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Ken Prentice, C.Tech

A Different Perspective On Wedding Receptions

Updated: Jul 5, 2020


As a DJ a lot of my focus goes into having a great reception and as certified engineering tech I look to address many of the technical elements that entails. In some cases I’ll write about those elements in great detail in order to help couples and sometimes this information is even copied by other DJs in the wedding industry. Nonetheless, I do like providing information that gives couples the knowledge to make informed choices. There’s another important side to weddings beyond the technical aspects that’s less tangible: the experience people have at the wedding. All technical details aside, a wedding is an emotional celebration and afterwards it’s generally summed up based on the personal experience that the bride and groom, as well as their guests had. So when the opportunity presents itself to chat with couples, guests, and wedding industry professionals we’re always interested to hear what they have to say. I’ve always enjoyed hearing great stories from other wedding professionals at busy venues since they interact with so many different guests and vendors.

We regularly work at many of the same venues in Kitchener, Waterloo, Stratford and surrounding areas so get to know the staff fairly well in most cases. So last summer when we walked in to a venue and one of the staff warmly greeted us with, “Oh good you’re here that means it’s going to be fun tonight!” I was flattered, but also intrigued. So during a conversation I asked how things were going so far and that’s when they shared their experiences with the last two weddings. Unfortunately both of those weddings had some issues and ended well before midnight. At the first wedding the DJ had announced the wrong names for the couple and then proceeded to play the same few songs when the dance floor opened. This ultimately resulted in a very early night with the couple exiting before 10 PM. At the second wedding a speaker blew early in the night and it was hard to hear the music over the conversation. There wasn’t much of a party and the bride was particularly unhappy with the fact they didn’t have any backups. These are two extreme examples, but this is what couples, guests and even vendors remember from those weddings.

Couples are often inundated with vendor choices and to be perfectly honest many of the choices seem to be the same so price factors into the equation. The staff member had mentioned the names of the DJ services that had worked those receptions and both were primarily known as economic or “budget DJs.” Their marketing material in print and online share many similarities to ours, however, we’re very different services in principle. An economical service frequently has an objective of either high volume or they might utilize low cost equipment by substituting quality to achieve the desired price. We focus on personalized service for a single event and refuse to introduce the potential risks associated with low quality equipment or inexperienced DJs. Volume businesses will often make a strong investment in marketing and advertising while purely budget services might sell on price alone. Our preference of investing in training and high end equipment is something they don’t do. You can start to see how these models differ with each offering dissimilar benefits. Having these conversations has allowed me to better articulate these very different values in a more meaningful way for couples and explain what they could mean at your wedding.

Listening to clients, guests and other wedding professionals has always given us great insight and helped us to understand more from their vantage point. Frequently I’ll hear couples say that they really want to have a great party with their guests. There’s definitely some investments every couple can make that will help contribute to that result. With a DJ my advice has always been to hire one with good reviews and have that specific DJ named in the contract. Otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll be matched with any DJ that works for the company, experienced or not. If a DJ service is promoting state-of-the-art equipment investigate that aspect. If you need some direction on how, try reading our blog that teaches couples how to determine if DJ service has premium flagship DJ products. As a DJ much of what we offer that adds substantial value is invisible to couples. It’s the experience of the DJ, their training, equipment, and their passion for what they do that can really make a difference. Couples will need to do some research to find those higher quality vendors. The reception experience and memories of your night will largely depend on the choices you make with your vendors. Choose the vendors that fit your vision and have the right expertise so you and your guests can truly celebrate your day.

Have a question about receptions feel free to email us info@loopsnjamzzdjs.com

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