Wedding Music Mistakes and Professional Tips
Posted by Jason | Filed under Event Planning Tips
No matter what you’ve done to prepare for your Wedding, remember this: Music Enhances the Memories!
You’ve purchased a Beautiful Wedding Dress. You’ve spent thousands of dollars on Photography and Flowers and Food. You picked the absolute perfect Venue to host your amazing wedding. But after all of that, your Wedding will be judged by how entertaining it was and if the music was good or not.
Music is the most important enhancement of any event, especially weddings. So, if you’re considering a Band, a DJ, a string or brass group to play live music, or all of those combinations, here are a few tips to think about that will help you make decisions and add the great finishing touches to your Wedding.
1. Don’t dance alone for too long!
When it comes to those traditional pre-arranged dances such as the first dance or father/Bride dance, you don’t have to stay on the dance floor in the spotlight throughout the Entire song. The DJ/MC or Band can do several things to make this moment a little shorter without being obvious. Have them make an announcement to ask others to Join you on the dance floor, or the Emcee will simply ask everyone to applaud you as the DJ fades the song and moves right on to the next scheduled dance. If you’re asking people to join you on the floor half way through a song, be sure to ask a few couples ahead of time to be prepared to get up there and get the rest of the crowd into it.
2. Silence isn’t beautiful
Every Wedding Ceremony needs music, especially the crucial period just prior to the start of the ceremony, approximately 20-30 minutes. As your guests arrive, you need to have music playing, possibly a hired musician or the DJ playing pre-recorded music. If you choose a DJ, you can play anything you want! Sometimes our clients choose classical chamber music, or strings arrangements of Popular songs such as the group “Vitamin String Quartet”. You can also choose acoustic music like Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, or Jazzy hits of the 20′s 30′s and 40′s. Either way, this sets the mood for what the evening is going to feel like, but Silence is not an option. Even in the most serene setting, a Wedding is a celebration and should be accompanied by great music!
3. Before you hire a musician, think about the Space!
If you are having a beach wedding ceremony and you hire a harpist to play, it’s possible and quite likely that unless the harp is amplified, the sound of crashing waves and wind will drown out the instrument. In fact, this could even be the case for a string quartet. Ask the Venue coordinator what the acoustic limitations of the venue are and instead of a harp, maybe you hire a DJ to play amplified pre-recorded music, or hire a sound system for the harpist to apply a microphone to her performance. These are things to consider no matter if you’re on a beach, a mountaintop, near a waterfall, or in a large church.
4. The Church has Rules!
If you’re having a Church Wedding Ceremony, remember, even if you’re a Member, it’s not just Your Church. There are almost always rules regarding music when it comes to churches and synagogues. Many locations require you to Read the rest of this entry »
The Best Bouquet Toss Songs
Posted by Jason | Filed under Wedding DJ Advice
The Bouquet Toss is undoubtedly one of the most well known wedding traditions at a Wedding Reception, and it can be a lot of fun as well as very unpredictable. Our DJs have seen girls falling all over themselves to catch the Bouquet, while others were running away from the flying floral display channeling the speed of Marion Jones. It’s not uncommon for the bouquet to hit something on the ceiling before it ever reaches the single girls, or to be overthrown with the likeness of a great NFL quarterback.
By Tradition, the Bride stands with her back to her single Bridesmaids and other Single ladies who are in attendance and when the MC instructs her to do so, the Bride tosses the bouquet behind her and whoever catches it is said to be the next girl to be married, which might explain why we see so many young ladies heading for the exits when it’s time for the Bouquet Toss.
To add to the excitement, it’s best to pick a fun song to play as an introduction and background song for the Bouquet Toss. If we were voting, we’d say that Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” would have to be the all time Number 1 most requested song for the Bouquet Toss, but we’re hoping many Brides will choose something different, although we love Beyonce, her huge hit seems a bit overplayed.
Here’s a list of some alternative choices for the Bouquet Toss Song. If you aren’t familiar with these songs listed here, just visit Youtube and search for the song by artist and title, then listen to the song to see if you might want to use it for your Bouquet Toss. Happy Planning!
1.) California Gurls- Katie Perry
2.) Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend- Marilyn Monroe
3.) Girls Just Wanna Have Fun- Cindy Lauper
4.) Hey Ladies- Beastie Boys
5.) I Haven’t Met You Yet- Michael Buble
6.) It’s Raining Men- Weather Girls
7.) Last Night- Keysha Cole Fea. P. Diddy
8.) Milkshake- Kelis
9.) Pretty Woman- Ray Orbison
10.) Say Hey (I Love You)- Michael Franti & Spearhead
11.) Single Ladies- Beyonce
12.) The Sign- Ace of Base
13.) What A Girl Wants- Christina Aguliara
14.) Wishin & Hopin- Ani DiFranco or Dusty Springfield
15.) You Can’t Always Get What You Want- Krystal Bowersox
Bridal Premier Hyatt Westlake Plaza Bridal Show January 2011: Come meet our DJs
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
Well friends, it’s that time again. Time for the Wedding Season to crank up after the Holidays have ended and all of the newly engaged couples set out to plan the biggest day of their lives! In an effort to make that process a little easier, many Brides and Grooms and their friends and family attend one of the many Bridal Shows in Los Angeles.
For the 3rd consecutive year, Elegant Event Entertainment DJ Services will participate as an exhibitor at the Westlake Hyatt Bridal Show produced by Bridal Premier.
In addition, this year, we’ll be announcing all of the raffles for Door Prizes, so make sure you stop by and say hi and listen out for your name to be called by our co-founder Jason Jones, a familiar voice that’s been heard in thousands of radio and television commercials all over the world.
Here are the details:
BRIDAL PREMIERE- Wedding Showcase
Sunday, January 16, 2011, 11 AM to 3 PM
Hyatt Westlake Plaza
880 S. Westlake Blvd.
Hyatt Westlake Village, CA 91361
For more info or ticketing information click here: Bridal Premier Website
Please come by our booth and say hi, pick up a brochure, and consult with our very talented and experienced Wedding MC/DJs. We’ll be offering great discounts to those in attendance. We’re located in the ballroom, right near the booths of our dear friends from Hartley’s Botanica Gardens and Maravilla Gardens.
Happy Planning and Best Wishes on your Wedding in 2011 or beyond!
Requesting Music from your Wedding DJ with Elegant Event Entertainment
Posted by Jason | Filed under Wedding DJ Advice
We’ve heard horror stories from Brides and Grooms who have been to weddings where the DJs played terrible music, where no one danced, or worse when they knew the DJ did not adhere to the client’s specific request list. Luckily, with EEE, you don’t need to worry about that. As a member of the Los Angeles Wedding DJ community, I am proud to say that our company Elegant Event Entertainment has had great success in playing music for our clients that suit the client’s unique music tastes and keeps the dance floor packed at the appropriate dance times at weddings. This is due in large part to our adherence to the client’s very own personalized music request list which we allow every client to create and provide to us.
Every one of our clients has a personalized Online Event Planner; they can log in from our website and are able to choose as much music as they would like to hear at their event. Using an international database of songs and artists, our Clients can tell their DJ which songs are MUST PLAY, DO NOT PLAY, as well as some additional choices of music that perhaps isn’t found in the database. This information is kept safely in their personal online event planner file for our staff, the DJ, and the client to see 24/7, and both client and DJ can make changes to the list as it’s necessary.
Read the rest of this entry »
We’re the DJs for Macy’s Bridal Registry Event at Macy’s Sherman Oaks
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
Thank you, Macy’s and the Knot, for selecting Elegant Event to be the featured Wedding DJs at the Macy’s Westfield Fahion Square in Sherman Oaks for their “Sip and Scan” event!
Macy’s Department Stores and The Knot are sponsoring a great event for Brides and Grooms called Macy’s Sip and Scan featuring fun beverages, hors d’oeuvres, music, and fabulous registry experts to help you create your dream registry.
Elegant Event Entertainment has been chosen as the featured Los Angeles DJ and Entertainment company at the Sip and Scan on April 23, 2010 at the Westfield Fashion Square Mall. If you would like to attend this event you’ll have the opportunity to meet with one of our DJs, dance to the music, and meet numerous vendors in the Macy’s Bridal Registry Department. You’ll meet with our co-founder DJ/MC Jason Jones
These events are well planned and aimed at helping bridal couples with their gift registry and vendor decisions. To RSVP, just call or email Macy’s with the number of people that will be attending, your phone number, and the store location.
Email RSVP: diane.crost@macys
Or: 818-788-8350 x7808
Getting Married? 25 videos you should see
Posted by Chris | Filed under Wedding Planning
We found this fun collection of wedding videos on the web at www.mahalo.com below is the article.
Weddings can be tense affairs, can be drunk affairs, can be fun affairs.
In this Youtube collection there are 25 wedding video classics waiting for you from all types of wedding video footage.
- Dancing, lots of variety to famous songs, some good and some not so good dancing, but all the fun of a wedding and all adding to the occasion
- Fall into pools – inadvertent and deliberate pool bathing
- Strippers – unannounced and expected strippers
- Bouquet toss – The classic scramble for the bouquet
- Garter removal – Various methods including teeth, how high does the garter go?
- Animations – Some animated wedding scenes too
- Bride in the bathroom – To show men how hard it can be for the bride to go to the toilet
- And even guests dancing to Michael Jackson’s thriller.
- Best man speech, the usual jokes, gags and humor
The videos are all good clean fun and designed for family enjoyment and viewing together. Feel free to leave comments or links below if you have funny wedding stories or videos.
“The Vitamin String Quartet” is thinking outside the “Bach’s” for Wedding Ceremony Music.
Posted by Jason | Filed under Wedding Planning
Wedding DJs are often asked to play music for the Wedding Ceremony when the budget isn’t there to hire live musicians, so of course, if a DJ is playing the ceremony music, Brides and Grooms can pick absolutely any music they want.
So, let’s say you love the idea of having classical music or an elegant feel to your ceremony and you would love to hire a string quartet but simply don’t have it in your budget. Hire the next best thing! Hire your DJ to play music recorded by a string quartet, the cost is roughly 25% of the cost of live musicians. Now please, don’t get me wrong, I am a trained classical singer and I love live music, nothing compares to it, and when you have the budget, I absolutely encourage you to hire one of our preferred string quartets. But, Brides on a budget can do really well by allowing their DJ to play the pre-seating, processional and recessional music. We can also provide a microphone for the minister, rabbi, or officiant or an extra microphone for readers/performers if the venue doesn’t already do so.
Our DJs build the playlist based on the Bride and Groom’s requests. The DJs cue and play the correct songs at the right time for the processional and recessional. But it’s also our job to help guide a client musically in the direction that best suits their style while maintaining at least some components of the integrity and reverence of a Wedding Ceremony.
SO…You like classical music but you don’t know the difference between Bach and Beethoven, and you thought Yo Yo Ma was something you did with that child’s toy on a string. Well, Bach is one of my all time favorite composers and his “Jesu’ Joy Of Man’s Desiring” or “Air on a G Sting” are famously used in Wedding Ceremonies all the time…Beethoven’s music might be too intense for most Weddings, however, I think I’ve heard “Ode to Joy” at a few Ceremonies, though it likely belongs at the Olympics instead. And of course, Yo Yo Ma is widely considered the finest cellist to ever live, he’s certainly the most popular and best selling recording artist in his field, heck he even played at Obama’s Inauguration, even though that was a pre-recorded studio performance, no they aren’t really playing that well on the steps of the capital in January!
Do you need to know any of this? No! Not unless classical music really interests you. But, let your DJ help you make some interesting choices without playing the same 12 songs on “The Classical Wedding Sampler CD” he bought 10 years ago. Does every DJ know classical music? NO! Which is why if you hire one to play your ceremony and you want classical music, you should ask him if he or someone in his company REALLY knows classical music…I happen to be that person in our company and our DJs call on me for questions, and I invite you to as well!
So now, I can finally get to my point. You like the classical feel, you don’t know classical music, you love popular music too, but you don’t know how to incorporate the two in your Wedding Ceremony without the two styles clashing. Four Words: The Vitamin String Quartet. Read the rest of this entry »
The Importance of Making Your Wedding Unique and Memorable
Posted by Chris | Filed under Wedding Planning
This blog is for all those brides and grooms trying to plan a wedding and dealing with all the stress of making it unique. I came across an informative article that I think will help some of you. Below is a quote from this article with a link to the original – hit the link if you’re interested in the rest of the story.
“Each and every wedding is unique in its very own way. Thus, every single detail related to it must carry a persona that truly reflects this sense of uniqueness and exclusivity that will contribute to the whole blissful wedding experience. Having personalized wedding items and novelties is definitely one of the best ways to achieve this. Not only these items depict the distinctiveness of your wedding reception, they also act as meaningful mementos for you and your guests as a remembrance of a beautiful wedding.” -Rene Lacape
Here’s the link to the excellent article: The Best Wedding To Remember
Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, a Magical Wedding!
Posted by Dana | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
I had the pleasure of being the Event Coordinator for Felicity and Jack on their big day. Their wedding was held at a truly beautiful location, set in the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve at the top of a mountain in the San Fernando Valley. The property once belonged to the Ahmanson Family and was known as the Ahmanson Ranch until fairly recently. So if you’re searching for Ahmanson Ranch Wedding, you’ve come to the right place, it’s just changed names.
The property caretaker Joan was also on site and played an active roll with her assistant, to insure that all the aspects of the evening were taken care of. This venue offers a gorgeous outdoor setting for the ceremony and reception. Depending on the size of your event, creating the most romantic outdoor setting can be accomplished. In addition, the 1939 fully restored Ranch House is available for use, dressing areas, restrooms, and kitchen with scullery for your catering staff’s needs. The Open Space Conservancy allows you to bring in all of your own vendors and event professionals from catering, wait and bar staff, entertainment such as DJs and live musicians, décor and coordination. From the coordination perspective, this location allows me a great opportunity to be creative, the grounds of this facility are very large and offer a 360 degree view of the San Fernando Valley, but there are gorgeous trees everywhere and placing small areas here and there for different aspects of the event, such as dinner, cocktails, ceremony, dancing, and even designated smoking areas can all be created with an interesting design aspect. Also, a huge selling point to this property: You can party until 12:00am and potentially stay until 1:00am. Very few outdoor locations in Los Angeles allow events to go beyond 11:00pm and most outdoor wedding sites in Ventura County close you down at 10:00pm. So keep that in mind, you get to hire your favorite caterer and aren’t locked into an “exclusive” company, and you can stay and play past midnight!
DJ Jason Jones from Elegant Event Entertainment and I had a terrific time with all the wedding party and guests. Bride and Groom Felicity and Jack had a great community of family and friends. I have never heard so many heartfelt and wonderful speeches. The Groom and his family were from Norway and the culture of their weddings calls for lots of toasts, which was truly a wonderful aspect of this wedding and the venue provided a perfect setting for the intimacy of speeches without feeling long and drawn out. I credit the toasters and the Toastmaster Kixx Malone, a long time friend of the groom for keeping the toasts moving and adding that special intimate touch to all of the introductions and speeches, Kixx was awesome! Read the rest of this entry »
Bridal Show and Wedding Expo in Westlake Hyatt, Thousand Oaks
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
Elegant Event Entertainment, Inc. will be showcasing at the Bridal Show in the Westlake Hyatt in Thousand Oaks On Sunday August 9, 2009. Doors open at 11:00am. The show is produced by Bridal Premier. Click here for more information.
Plus, we’re giving away Free Tickets to the Bridal Show, call today if you’re interested and would like to claim yours. 818-484-3230
Come on out to the show, you’ll find many of the top companies in the Wedding Industry there. Come by our booth and let us know you saw this Blog. We hope to see you there and congratulations on your upcoming Wedding!
If you are an experienced wedding DJ who loves working to serve the needs of your clients, 