D.I.Y. DJ For Your  Wedding

In today’s economy many brides are cutting back on hiring
professional vendors for their wedding and doing things
themselves, or having friends help out to try and save some
money. I understand times are tuff, but if you think you’re
going to save money by playing your own music for you’re
wedding, you may want to reconsider.

Sure you may have a laptop or iPod with thousands of songs,
but there is much more you will need to buy or rent to produce
sound for a reception.

First you will need the right program in your computer to
play your music seamlessly throughout the night.
Price; $10 for a cheap program to hundreds for the better
programs. Your music need to be amplified through loud
speakers so you will also need some pro audio equipment.
2 speakers, amplifier, speaker wires, & for any
announcements you will need a microphone. If you have an
iPod you will need one more and a mixing board.

For decent gear you may pay an estimate of around $500, up to
$1,000 if you want to add lighting for dancing.
This does not include delivery, set up or break down. Now
that you got what you need to play your music, next would be to
program the music perfectly through the transitions unless you
plan on sitting behind your computer all night.

Make sure you pull out any of music with explicit lyrics,
you don’t want to offend anyone.
Start with cocktail hour into dinner hour, all the formal
music, Introductions, first dance, parents dances, cake cut,
garter & bouquet. Make sure to make announcements for each
event so your guests will know what’s taking place.

If you want your guests to dance, be sure to have all types
of dancing music from the 50’s to today’s top 40 since all wedding
receptions have diverse crowds. If you’re not sure what your
guests will like to dance to, you may want to ask for requests
before the wedding. You may need to purchase more music to
please your guests. You will also need to come with a
timeline for your events so that you can inform your guests and
make sure your reception flows smoothly. You will need to have
another person introduce you into the room and announce
the toasts & your first dance along with the parents
dances.

You could get your cousin or uncle to do this and hope he’s
not too drunk by this time. If the dancing isn’t going well
for whatever reason, your guests may get board, & leave
earlier then expected.

Mark Sanchez

Professional Mobile Entertainment

Save Money by Having your Wedding in a Backyard? Think Again.

There are many backyards at private residences that would make for a beautiful wedding. However if you are thinking about using a backyard for your wedding to save money, you may want to reconsider.
A backyard wedding can cost you more money because you need to purchase or rent everything else. There are no package deals like what many venues can offer.
Therefore you will need to hire additional vendors which will take more time to plan your wedding meeting with more vendors.

Aside from photographer, entertainment, videographer, and florist etc.., you will also need to
rent chairs, tables, dance floor, and a tent or canopy in case of bad weather. If your
wedding date is during the warm season, coolers are a must.

I would highly recommend hiring a good professional wedding coordinator. An experienced
coordinator can help you hire the best vendors to fit your needs. More than likely this is
the first time you’ve planned a wedding, it’s not easy and this is something you want done
right the first time. A good coordinator can ease the stress and relieve the work load of the
planning stages and coordinate the day of your wedding.

Other things to consider are parking & city sound ordinances. If your guest count is over 50
do you have enough parking? You may also have to hire a valet service. Most cities have
sound ordinances, here in Phoenix any amplified sound outdoors is not allowed after 10:00pm.
Most venues will have packages that will include tables, chairs, linens, decor, catering, on
site coordinator, bar, centerpieces; others can also provide the cake and audio equipment
for the ceremony. There are some venues that will provide most of what I mentioned and
only charge you for the food & bar depending on your guest count.

When Brides have backyard weddings to save money, most will also cut back on hiring the
better vendors since they need to hire many more or cut out vendors they believe are not
necessary.This can lead to a disastrous wedding. For instance by cutting out the day of
wedding coordinator, and delegating friends & family, many things are forgotten and
left out, which leads to tension.Your friends & family would rather enjoy your
celebration with you, not work the day of your wedding.

Another example is; having a friend DJ or hiring a cheap DJ.
Cheap DJ’s are not professional. A cheap DJ will just play music. Weddings have many formal
events and traditions. A professional DJ will help you plan a detailed itinerary, time line, and
check list. Also perform as a Master of Ceremonies to keep your guests informed without
taking the focus off the Bride & Groom. A professional MC has the training to make sure
your guests never get bored, and keep the flow of the reception going.

This is a day where you should be having the best time with your new husband, family &
friends, not working and being stressed out. There’s nothing wrong with having a
backyard reception, just expect to pay more if you want it done right.
Happy Planning

Mark Sanchez
www.ProfessionalMobileEnt.com
Celebrating 19 years in the wedding business.