Wedding Day Tips & Advice?

A. For best audience interaction results, the DJ needs to be near the audience and the dance floor. Don't put your DJ up in the balcony or in another room, this doesn't work well for introductions, toasts, audience participation activities, etc.

B. Keep the cake close. At wedding receptions, oftentimes the cake is across the room and around the corner at the furthest point from us. This will help us properly officiate the cake cutting, keep it at a reasonable distance where we can see what is happening. While we're on the subject, if you are interested in keeping the dance floor filled, there is a better way to serve the cake. Cut it between courses or toward the end of dinner and then serve it immediately as the final course. If you cut the cake and then start dancing, what often happens is that when the cake and coffee is finally served...you guessed it, everyone sits back down to eat dessert.

C. Another way to insure that everyone has a good time is for the bride and groom stay involved in the festivities. When guests see the newlyweds taking part in dance floor activities it helps to motivate the guests to join in too. After all, they came to see and party with you. So please don't disappear on us or transform into a lifeless wallflower.

D. Please try to get all of your family and group photos out of the way before we start the dancing. It kills the dance floor to announce that we need the entire wedding party or all members of the bride's or groom's family outside for a photo.

E. We love the old folks, but let's keep them a little further from the dance floor. They don't appreciate bass and treble the way the younger guests do. Even soft piano background music may sometimes irritate those wearing hearing aids.

F. Include the DJ, photographer, videographer, wedding coordinator, etc. in your meal plan and at a table in the room. Sending your professionals to another room far, far away for dinner insures that if a Kodak moment occurs, Uncle Leo wants to propose a special toast, the music mysteriously dies or something else occurs that requires our attention, we will all miss it. If your hired professionals are eating outside the room (or sometimes even in the same room), you should check with the function manager to see at what point they plan to serve them. Many halls will feed the professionals after everyone else is served. The problem here is that since the wedding party was served first, they are finished dining and ready to start the show...while your professionals are still waiting for or are just receiving their food. Solution: ask that the vendors be served right after the wedding party and family tables.

G. If your reception is being held in a facility that hosts multiple functions simultaneously, it would be a good idea to inspect for wall thickness or distance from room to room. During the quiet times of the blessing, toast or even during dinner, you would probably rather not feel the bass vibrations pounding from a function in another room.

H. For the smoothest presentation, make sure that your photographer and/or videographer is reserved for all or most of the reception. Occasionally, one of those vendors will approach us and say "I'm only here for another ½ hour, so I hope you can get all the formalities done by then." And then to make them happy we must cram all of the events in quickly, rather than spacing them out properly to create a nice flow to the event.

I. Don't wear a watch! Relax and enjoy the affair. You have survived months of planning and have hired qualified professionals to run the event, so don't feel the need to play traffic cop on this special occasion. You owe it to yourself to take this time to enjoy and savor all the hard work you've put into making this day special. After the affair, look forward to the many complements you'll receive about how absolutely fabulous your event was. Thanks to your dedication, you have created special memories that will last forever.

J. Get everything in writing! I receive frequent phone calls from distressed brides who have received news at the last minute that their DJ is not able to make it. Usually, these DJs were hired with a handshake. No matter how well you think you know someone, and no matter if the promised performance is for a fee or for free, always protect yourself and get a written commitment.

K. If your function facility offers the option of deciding the floor layout, keep in mind that it's a lot easier for your DJ-MC to "work the room" if you position your dance floor in the center, surrounded by the guest's tables.The guests are more likely to hear what is going on and are more likely to participate in the program if they are closer to the action. It's difficult for the DJ-MC to connect or communicate with someone who is 75, 100 or more feet away.

L. Don't forget your P's and Q's. While your party staff has had the pleasure of serving you in the planning and carrying out of your affair, it's always nice for them to receive a special thank you by way of an email, letter or phone call following your the event. If you felt the service was outstanding, tipping is appropriate. A 10-20% gratuity is customary.