Cultural, Casual, Formal, Elegant, Expensive, and Extremely small Budget

People ask me what types of weddings I DJ.  Well, I DJ all types of weddings; small, big, multicultural, casual, nontraditional, formal, elegant, expensive, and yes many with extremely small budgets.  It should come as a no surprise that no mater what type of wedding someone is having there is no barrier to the fact that people don’t want their most emotionally charged and important day of their life ruined by a DJ. 

I know money doesn’t grow on trees and the last thing anyone wants to do is blow money on something that’s not worth it, but in this case there is a reason to pay for quality to keep your wedding from having the potential of literally being ruined. A budget should be created where you put funds where they matter the most and make the biggest difference.  It’s always possible to cut back on flowers, cocktail hour food, number of pictures, cake, video, open bar, or number of guests without compromising your wedding.  

Think about it this way; what will any of these things matter if your wedding is ruined by what your DJ does or doesn’t do?  It’s said that the three most important things are the music, food, and pictures.  I'm a fan of good food and photographic art, but the fact is the photographer does not make or create the wedding like the music and announcing does, and the food will be soon be forgotten since it’s only something guests experience less than an hour.   

Open bar?  What kind of fun will having a few paid drinks be for your guests if the music sucks and the coordination and announcing is a mess, or the DJ either shows up hours late or not at all, or shuts down and leaves early?  

The music and announcing from your DJ covers more time than anything else; literally the entire reception, so what your DJ does will be experienced by your guests more than anything else having to do with your wedding.  With this fact, you can see just one of the reasons why your DJ will be the most important decision you'll make and where you should put the most consideration.  I can’t help but feel sorry for all the many people I meet that tell me of all things having to do with their wedding, the biggest mistake they made was to not put a big enough importance on their DJ. They tell me they just didn’t realize how important it was to get someone that is at the top of their game and specializes in only doing weddings until it was too late.  

How Can A Disc Jockey Ruin Your Wedding?  Let's Count the Ways

You won’t find a list like this anywhere showing you what most brides and grooms experience from their disc jockey.  Here are a few of the ways disc jockeys commonly ruin wedding:

(1)  Arriving late, sometimes up to hours late.   (2) Entirely missing the wedding by being a no show - more common than what you would think    (3)  Forcing weddings to end early by playing the wrong music intentionally to get guests to leave  (4)  Stopping the music and packing up when the bride and groom wonted the reception to continue   (5)  Canceling just days before a wedding.  (6) Sending out an inexperienced DJ to a wedding at the last minute.   (7)  Showing up with a hangover since nearly all DJs became DJs since they are party people.   (8) Announcing the brides and grooms name incorrectly on entrance.   (9) Announcing too much pointless information.   (10) Not announcing enough to the point where guests have no idea of what's going on.   (11) Announcing like the typical DJ by using the exaggerated, over-hyped animated style of announcing.   (12) Dressing inappropriately or looking like a slob.   (13) Forgetting to bring the bride and grooms first dance song or just not bothering to get it.  (14) Not playing the brides and grooms music selections  (15)  Playing music the bride and groom hate.   (16) Not picking up on or being skilled at what songs to play and when to play them.    (17) Getting drunk and rude with guests at the wedding.  (18) DJ Equipment burning out in the middle of the reception and not having that particular piece of equipment as backup to save the wedding.    (19)  Crude or tacky jokes over the microphone.   (20) Lacking the ability to accurately coordinate stages and unable to keep things on track and together.  (21)  Plugging in high powered lighting and blowing the electrical circuit in the room out.  (22) Suddenly being inflexible and belligerent with brides and grooms the day of their wedding.   (23) Unable to manage the multiple tasks and variables that a DJ MC must manage in order to keep the reception from being ruined.  (24) Not doing pre-event work and showing up unprepared.  (25) Not being reachable before the wedding and worrying the couple. 

If your music and how smooth your reception runs is important to you, then take heed since these problems listed above are real and you can expect these problems with DJs.  Of course it's always possible to be one of the lucky ones where the DJ does "okay" at their wedding, but gambling with your wedding like this is crazy.  Plus the DJ just being mediocre for most people is not good enough at a once and a lifetime event like your wedding.

With me these problems wont happen to you.  I have such a high regard for punctuality, reliability and brides and grooms that in all my 20 years of disc jockeying I have started the music on time every time.  I’m into my craft as a true specialist, so the coordination and style of announcing is truly professional.  When someone hires me for their wedding I know they are counting on me to pull through for them.  A few attributes I posses that allow me to provide such a high quality and dependable service are; I'm extremely punctual, organized, detail oriented, caring, and a true professional. 

Is Music Important to You? 

The most common complaint I hear from couples is that their DJ played music they told him not to play.  I hear this all the time. Couples are completely shocked and caught off guard that this could happen to them.  The reason their caught off guard is because their DJ portrayed himself to be sincere, professional, and promised he would only play the music they wanted.  These couples say that no matter how much they pleaded with their DJ and demanded him to play the right music, he just kept going back to playing music they didn’t want.  

Everyone this happens to never thought in a million years they would have this problem.  These people are not stupid and not normally uniformed, so they end up thinking that somehow, some way, they're the only people this ever has happened to.  What they don’t know is that this was bound to happened with any one of the ten or so DJs they were looking at hiring. Yes, it’s really this common.  I believe the number one reason why this is so common is because other DJs play other types of events like school dances, club gigs, and teen parties where they play whatever the feel like playing, since they aren't tailoring the music to a couple's taste at these events.   A few other reasons I think this is so common are DJ s drinking heavily or doing drugs before or on the job.  Some DJs might just not care since they have already been paid or feel they aren't getting paid enough and think, "Why should I care what they want? I’ll play what I want!"  

With me as your DJ you will get your music perfectly tailored to your taste.  Unlike other DJs, this is what I do for a living 100% of the time since I do weddings 100% of the time.  How you want the music to go is priority number one with me.  I’ll play your personal selections and work the crowd by picking up on their energy and response to the music in order to play the right music at the right time, for the best results. I will play your selections and stay within the styles and genres of music you've selected and accurately follow your ideas.

The One Traditional Thing That Will Ruin Your Wedding

It's common for couples to be stunned and embarrassed at their own wedding when they realize too late that the wedding professional they thought they hired sounds ridiculous on the microphone by using an over-hyped animated voice, clichés, constantly advertising their name and company name, and hamming it up. 

Brides and grooms are embarrassed when their disc jockey starts to blast guests with crude or trivial jokes, annoy and distract guests by announcing useless information non-stop, or use tasteless cliché's such as calling the bride and groom "the happy couple" over the microphone. 

Just understand that this type of announcing is considered normal among DJs, so disc jockeys tend to consider it to be acceptable and assume it's what everyone wants.  This style comes from DJs working all types of events such as teen parties, company parties, birthdays, etc.  DJs are known to not have the ability to separate their styles and end up acting, sounding, and treating everything the same.     

It goes without saying that this isn’t appropriate for most weddings today. Don't forget that your disc jockey's entire presentation including every word he says on the microphone, how his voice sounds, his appearance, how his equipment looks, and the music he plays will be permanently branded in the minds of your guests forever.  This directly reflects on you, your spouse and your entire wedding because it will be perceived as your sense of style by your guests; thus the embarrassment I mentioned earlier.  

I'm an accomplished wedding professional, not the typical DJ; the difference will be unmistakable. You will be extremely happy at how different I am compared to other DJs and the positive effect that I can make on your wedding that other DJs are unable to. 

I have a resonant yet natural voice that's appropriate and will actually enhance the taste and overall feel of your reception without sounding forced, fake, animated, or obtrusive.  In addition, I will help the two of you on your wedding day by moving your reception forward at the right pace, helping coordinate, and when needed guiding your guests' attention in a tasteful and appropriate way.

The Most Calculated Hidden Secret That You Need To Know

Believe it or not, it’s industry standard for DJs to squeeze two wedding into one day.  How is this possible?  Most reception locations have both morning-noon and evening-night receptions.  

By playing at two weddings per day, DJs often ruin the first wedding by having to rush the reception as fast as possible in order to shut down early, so they can pack up and head off to the next wedding.  Many people have hired me because of this happening to their friend or family member.  Believe it or not, I've had DJs that seem very nice, sincere and professional tell me that they intentionally play the wrong music at receptions in order to get guests to leave early, so they can "force end" the first wedding, break down their equipment, load up and rush off in an attempt to make it to the second wedding in time.  Often with very little time between the two weddings, DJs risk arriving late to the second wedding from delays like traffic.  DJs are also pretty well spent by the time they get to the second wedding.   Also because of this, DJs often force end the night wedding since they’re tired and want to go home.   

Literally every DJ I've met will do two weddings in a day and the only reason they talk about it to me is because they assume I do the same thing. This is a very serious problem because very few disc jockeys will admit to brides and grooms that they do this, even when they're confronted with the question.  I often hear brides and grooms talk about how extremely upset they were since their disc jockey showed up late to their wedding and also those whose disc jockey stopped playing the music, packed up and left  before they wanted him to leave.  

From being in my unique position in this industry, it appears to me that I'm the only disc jockey who truthfully only does one wedding per day.   Remember though, that I really only disc jockey weddings, 100%, so my idea of what's ethical can tend to be quite a bit different.  I will not risk ruining your wedding by following this practice.  If you decide to have me help you with your wedding you will be treated as if you’re my best friend, so you will have the comfort of knowing you're going to be taken care of.

Reducing Stress on Your Wedding Day!

Relaxation and fun are truly possible with me as your disc jockey. This is because with my many years of exclusively disc jockeying weddings I have developed my craft and skill to facilitate all the fine and important procedures and formalities with ease. My objective for you as the bride and groom is to enjoy your reception without stress and have fun throughout the progression of your reception.

Here are just a few examples of the many ways I can make a difference:

·    I consult with the catering staff and/or your coordinator about beverage and dining announcements and see that the staff pours for the toast when they should. 

·    I will see that your photographer is present “in the room” and that their camera is ready to shoot prior to me announcing any stage of your reception.  This way you get pictures of all the special events of your reception such as the first dance.

·    Should you elect to have a Father and Daughter dance, a Mother and Son dance, or any other special dance(s); I will see that the necessary family members are present in the room, prior to the start of your first dance so that the transitions are seamless.

·    Any many more areas that will let your reception flow without any problems.

·    Many more areas that other DJs miss, some of which I will cover when we speak.

All disc jockeys say they help coordinate; they coordinate to a minor degree, but definitely not on this level.  I will make sure the two of you are aware and ready of the forthcoming stages to be announced, without rushing the two of you, so everything will come together with ease.  I am there to help facilitate your reception so you can relax and have fun, yet not feel rushed. 

The Typical Story of How It Went After Hiring A Disc Jockey  

Many brides and grooms think that hiring a disc jockey is no big deal.  Here is a true story that explains just how wrong this way of thinking is:

I was having dinner with a group of friends and a girl who was invited and who I had never met before asked what I did for a living. After telling her she went on to tell me her nightmare experience she had with her disc jockey. She started telling me how her and her sister had seen so many of their friends wedding ruined and had heard so many horror stories about disc jockeys ruining weddings that they decided to do what ever it took to make sure it didn't happen to her.

She went on to say, "Me and my sister did everything we could to make sure we found a good disc jockey for my wedding, so we literally made it a point to look at as many DJ’s web sites as possible, narrow it down to call 20 disc jockeys and then narrowed it down once again to the top ten. We then talked on the phone again to those ten and then narrowed it down to five disc jockeys. After going through the work of re-interviewing all five disc jockeys on the phone and going back through their websites, we then picked the one that was obviously without a doubt the best out of all we started with." The next thing she did was to start shaking hear head and kind of rolling her eyes back in discuss, she said, "the disc jockey was an absolute disaster!"

She then went on to say, "I don't get it he was terrible, he did so many things wrong and just ruined my wedding. He was even on my reception location's recommended list and he even gave us several referrals to call that said he was great.  I just don't get it?  We went through so many disc jockeys and knew without a doubt we had the best out of all of them and it was still a disaster!  I can’t believe it, are all that bad?" 

Well it's time to realize that this is the reality that people just can't seem to believe until they experience it for themselves; it really is that bad.  Not one bride and groom hires their DJ thinking that he could ruin their wedding.  Understandably they think they did fine at picking out their disc jockey until they learn the hard way by dealing with the stress of having problems in this crucial area. 

I guess what amazes me the majority of the people that are calling around to find a DJ make it very clear that they're, "looking for a deal."  Absolutely insane when considering the damage disc jockeys can do to their wedding. 

Getting "a good deal" on something having to do with your wedding might be fine, but doing so on the one and only thing that has the potential to absolutely destroy your wedding or greatly enhance is foolish. The only thing I can do is feel sorry for them since they are unable to use their intuition to conclude that this is the one area to not skimp on.  Of course, with this story above you can see that it's very possible that many brides and grooms might have the misfortunate of just not being able to find that one good DJ.

Disc Jockey and Band Compared

First of all let me say I love live music and I really respect what musicians must do to become an accomplished musician.  However, things have changed when it comes to weddings.  The brides and grooms who in the past may have hired a band for their wedding are now getting more informed on the differences and opting to hire a wedding specialist disc jockey instead. While I occasionally work in conjunction with bands at weddings, here are some reoccurring reasons that brides and grooms have told me why they wanted to have a disc jockey for their wedding rather than a band:

Do you have a favorite song or artist? Maybe a special song you would like as your first dance together as husband and wife? Most brides and grooms want to dance to their favorite song by their favorite artist; you won't be able to do this with a band. Bands commonly say they can play any song, but it often it can end up sounding like a poor imitation of the original. With me providing your music, you and your guests will hear and dance to your favorite songs performed by the original artists.

Bands have musical limitations. You will not get the broad spectrum of all your favorite types of music with a band. No matter what songs or type of music a band plays, often their music ends up sounding pretty similar. Music with this similar sound can start to seem very plain and boring for you and your guests after just one hour.

A quality professional band can cost $5000 to $15,000, since with a band you're paying for multiple performers, equipment, and unseen practice time. Not only will you have better results with me as you disc jockey, but also if needed this can be a savings you could spend on other things such as your honeymoon.

Bands require four to eight times more room than I do for setup. I've seen many bands tell brides and grooms that there will be plenty of room for dancing once their set up, but at some venues there ends up being too little room left for dancing and by that time it's too late and the reception is ruined.

Commonly bandleaders are poor at announcing and helping coordinate, and are somewhat a little showy and lounge like. My ability to help coordinate is a major asset along with the fact that my voice and style of announcing is effective, yet unobtrusive and understated.  My unique ability of using my voice in a natural way and the words I use are perfectly suitable and tasteful and will create a seamless feel while blending in perfectly with the style of a wedding.  

Bands belong to unions and by law it's mandatory that they take breaks. This greatly interrupts the flow of the reception. The bandleader announces that they are going to take a break; they put their instruments down and walk off stage.

A band's sound quality can be unpredictable and inconsistent. This is because bands are dealing with multiple amplifiers, musicians, instruments, and even the change in acoustics from location to location which can be a problem when mixing multiple instruments. Don't expect a band to sound the same as on a demo or from venue to venue.  It’s true that with a band you really can’t count on the sound you’re going to get, but with me as your disc jockey you will be assured that  the sound will be consistent every time. 

It’s expected and considered polite to pay attention to a live band and to applaud when they end a song primarily during dinner. Many brides and grooms don’t want to obligate their guests and family to have to do this at their wedding while trying to eat. With a disc jockey guests feel no need or obligation to applaud after a song, which your guests will appreciate since they can feel more relaxed and able to socialize without interruption during dinner.  

A Few Last Important Words

It's great you took the time to get informed about what you’re dealing with when hiring a disc jockey.  I showed you many important facts and reveled many secretes that without a doubt could negatively affect your wedding.

The things I've detailed out on this page are not something that brides and grooms can easily and clearly explain to their fiancé, so if your fiancé or anyone else is involved in this decision it's extremely important that they read through some of this page. This is the only way they’ll know that what they’re dealing with and how significant these things are and how they’ll effect your wedding.   Encourage them and even pester them a little if you have to.  

I know you two are going to be very happy how your wedding goes if you decide to have me help you.    Thanks Russ