Keep the bride happy.
That is what its all about, after all. The right Wedding Entertainment Professional (also known as DJ) will make the day perfect and keep the bride happy. What happens when the bride doesn't want to be happy? Sometimes, to the casual observer, it can be difficult to tell if she really wants to be happy on her wedding day at all.
I once saw a bride come into the reception hall and look at the tables and absolutley freak out because the cakes that were on each table were round instead of square. It took her mother almost 20 minutes to calm her down.
DJ: "Melissa, we need to line everyone up for the grand entrance"
Bride: "NO, EVERYTHING is RUINED!"
DJ: "No its not, we haven't even started the reception yet. What's wrong?"
Bride: "You don't understand! The cakes were our gifts to the guests!"
DJ: "Soooooo, why can't they STILL be gifts?"
Bride: "Because GIFTS come in SQUARE BOXES!"
DJ: "Melissa, this is your wedding day! We can do one of two things. We can sit here and cry and let this ruin everything, or we can go in there, smile, laugh, and dance the night away. Your husband is a lucky man, and he loves you, and he wants nothing more than to walk into that hall with his wife and show everyone the beautiful woman he is married to."
10 minutes later we introduced the bridal party into the room. We smiled, laughed, and danced the night away.
Brides spend weeks, months, even years planning the perfect wedding. Every detail is planned out, and when a vendor messes up those plans, it can be devestating.
Mellissa's grandmother had told her stories of her wedding day 48 years earlier, and of the square cakes Melissa's great-grandmother had made for that wedding, and how those square cakes were gifts. Her fondest memory is the square cake story from her mammaw. Melissa wanted to pay homage to her grandmother for putting the idea of an ideal wedding day into 8 year old Melissa's head.
The lesson learned? Well, for vendors, we need to pay attention to the details. What might seem inconsequential to us could very well be a lifetime wish for a bride.
For brides, its difficult to understand that once things are out of their control, and in the hands of the vendors, the best bet for a great dayis to just go with whatever comes. Deal with the issues after the honeymoon, cause you only get this day once.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The first one
Evidently, I'm just the music. That's what a lot of brides think. I know better. How do you get them to know better?
How do you educate a bride? How do you tactfully let them know where their money should go. They often think we are "just the music". Here's a typical conversation.
Vendor: "Thank you for calling A Sharp Entertainment, this is Jim."
Bride: "I need a DJ for this labor day weekend. How much do you charge?"
Vendor: "Let me get some info. Do you ha"
Bride: " Its just the music, I need to know how much. I have $400 for music."
Vendor: "We charge $1000 for an average wedding, however, if you'd like to "
Click.
She'll get her $400 DJ, and it may turn out OK, but most likely it won't. An old cliche comes to mind: you get what you pay for.
Evidently, brides think I'm a boom box. I'm not a boom box. Does a boom box know how to read a crowd, choose the right slow song for the grooms grandparents, coordinate with the photographer on where the bridal party should stand for the first dance? No. Who is the number 1 vendor deciding how fun the wedding is? Its the DJ. But that is usually the first vendor the bride looks to cut corners. After all, I'm just the music.
Now, do the brides really think I'm just "the music"? Unfortunately, yes. A lot of brides think just that. Fortunately, I know better. A much more apt description would be Entertainment Coordinator. Or better yet, STAGE MANAGER. After all, this is a production. The bride is the director, the DJ is the stage manager. On opening night, its the stage manager who makes it all happen.
Again, how do you educate a bride? You're always gonna get the bride who thinks its just music, and $400 is a lot to pay, or its just pictures, and Uncle Merle has a great new camera, or cousin Edna makes a nice cake, why pay a couple hundred dollars for cake?
Here's how you educate the bride. Talk to them, face to face, and explain the process. Any vendor who has a meeting with the bride and it is less then 45 minutes is shortchanging EVERYONE. She needs to know that its not just a cake, its a work of art. Uncle Merle might have a beautiful new Nikon, but that just makes him a picture taker, not a photographer. And your professional DJ is the one who sets the pace, packs the dance floor, coordinates with the bride all the music choices, decides when the best time to throw the bouquet it going to be, and generally guides the day from intros to last dance. Your DJ is the one who will make or break your day, not the photographer or cake maker (though they are VERY inportant), not the officiant, not the flowers, not the food (though bad food can be a bummer), not even the weather.
But, what do I know.
I'm just the music.
How do you educate a bride? How do you tactfully let them know where their money should go. They often think we are "just the music". Here's a typical conversation.
Vendor: "Thank you for calling A Sharp Entertainment, this is Jim."
Bride: "I need a DJ for this labor day weekend. How much do you charge?"
Vendor: "Let me get some info. Do you ha"
Bride: " Its just the music, I need to know how much. I have $400 for music."
Vendor: "We charge $1000 for an average wedding, however, if you'd like to "
Click.
She'll get her $400 DJ, and it may turn out OK, but most likely it won't. An old cliche comes to mind: you get what you pay for.
Evidently, brides think I'm a boom box. I'm not a boom box. Does a boom box know how to read a crowd, choose the right slow song for the grooms grandparents, coordinate with the photographer on where the bridal party should stand for the first dance? No. Who is the number 1 vendor deciding how fun the wedding is? Its the DJ. But that is usually the first vendor the bride looks to cut corners. After all, I'm just the music.
Now, do the brides really think I'm just "the music"? Unfortunately, yes. A lot of brides think just that. Fortunately, I know better. A much more apt description would be Entertainment Coordinator. Or better yet, STAGE MANAGER. After all, this is a production. The bride is the director, the DJ is the stage manager. On opening night, its the stage manager who makes it all happen.
Again, how do you educate a bride? You're always gonna get the bride who thinks its just music, and $400 is a lot to pay, or its just pictures, and Uncle Merle has a great new camera, or cousin Edna makes a nice cake, why pay a couple hundred dollars for cake?
Here's how you educate the bride. Talk to them, face to face, and explain the process. Any vendor who has a meeting with the bride and it is less then 45 minutes is shortchanging EVERYONE. She needs to know that its not just a cake, its a work of art. Uncle Merle might have a beautiful new Nikon, but that just makes him a picture taker, not a photographer. And your professional DJ is the one who sets the pace, packs the dance floor, coordinates with the bride all the music choices, decides when the best time to throw the bouquet it going to be, and generally guides the day from intros to last dance. Your DJ is the one who will make or break your day, not the photographer or cake maker (though they are VERY inportant), not the officiant, not the flowers, not the food (though bad food can be a bummer), not even the weather.
But, what do I know.
I'm just the music.
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