Five Things Wedding DJ’s Do (Besides Play Music)

Five Things Wedding DJ’s Do (Besides Play Music) 

“What do Wedding DJ’s do besides play music?”  This is a question that many professional Wedding DJ’s may have heard during a conversation with soon-to-be couples which can come across as absurd or even offensive.  However, in today’s highly-competitive wedding market, and with more DIY couples opting for an ‘i-Pod’ wedding, the question of what a Wedding DJ does besides play music has become more relevant than ever. This market reality should serve as enough reason to seriously consider what it is we as professional Wedding DJ’s do that technology simply cannot replace. 

So, what do Wedding DJ’s do besides play music?  In addition to the 5 things listed below, there are so many things that Wedding DJ’s do in ensuring the success of your special day that technology cannot accomplish.  At the end of the day, it is the time devoted, attention to detail, and caring service that professional Wedding DJ’s provide each of their clients that make the difference. Here is a list of at least 5 things that Wedding DJ’s Do (Besides Play Music) which will help you understand what Wedding DJ’s do in making your Wedding Day a success!

1.  Coordinate special activities with other wedding vendors to ensure your event runs smoothly

Professional Wedding DJ’s are able to communicate with other wedding vendors to make sure that everyone is on the same page when it is time to announce special activities.  For example, many newlyweds will be visiting with guests during dinner, which can sometimes have them stepping out of the room to visit other guests who are mingling outside.  If it is time for the Best Man and Maid of Honor to deliver their toasts, it would feel quite strange to do so without knowing where the guests of honor are located.  This is why hiring a professional Wedding DJ is of importance when considering these scenarios, because these things can and will happen!  An experienced Wedding DJ will be there to make sure everyone is where they need to be for toasts and other special activities throughout the evening.

2.  Provide assistance with event planning and playlist development

It is not uncommon for wedding clients to seek assistance in planning the details for their event, such as the timeline and music playlist.  Experienced Wedding DJ’s are capable of developing a timeline that will be best suited for the event, and can also help you determine the best time to schedule special activities such as the bridal party announcements, formal dances, and cake cutting.  Having the right music to play is essential in creating the atmosphere leading up to these special moments, which is what an experienced Wedding DJ will do for you.

3.  Devote time and attention to planning out the details for your event

After carefully considering the timeline and music playlist for your event, your Wedding DJ will most likely spend a few hours, if not more, in preparing for your big day.  Making sure everyone’s name is pronounced correctly for Bridal party introductions, ensuring that all of the music you requested is readily available (especially for formal dances), and practicing those few words that will be spoken during special announcements are but a few of the details that an experienced Wedding DJ will cover before the day of your event.

4.  Provide expertise in sound equipment

The DJ is responsible for not only the music, but also the microphones and sound used during speeches. It is imperative that the system is set up properly and with no kickback or static.  Industry leading Wedding DJ’s will be able to come into your venue and test systems, set up equipment and put on a top quality event. This is a very important thing to consider for your wedding, especially if you plan to use microphones for toasts and announcements.   Nothing is worse than technical difficulty during a spur-of-the moment speech from your father in law, which is why it is important to hire a professional Wedding DJ to provide you with the right sound setup for your wedding.

5.  Provide knowledge and experience in music

Highly skilled Wedding DJs have a vast knowledge and experience with music. They have the ability to take your selections and requests and use their knowledge to fill in the blanks. They are also able to smoothly transition from each special event (i.e. Dinner hour into speeches, and then into the dance reception) with music that is appropriate for the occasion.   An experienced Wedding DJ can sense the type of party you and your guests will be looking for and be able to change it again once the party atmosphere changes later in the night. 

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5 Favorite Winter Honeymoon Destinations

5 Favorite Winter Honeymoon Destinations

Aside from all the glitz and glamour of the wedding, one of the most memorable vacations you will take as a newly-married couple will be the honeymoon, which is why choosing that ‘perfect destination’ can seem to be a daunting task.  However, planning that dream getaway does not have to be stressful.  Instead, make your search for your honeymoon spot fun by brainstorming ideas and reading stories of other honeymooners’ experiences.  Another great source of information in finding your ideal honeymoon haven is by checking out blogs which feature content about honeymoons and honeymoon destinations.  There are tons of great sources for finding ideas and recommendations for planning your honeymoon, and we are also happy to share our ideas and recommendations with you!  Here is a list (*in no particular order) featuring 5 of our favorite Winter Honeymoon destinations.  Whether you want to get away to your favorite island resort, or want to truly experience the natural beauty and splendor of the winter season, we hope these suggestions will help you as you plan your honeymoon.  Enjoy!

1.  Hawaii

The Aloha State is blessed with near-perfect weather year-round, which makes Hawaii one of the most popular honeymoon destinations in the world, especially for those newlyweds who want to escape the cold winter weather.  In addition to the warm, inviting landscape and beautiful beaches, Hawaii offers some rather interesting attractions for those honeymooners spending a few weeks in Hawaii during winter.  Whales visit from late November to May, and can be viewed in such favorite spots as Auau Channel (located between Lanai and Maui) and the warm shallows off Maui’s west coast.  Surf season is also open during the winter months and runs through March, which makes Hawaii an ideal location for couples who want to add some extra fun and excitement to their honeymoon experience!

2.  Thailand

Thailand offers one of the most seductive vacation spots on the planet and, accordingly, makes an excellent honeymoon choice.  While the country’s exhilarating natural beauty may draw you here, it is the graciousness and warmth of the Thai people that will make you want to stay.  Whether you are looking to unwind on Thailand’s southern beaches, or experience the grandeur of Bangkok, everyone will find something to enjoy.

3.  Aspen, Colorado

As one of the world’s most romantic honeymoon destinations, Aspen features internationally renowned skiing during the winter along with dazzling dining and entertainment for newlyweds to enjoy.  Adventure awaits you on awe-inspiring Aspen Mountain, where you will be able to capture the moments of the sun glistening off the snowy peaks as you ski or board your way up and down this magnificent mountain retreat.  At the end of the day, snuggle up and get cozy by spending the evening in each other’s company by a warm fireplace inside, or, if you want to make the most of your outdoor experience, choose a lodge which features an outdoor fire-pit; Don’t forget the hot cocoa and marshmallows!

4.  Switzerland

Switzerland is known for its breathtaking natural beauty, whether it be the snow-covered Alps, pristine lakes, alpine villages or fields of edelweiss.  If chocolate is truly an aphrodisiac, then the Swiss have perfected it and is reason alone to make this mountain paradise your honeymoon destination.  Switzerland possesses exquisite natural scenery, picturesque villages, sophisticated cities, a rich cultural heritage and an absolutely stunning backdrop for your winter honeymoon.

5.  Australia

Australia offers honeymooners an astounding selection of things to do, as well as thousands of miles of coastline to discover.  For those of you who truly want the “Down Under” experience, be sure to visit the vibrant city of Sydney, where you can take a surf lesson on Bondi Beach or experience world-class entertainment at Sydney’s famous Opera House.  If you want to enjoy some of the best underwater sightseeing in the world, add visiting the Great Barrier Reef to your lists of things to do and places to see.  Finally, capture the visually stunning beauty of the Outback by visiting Uluru National Park where you will find breathtaking waterfalls and majestic natural scenery.

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Global Wedding Deejays Hits 100 Likes on Facebook!

Global Wedding Deejays Hits 100 Likes on Facebook!

Sound the Alarm!  Global Wedding Deejays has hit 100 Likes on Facebook!  Now, for those of you out there that have 10,000 or more likes, we hope to be at that point very soon (and a very warm kudos to you and your page for being so awesome!).  In the meantime, it’s a rather ‘fabulicioso’ moment for us here at the GWDJ headquarters.  You see, our goal is to reach the masses with our dedication to creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience for each of our wedding clients and to make each and every wedding client we serve a fan for life.  Our recent marketing push helped us achieve a near 30% increase in Facebook page likes for reaching the ‘100 Like Milestone.’  In celebration of this awesome achievement, we will be giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card to one lucky fan on 2/1/2014.  For those of our fans on WordPress, we would like to extend our warm invitation to like the Global Wedding Deejays page by visiting http://www.facebook.com/GlobalWeddingDJs There are still 10 days to get in on the great gift card giveaway, so what are you waiting for?

More prize giveaways will be announced soon on the Global Wedding Deejays Facebook Page, so stay tuned to the blog and be sure to tell your friends!

Savor the Flavors of Winter at Your Wedding Reception

Savor the Flavors of Winter at Your Wedding Reception!

Winter Wedding season is upon us! And what better way is there to celebrate your special day than by savoring the delicious flavors of hot drinks, succulent soups, and mouth-watering desserts that make winter weddings so unique!  Here are a few ideas for you to consider while planning your winter wedding menu:

Give your guests a Warm Welcome to your reception by serving warm cocktails and ‘mock-tails’ during Happy Hour

As your guests arrive, welcome them in from the cold by serving warm drinks such as apple cider and hot chocolate.  For guests who prefer an extra ‘punch’ with their hot drink, adding vanilla vodka or crème de la mint to hot chocolate and rum to apple cider will certainly set the tone for a cozy cocktail reception!

   Serve Soup as a Starter or as the Main Course

Winter weather can be blistering and frigid outside, so why not add warm, delicious soup to the menu to serve as a starter or even as the main course?  Clam chowder, minestrone, tomato basil, and gumbo make excellent choices to offer, and can be accompanied by small bread bowls, Paninis, or other grilled sandwiches.  Want to keep it simple?  Try classic tomato soup served up with this all-time favorite:  a warm, buttery, toasted grilled-cheese sandwich!  Or, if you want to go all-out, set up a soup bar so everyone can pick and choose their favorite soup/sandwich combo along with their favorite soup toppings such as crackers, seasoned croutons, fresh herbs, and shredded cheeses.

Offer Hot Chocolate Fondue, S’mores, or both for Dessert

What better way to treat your wedding guests than to set up a Fondue or S’mores station for dessert?  Why not both?  Your guests will love being able to dip their favorite fruits and snacks into the fondue or create their own delicious s’mores for the ultimate winter dessert experience!  Be sure to have plenty of marshmallows on hand, because they will go fast, especially at the s’mores station!

Brides: How to Relax on Your Wedding Day

1. Surround yourself with positive and calm girlfriends the night before your wedding.

2. Get plenty of rest, eat a good balanced breakfast (tea is also very soothing), and then start your day off with a comforting ritual to keep things as normal and relaxing as possible. Maybe that means going for your morning jog or taking a bubble bath, this will help you focus on one thing at a time.

3. Lavender is well-known for its soul-soothing capabilities, try dabbing a little lavender lotion under your nose, or light a candle.

4. Pack an emergency kit with tampons, bobby pins, stain removal, extra panty hose, mini sewing kit, blow dryer, curling iron, hairspray, gum, q-tips, Advil, and make-up remover. Disasters may happen, and you will be prepared.

5. Good timing is essential, leave for your wedding location with plenty of time to spare. Give yourself at least one hour more than you think you will need and have your bridesmaids there at least 2 hours before you arrive.

6. Don’t worry about how your guests will get along. They’re all grown-ups and you should not have to worry about them.

Relax, have a sense of humor, stay connected with your fiance, and HAVE FUN! The best weddings are not always the best organized.

Winter Weddings

Winter weddings can be some of the most beautiful and elegant weddings of them all! Although weather conditions can be harsh sometimes, it can also be the perfect wedding scenery when blessed with light snow showers. Winter weddings can incorporate unique colors including blue. The blue color trend is sky rocketing with popularity. There are so many color combinations and shades of blue you can use such as; midnight blue, royal blue, and ice blue paired with white, grey, or silver. You can also pair your blues with fuchsia, red, and purples. Whether your wedding theme is classic, modern, or vintage, blue will work as a great main color choice.

“Walking in a winter wedding land!”

If you have ever dreamed of wearing a dress with beautiful lace sleeves then this is the perfect season to rock that look and one of my favorite trends this winter is to embellish your white flower bouquet with crystals and vintage jewelry. Popular décor for this season are definitely textures and metallic. Consider using velvet table clothes, chairs backs, or napkins. Most wedding cakes this year are white with metallic accents as well. Last but not least, hang strands of beautiful Christmas lights to create a magical winter wedding land!

Have any good winter wedding ideas? Leave us a comment below.

Fabulous Fall Foods

Fall is a fabulous and very popular season to celebrate your wedding as the crisp fresh air moves in and the leaves began to bloom beautiful warm colors. A Fall Wedding menu should consist of hearty, rich foods. During this season, everyone naturally wants to “fatten” up in preparation for the upcoming cold winter. Warm, heavy, comfort foods are sure to please your guests and fit your wedding theme as well. Small plates and finger foods are becoming more and more popular for the fall season instead of the standard sit-down meal. Instead of having a 3-course meal at your wedding, we are seeing a large variety of different platters for guests to roam and graze upon.

Cocktails
A few of my favorite cocktail ideas for the fall season are; fig and melon martini, s’mores martini, ginger snap cocktail, pumpkin martini, and maybe a pumpkin ale.

Starters
Instead of the standard salad, soups are a great natural fit for fall. Warm things up with some butternut squash soup with bacon, or a nice vegetable soup. If you are still interested in keeping a salad on the menu, try out a pear, blue cheese, and walnut salad. Also, one of my favorite starters to serve is warm goat cheese dip topped with marinara and almonds.

Entrees
Roasted chicken, and Salmon are always crowd pleasers but I would suggest spicing things up with a roast pork loin with roasted apples. A surprising but hearty and homey alternative would be chicken potpies with onions, carrots, and turnips. Consider having a baked potato bar as well as a roasted vegetable station with red potatoes, zucchini, red bell peppers, baby carrots, sweet potatoes, and maybe add some fresh garlic or a vinagarette to add a punch of flavor.

Sweets
There are so many delicious options for desserts at your wedding. Warm dessert drinks that are sure to please your guests are; apple cider (festive hollowed-out apples with cider, topped with a cinnamon stick) and a very toasty hot chocolate (served in mugs with a graham-cracker coated rim.) A popular wedding cake trend for the fall season has definitely been dark chocolate with festive leaf decorations. Other things to serve at your dessert bar may be salted caramel apples, apple cider cupcakes with caramel frosting, mini pies, and the very popular pumpkin chocolate tiramisu.

What are some of your fall favorites? Leave us a comment below! HAPPY FALL!

10 Ways to Entertain Your Wedding Guests

Weddings, in some shape or form, have existed for as long as we can remember, but weddings were not always so elaborate in the past. The American wedding in today’s society is typically an elaborate public celebration with family and friends to all par-take! Celebrations should be known to create memorable and fun-filled moments. Music and various types of entertainment are what play a major role in most weddings. I would like to provide a fun and silly list of ideas to provide your guests with during your wedding reception. Let’s fill our special day with laughter and memories.

1. Lawn Games – For those of you that are having an outdoor wedding, some friendly competition is always fun! For example; Corn hole, Badminton, Ladder ball, Croquet, Horseshoes, etc. Bring it on!

2. Tastings – Tasting stations are becoming very popular! Hire someone to guide your guests through some of your favorite whiskey, wine, or beer.

3. Caricaturist – Everyone loves getting a picture drawn of them, it is also a great keepsake to bring home.

4. Balloon animals – Kids want to have some fun too, put someone in charge of the kids table!

5. Silent Disco – Everyone wears headphones and listens to the same music, and has what appears to be a silent dance party. This is mostly a fun and creative idea for those of you that have music restrictions at your wedding venue.

6. Indoor/Outdoor Giant Inflatable Bowling Game – SO FUN, they sell them right here on amazon for $35.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OLZF3W/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005OLZF3W&linkCode=as2&tag=weddiscrib-20

7. Fireworks – What better way to celebrate than fireworks? Fireworks are especially marvelous at beach weddings.

8. Live-Action Painter – These artist are there to create a stunning visual representation of your wedding, typically in a panorama.

9. Photo Booth – Set aside a corner where friends and family can go to take silly pictures, add props, make it as creative as you would like!

10. Bonfire – End the night with a relaxing fire with close family and friends, talk about old memories, sip cocoa, and enjoy a delicious s’more!

What are your favorite entertainment ideas? Leave us a comment below!

UNIQUE Wedding Ideas

Send out song request forms with all your invitations. This is a great way to get your guests on the dance floor!

Instead of handing out the typical wedding program why not give your guest’s something funny to read. You can even add a timeline of how you met or funny facts about your relationship.

Jenga Guest book – That way every time you play you are reminded of all your kind wishes.

Secret Agent Ring Bearer…too cute!

Polaroid Guest Book – Simple and very creative way for your guests to share with you.

Use coolers instead of spending money for a bartender.

Coloring Book Pamphlet – A great way to occupy the youngsters!

Wedding Budget Ideas

Weddings can be very expensive and it is very difficult to keep a reasonable budget when planning. I put together a few ideas to try to help you get the most bang for your buck! I think it is possible to create your perfect day without digging way too deep in your pocket. Here’s my top 6 ways to save!

1. Create your own homemade invitations – Recruit the most crafty person in the family to help.

2. Choose a bargain location – A local church, backyard, or beach wedding is always a good idea.

3. Serve appetizers/finger foods – Everyone loves finger foods, mini sandwiches work great!

4. Choose in-season flowers/food – Go to your local grocery store and create your own bouquets.

5. Handmade center pieces – Cute old-fashioned buckets or borrow colorful vases from family and friends.

6. Bake wedding cupcakes – Bake your own wedding cupcakes and display them in a creative way.