Friday, April 11, 2008

Selecting Your DJ or Band for Your Wedding Day

MUSIC CREATES AN AMBIANCE

Make sure you have heard your band or DJ's style in advance. Ask for referrals and follow up to see if other customers were satisfied with their services. Check their play list and ask for a cassette or CD of their music. DJ's have different styles, some are able to motivate the crowd while staying behind the scenes, others are highly visible and interact with the crowd, teach line dances, give out party favors, etc…Additionally, to guarantee your favorite songs are played, provide a list of “MUST PLAY” songs. To prevent inappropriate or unfavorable songs from being played on your special day, provide a “PROHIBITED SONGS” list.

HIRE APPROPRIATELY

Find out what is included in the band's repertoire so that there are no surprises or disappointments. Most bands and DJ's have a song list. Some bands may specialize in a particular genre like Rock & Roll or Big Band music. To create different moods, some weddings incorporate a live trio during the ceremony, one instrumentalist during the cocktail hour and a DJ during the reception. With enough notice, the band may be willing to learn a song (maybe two) by special request. But it would be unrealistic to expect them to change their entire repertoire.

THINK ABOUT YOUR BUDGET

Look into the various pricing options. If a large band is not within your budget, a smaller sub grouping may give you a similar sound at a more affordable rate.

SAME VERSION?

Verify that the music played during your dance presentations is the same version as what you have practiced. Be aware that intentional tempo variations in a song is a method band's use to express their unique style. Before signing a contract, ensure that the band agree to play your song at your preferred tempo provided you give them some advanced notice so that they can be prepared. Your dance instructor can figure out how many measures or beats per minute there are in a particular song. A slight modification in tempo is not difficult to adjust to but more than 5 measures per minute can make a dramatic difference in one's ability to dance comfortably. Another simple solution is to email a digital copy to the band to listen to or snail mail a CD.

BE PREPARED

 Ask your bridal coordinator or Best Man to bring the DJ an extra copy of your wedding song on CD. Make sure you have clearly labeled the song - "FIRST DANCE # x" so that there is no confusion. Providing the DJ with the song is a good idea because the DJ may have a different version of the same song and not realized it.

The Wedding Dance Specialists provide complimentary bridal consulting services by pre-screening the area's top wedding vendors. Most of these vendors do not normally offer discounts but due to our strong professional rapport they have allowed us to negotiate a special offers that are exclusively for the benefit of our clients and website visitors. In order to redeem these exclusive discounts please let the vendor know we referred you by printing this page and present it to the vendor upon purchase of their products or services (in cases where prices are not posted, it is suggested that you present coupon after a price has been quoted).

Click here for the special offer discounts from top D.C. area wedding vendors.

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