Spencer Weddings | Sacramento, Folsom, Roseville DJ Entertainment

The best wedding vendors out there are incredibly passionate about their service or product. They give up weekends to share a moment in one of the happiest days of someone else’s life. Unfortunately, that also means likely giving up some responsibility with their friends and family at home.

The wedding industry as a whole has two unique trends, which are often referred to as Booking Season and Wedding Season and runs the course of the year. In short, the Booking Season runs during the months of engagements, encompassing holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day. Wedding Season (in the greater San Francisco Bay Area) typically starts in March and runs right into the first weeks of November.

Now add all of those bridal shows, client consultations, planning sessions, emails, phone tag… Wedding vendors work nothing like the typical 40-hour work week most of their clients are accustomed to working. So where do many of them make time for family and rejuvenation?

The truth is that it depends on the vendor. Some of the best vendors I know are charging above average pricing.  One reason for this is so they can limit the total events per calendar year. Fewer events means less chance of a burnout, time for family, and increases the success rating for the events they do work.

The next time a vendor mentions how many events they work per year, don’t be too concerned if it is a smaller number. If their client feedback and reviews are superior, it might just mean they are keeping that balance of passion, family, and life.

What an absolutely amazing week I have just had at the 2010 Wedding MBA Conference in Las Vegas. Now in their eighth year, the show ran just two and a half days, and I personally got something for every penny I spent on the very first day. Heck, I already even picked up my pass for next year (which attendees could get for up to $350 off the full price).

Getting your name in print

We all want our name in lights, right?  That seemed to be a recurring theme of sorts this year. However, the way that I look at what Stacie Francombe of Get Married, Alan Berg of The Knot, Amy Wilkins of Martha Stewart Weddings, and David Katz of Brides.com had to say was really how to get our brides and grooms featured in media. I work with couples of all sorts, but I’m sure many of them would get a kick out of having a super-creative wedding that made the pages of a major publication (or even a blog post).

It makes sense. After all, nearly 70% of brides use both magazines and go online to get ideas for a wedding (Francombe). Those magazines are not cheap either, running an average of $10 per issue (Katz). As brides and grooms, they can show it off to friends and family, and have a keepsake. As vendors, we have the opportunity to add credibility to our services or products. It actually becomes a win-win situation.

The most visible person at a wedding is the person on the microphone. That person better be an excellent representation of the couple.

The audience at Wedding MBA learned from each of these presenters what the publications are looking when it comes to being featured in a magazine or premier wedding blog. When it comes to professional wedding djs, you might think that we hit a roadblock. Not true. So much of the wedding relies on what happens during the ceremony and reception. Peter Merry, author of The Best Wedding Reception Ever!, mentioned, “The most visible person at a wedding is the person on the microphone.That person better be an excellent representation of the couple.” I could not agree more.

Event direction at its best

Many of the “music” vendors in the room were full-fledged Wedding Entertainment Directors™. Most of the others others may simply call themselves DJs, Master of Ceremonies, or a hand full of similar titles. The bottom line is that your reception is going to be motivated by this individual making announcements throughout your event. The energy of your dance floor, the sincerity of your wedding toasts, the humor of your grand entrance — these are all complimented by none other than your choice in that person on the microphone. Make sure that as a bride or groom, you make the right choice.

The take-away

The vendors who took the time to attend the Wedding MBA conference this year will know how to make couples look like a star attraction. I’m not sure I saw one rotten egg in attendance. There were seasoned pros and aspiring newcomers, but they all had one common goal – to make everyone look like a million bucks!

This is just one of what should be several posts recapping the conference.  Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss the next one!

Shoreline Amphitheater – August 9, 2010

I was just about fourteen years old when my my best friend introduced me to bass guitar…and Rush. Out from whatever rock I’d been living under, the first song I ever learned to play was “Dreamline” from their 1991 album Roll The Bones. To this day, it is still one of my favorites, but I didn’t get to hear it the evening of August 9, 2010 at Shoreline Amphitheater when Rush made their San Francisco stop along the Time Machine Tour.

As Max Mobley of Crawdaddy! Magazine wrote, “Everybody wants songs from whatever albums mark their entry into the world of Rush. And in spite of playing an entire album on this tour, Rush did pretty well with their song selection.”

I could not agree more. However, I was shocked that this was the first tour since Roll The Bones that they not only skipped over “Dreamline” but the entire album all together. This was the sixth time I’ve seen Rush live since 1994, and I was a little heartbroken at that omission.

After all, this is the Time Machine Tour. Even with the entire Moving Pictures set, the band managed to squeeze in tracks from 14 of their 19 studio albums. And all that was done in three hours time, but also includes numerous video bits, including a six minute closing skit with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel (from “I Love You, Man”). These intermission videos have become standard since they started performing shows with no supporting act, and they get better every year.

I can probably stop here. Anyone that’s ever seen a Rush show knows that the show is phenomenal, even when you don’t get to hear your favorite song. The sound is amazing. The lighting is amazing. The video is amazing (although we lost some after a shot in the dark during the song “Marathon”).

But wait, there’s more!

Typically, a Rush concert consists of middle aged guys playing air drums (or guitar) all night long. Not this show. From where I was, about thirteen rows back from the stage, there were men, women, and children of all ages. Full families were in attendance. Sitting directly next to me was a couple from Penn State University that was in San Francisco on vacation. This was their first Rush show.

There were no laser pointers. No one was throwing beer bottles onto the stage. Nobody I saw started any fights. Reminiscent of the older days, a large number of people got there early and tailgated in the parking lots, speakers blaring. It was actually some of the most fun at a rock concert I’ve had in a very long time.

Sneaky iPhone 4 Review

Another thing I liked about this show was that it gave me an opportunity to test out my new iPhone 4. About a year ago, I had tried to record some audio and video using the iPhone 3GS and failed miserably. Thankfully, Apple’s updates to the hardware kept the audio from clipping, and the video pretty much in focus (given the lighting conditions). All the images you see in this post were taken from the iPhone 4, though I have cropped and resized them to fit play nice on the blog. For those that may not get a chance to attend, this HD YouTube video of “YYZ” was originally shot using it. Some compression by YouTube has “softened” the quality a little, but overall it looks and sounds great!

The bottom line

Aside for the absence of the aforementioned “Dreamline” track, I was impressed with the show. I’m not sure it was my favorite, but it stood the test of time, and I look forward to the new album next year. Hearing the current singles “Caravan” and “BU2B” from the forthcoming Clockwork Angels means that there will most definitely be a show to attend in 2011.

The caravan thunders onward
To the distant dream of the city
The caravan carries me onward
On my way at last

From the song “Caravan” by Rush, 2010

For years the bridal magazines, wedding planning books, and wedding focused television programs have explored every facet of the weddings celebrations except for one…the FUN.

What It’s All About

The quote above comes from the back cover of Peter Merry’s book, The Best Wedding Reception…Ever! The unfortunate reality is that every word of it is true. Brides are taught to shop for “music” when that’s just a tiny portion of what makes today’s professional DJ and Master of Ceremonies a successful part of your wedding celebration. This book will explore all the parts of making your day memorable, including not just your entertainment choice, but understanding a realistic budget, tips on finding the perfect reception locations, timeline considerations, selecting other key vendors, and much more.

Get Your Copy of The Book

Did you know that every couple who reserves Spencer Weddings and Entertainment for their wedding celebration automatically receives a copy of the book. Of course, you can also head over to Amazon.com to pick up your very own copy of The Best Wedding Reception Ever! for around $24. You might even be able to find the author, Peter Merry, at an upcoming event (and he’ll sign it for you!).

Get Your Free Copy on October 24th

Spencer Weddings and Entertainment will be a vendor on display at the October 24th Central Coast Bride Fabulous Fall Bridal Show. As an extra bonus, every prospective client who takes the time to meet with me for the purpose of considering my DJ and MC services will receive a complimentary copy of the book, “The Best Wedding Reception…Ever!”  All you have to do is attend the show and stop by my booth.  While you are there, be sure to pick up a flyer with the special offer or swing by my booth and arrange for your complimentary meeting!

Kaemmerling Photography

Depending on who you ask, the tradition of a bride tossing a bouquet is one that goes back many centuries. Some say that before the bride carried flowers, she would carry bunches of garlic and herbs to ward off evil spirits. Eventually, the act of tossing the bouquet to a lucky single female guest would imply that she was next to wed.

When I started this post, I had planned to list several alternatives to the traditional bouquet toss. Many wonderful and creative ideas to keep the energy level going can be found in the book, The Best Wedding Reception…Ever! by Peter Merry. I’m going to leave them there. Why? Because there is one type that I have seen done so many different ways, I felt that it deserved its own spotlight.

Behold…The Breakaway Bouquet!

On average, less than half of my brides are familiar with this newish method of toss. It’s not really all that different, but it does hold a few surprises and can be performed in a great number of ways.

One thing they all have in common is that the bouquet is setup to look like an ordinary toss bouquet. However, as the bride is preparing to toss, and guest are distracted by your MC inviting ladies up to the dancefloor, she will pull a ribbon or binding to reveal anywhere from three to as many as ten small bouquets. The guests are unaware of this, so when the bride tosses it will “breakaway” into several smaller one to catch. Now several ladies have a chance to catch one – but why stop there?

Good Fortune Bouquets

I first saw this while doing a Chinese wedding many years ago. The bride had her florist attach small fortunes to the base of each smaller bouquet, five in all. Much the same way you might open a fortune cookie, the lucky catcher would receive a fortune such as “You will marry the man of your dreams.”

Lucky Money Bouquets

This one is similar to the good fortune, and could even be called the same. In the state of California, we have a lottery full of scratchers and super jackpots. One couple I performed for attached various types of lottery tickets to each of her bouquets so that everyone had a chance to win.

Single Rose

Rather than using small bouquets of flowers, use individual roses. Take it a step further and make them of different colors and sayings that represent those colors (colors and their meanings).

Involving Everyone

The best part about the breakaway style bouquet is the ability to involve all your guests. Change the wording on your fortune and invite all the ladies – not just the single ones – up to catch some good luck. And who doesn’t like the chance at a little free money (less taxes, of course)?

The Element Of Surprise

Part of the fun with a breakaway bouquet is certainly in the surprise. I would recommend letting as few individuals as possible know. In fact, the only people that probable need to know is you, your MC and DJ, photographer, videographer, and potentially the wedding coordinator (if you have chosen one).

Sources: Creative Memories Entertainment, The Best Wedding Reception…Ever!