Top 10 Wedding First Dance Songs
By Mike Dodson
MDM Entertainment
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Some couples know right away what their first dance will be while for many others it requires some serious thought.
Choosing the right song can be difficult decision because this is a song that will hold a special place in your hearts for the rest of your lives. You will find yourself dancing to it 50 years from now and you will remember the first time you danced together as husband and wife. Read more
Can and iPod Replace Professional Wedding Entertainment?
MDM Entertainment
Even though I am a wedding entertainer I believe an iPod is okay for certain types of wedding receptions. This may cause a lot of other wedding professionals to shake their heads in disbelief but the simple matter of fact is some weddings would be okay without a DJ or band. Most weddings would be okay without the typical cheesy wedding DJ but that is another article…..
An iPod would be suitable entertainment if:
1. You were having a small intimate wedding celebration for a few hours where dancing isn’t a concern and you just need background music.
2. None of your family or friends dance.
3. You did not want to do any traditional reception activities such as introduction of the wedding party, cake cutting toasts, first dance, etc.
If however you are having a wedding were you will be doing many of the traditional reception activities and you do you want your guests to spend the entire evening celebrating with you I would consider hiring PROFESSIONAL entertainment.
Not just music
Many brides and grooms initially do not understand that a professional wedding entertainer does so much more than just press play. If this were the case they probably could be replaced by an iPod. A professional wedding entertainer is the Master of Ceremonies who will host and coordinate your reception. A good DJ or band leader is the next best thing to a day of coordinator for handling the organization of the reception. In addition to their duties as emcee your entertainer will be programming the music for the evening to get your guests out of their seats and onto the dance floor. An experienced DJ or band leader will know what to play and when in order to keep a full dance floor.
I have listed some of the common reasons for having an iPod wedding and then some of the reasons against it so you will be able to make an informed decision.
Professional DJ’s and bands charge too much!
You must take into consideration that the DJ or band is not only spending 10 to 12 hours on the day of your wedding working for you (don’t forget driving, setup and take down) but they have also spent hours upon hours preparing, rehearsing, assembling music and coordinating. When all is said and done a professional DJ or band will spend 20 or more hours on one wedding. You are also paying for experience and talent with a professional.
In addition to the entertainer you are also paying for professional audio equipment and microphones. I have seen banquet halls promise that couples could hook an iPod up to their in house “sound system” and “it will be fine”. Most banquet hall sound systems are barely able to handle a microphone for the speeches let alone dance music at any volume. Most of the time it will sound horrible. You could always rent professional equipment and have the rental company come and set it up but by the time you have paid for that you are half way to having the DJ or band paid for. If you do rent professional audio equipment who is going to operate the equipment throughout the night and what if something breaks?
When you look at the cost of hiring a professional it is usually a small percentage of the overall budget yet it probably has the most impact on the success of the event. If you hire cheap poor quality entertainment and your guests leave early you have wasted all the money you have spent on the entire day. Consider quality entertainment an investment in the success of your wedding.
We get to choose the music!
At first this seems like a great idea but then you have to ask yourself how many public events you have actually entertained for? Do you know how to read a crowd and play the variety of music necessary to ensure that everyone at your wedding enjoys themselves. I have seen far too many brides and grooms assume that because they like a certain artist that all of there guests will enjoy them as much as they do. You may load your iPod up with all your favorites and then be surprised when no one is on the dance floor. A good DJ or band will certainly play your requests and tailor the music to your tastes but they will program the music for the evening in a way that will keep your guests dancing.
Perhaps one of the most important skills of entertaining at a wedding is music programming, knowing what to play when in order to keep the energy level on the dance floor. You can load an iPod up with some great music but if it is not played in the right order at the right time you will have a lackluster dance floor. A good DJ or band can take the same list and have a packed dance floor all night. You can’t go from big band to 50 Cent for the next song and expect people to keep dancing. The music must have a “flow” and logical progression from one song to the next without any “dead air” or breaks in between songs. You may be able to get someone to program a good set list for an iPod but a dance floor is a fluid entity and you need to be able to judge what is working with the crowd and what is not and flow with it. This is where experience and music knowledge pays off.
We have a friend/relative who will take care of it for us!
If your friend doesn’t mind spending their entire night working at your wedding that is a great friend indeed. Will they want to dance or socialize at all or spend the entire evening manning the iPod? If you want any emceeing does the person have experience? Will they know how to operate the audio equipment? Do they know how to coordinate a wedding reception and everything that it entails?
Check out this REAL video of an iPod wedding. It pretty much demonstrates a lot of these points. Then imagine how you would feel if it was your wedding day.
Your wedding day is a once in a lifetime experience. Shouldn’t it be the best day possible?
By Mike Dodson of MDM Entertainment
info@mdmentertainment.com
Even though I am a wedding entertainer I believe an iPod is okay for certain types of wedding receptions. This may cause a lot of other wedding professionals to shake their heads in disbelief but the simple matter of fact is some weddings would be okay without a DJ or band. Most weddings would be okay without the typical cheesy wedding DJ but that is another article…..
Choosing the Right Music for Your Wedding Reception – The Do’s and Dont’s
By Mike Dodson of MDM Entertainment
info@mdmentertainment.com
Choosing the Right Music for Your Wedding Reception – The Do’s and Don’ts
Being a wedding entertainer I see first hand on a weekly basis how much impact the music has on the success of a wedding reception. The following article will help you plan out the perfect mix of music for your Chicago wedding reception.
First and foremost, the music for your wedding is the soundtrack to one of the most important days of your life! You should put some thought into it. The music should be memorable and reflect your personal taste and style while at the same time creating an enjoyable atmosphere for you and all of your guests.
Even though your wedding day is probably still months away you should start making up your request list now.
Here are some do’s and don’ts for selecting music for your wedding reception:
DO
§ Have a frank discussion with your potential entertainer about the music. They should listen to your input; it is your wedding. You should listen to their input; they do this for a living.
§ Keep a pad of paper handy at your desk and in the car and jot down song ideas when they pop into your head. They will be gone by the time you get home if you don’t write them down right away.
§ Play songs that you would like to hear but that aren’t great dancing songs during cocktail hour or dinner.
§ Try to remember songs that were meaningful to you and your family and friends. List songs that you use to sing along to with everyone when going out for the night or hold special memories for you and your fiancée. Dedicate these songs to your friends and family at the reception!
§ Make sure the entertainer is aware of the significance of your dedications and the appropriate people are present when the song is played.
§ Keep the number of requests at a reasonable amount! For an average wedding reception you will be lucky to get 3 hours of full dancing time. This is about 45 songs in total or 15 per hour. If you have a talented DJ or band they will be able to mix the songs together so they flow seamlessly from one to the other and instead of playing the full version you will hear maybe half or three fourths of the song before it blends into the next one. This will allow more songs to be played throughout the evening. At MDM Entertainment we structure our music request system in a way that allows the bride and groom to have their favorites played while still allowing the entertainer some flexibility in programming and for guest requests, if that is okay with you. Contact us for more information on how we handle wedding music request lists.
§ Pick songs that you like from different genres of music that will appeal to the different age ranges of your guests. You should want everyone to dance and have a great time at your wedding.
§ Play to the older guests early. A good rule of music programming is to play more for the older guests at the beginning then progress into the newer styles later on in the evening. Everyone likes the older styles of music (Sinatra, Big Band, 50’s and 60’s, Motown, etc) to some extent. If you get the older guests dancing and having a good time they will be much more likely to stay the whole evening and by the end of the night they will be dancing to everything. If you break out the hottest current dance music too early in the night it will probably discourage them and they might even leave early.
§ Allow guest requests. You may not have a good handle on what the majority of your guests do or do not want to dance to. By allowing the DJ or band to take requests they are able to get direct input from the crowd. A good wedding entertainer will of course filter these requests and won’t play anything inappropriate, songs on your “Do Not Play” list or songs that won’t fit in with your own personal preferences.
§ Remember that everyone may not share your taste is music. If you hire a professional band or disk jockey they should be available to help you plan out the music for your reception and incorporate your style into the day while still playing a good mix to keep all of your guests happy and on the dance floor. That is one of the true benchmarks of a great wedding entertainer, understanding and being able to incorporate the bride and groom’s more eclectic musical tastes into the day while at the same time keeping all of the guests entertained.
§ Submit your music lists at least two weeks prior to the wedding if you are using a DJ, this will allow them plenty of time to compile the music and acquire any songs that they do not have in their library. If you are using a band you will have to get your requests in months ahead of time to allow them ample time to learn and practice new songs that they may not have in their repertoire.
DON’T
§ Hand the entertainer a list of 100 songs and demand that they all be played and in that order. Don’t laugh, it happens. Of course you should be involved in the selection of the music for your wedding day but if you do this you are severely limiting the entertainers ability to “read” the crowd and play the right song at the right time. A good entertainer will understand your musical tastes and incorporate that throughout the event in a way that will still keep your guests happy and on the dance floor. On those few occasions where a bride has held fast to her list and her order, they have always come up to me half way through the event and realized their mistake and end up giving me free reign. You are hiring professional entertainment for a reason; trust their experience and skill.
§ Say I want all this type of music and nothing else. Some brides and grooms tell me they love Hip Hop and that is what they want to hear all night. Take into consideration your guests enjoyment of the evening as well. Don’t you want them to have a wonderful time too? Grandma and Grandpa just might not like Hip Hop. Ultimately it is your night and the entertainer should do exactly what you ask of them but take into consideration the wide range of age ranges and musical tastes of your guests when making up your play list.
§ Run up to the entertainer and say I want this song next! Again, it is your wedding and they should do what you ask but the entertainer has put a lot of thought into the selection of songs to get to this point in the evening. If your song fits in with the current genres being played NEXT is probably a great idea. If you are requesting a techno track be played next and the dance floor is full of grandparents dancing to swing maybe you could ask that the song be played soon so the DJ has time to progress into that genre instead of scaring the living daylights out of the older folks on the dance floor.
If you follow these do’s and don’ts and hire professional wedding entertainment your reception will be an evening of dancing and socializing that all of your guests will thoroughly enjoy and talk about for years to come!
Being a wedding entertainer I see first hand on a weekly basis how much impact the music has on the success of a wedding reception. The following article will help you plan out the perfect mix of music for your Chicago wedding reception.
Selecting the Right Entertainment for Your Wedding Reception
By Mike Dodson
MDM Entertainment
When planning a wedding many couples focus on the dress, the food, the flowers, the photos and the endless other details yet they often overlook the importance of the entertainment. While all the elements that go into making a perfect wedding day are important, it is the entertainment at the reception that ultimately has the most impact on your and your guest’s enjoyment of the day. Your guests will barely remember what they had for dinner but will remember if they had a great time dancing or socializing or left early because the entertainment was terrible.
DJ or Band?
Live music and a stage full of musicians adds an element of energy to a wedding that a DJ just can’t match. The right band also adds an air of style and sophistication. There are however several drawbacks to hiring a band for your wedding day. A band is usually more expensive than a DJ due to the number of people involved and the associated costs for parking, meals, etc.
An average wedding band in Chicago starts out at around $1,600. This is a base price and can go up considerably depending on the number of musicians and vocalists desired and if you would like them to learn additional songs.
The major limitation to live music is the bands ability to play a diverse enough range of music to please all of your guests. Bands usually have certain styles of music they excel at and don’t vary much outside of that. Will your band be able to play Big Band for the grandparents, Disco for the parents and then later on 80’s Rock and Top 40 for the younger crowd? Many bands will be able to accommodate a limited number of special requests but they just won’t have the flexibility to handle a wide range of musical styles and requests. If your and your guest’s musical tastes fall into the bands range of available selections this won’t be much of an issue.
A professional disc jockey is often a good choice for wedding reception entertainment due to their ability to accommodate a wide range of musical styles and their relative affordability. A professional wedding DJ in the Chicago area averages around $1,2000. Note that this is an average price and may be higher depending on which company you choose and any additional options that you may add such as extra lighting, larger sound systems, etc.
Some couples choose to solve the dilemma by incorporating both a band and DJ however, this can become quite expensive.
How to choose the right wedding entertainment?
First of all, do your research and seek out professionals. Just because your friend’s cousin has an iPod and has downloaded some music doesn’t make them a DJ or if they really rock at Guitar Hero doesn’t mean their band is ready to perform at weddings and someone you should trust with one of the most important days of your life.
Price should not be the only factor when considering entertainment given how important it is to the success of your reception. As the old adage goes “You get what you pay for”. Cheap DJ’s and bands are cheap for a reason whether it is lack of experience, lack of professional equipment or the fact that they do not run a reputable business. As with anything, expect to pay more for higher quality and better service. The deciding factor should not solely be price but value. Are you getting a quality service at a reasonable and fair price?
Another factor to think about when looking at the price of your wedding entertainment is all of the preparation involved leading up to the big day. In addition to the 8 or more hours the entertainer will be working on the day of your event you must also take into consideration all the time they will spend preparing for your event attending meetings, preparing music, rehearsing introductions, etc. A professional wedding entertainer will spend at least 10 to 20 hours preparing for your event. Amateurs will not.
A true professional wedding entertainer does much more than just show up and play music. They set the tone for the entire event and are your emcee and event host, event coordinator, music programmer, lighting designer, crowd motivator and more. A professional wedding entertainer will coordinate all the activities of your wedding reception to ensure that everything flows smoothly and your guests thoroughly enjoy themselves. When it comes to dancing a good entertainer will play the right songs at the right time to keep your dance floor full.
To seek out potential entertainers ask any newlywed friends for referrals, ask the other wedding professionals you are working with for their recommendations, check with the Better Business Bureau, read local
wedding publications and search online.
Once you have found 3-5 companies you are interested in pick up the phone and give them a call or send them an email. First of all how responsive are they? Do they answer the phone right away or promptly return your calls and emails? How professional do they appear?
Ask them about their performance style. Does it match what you are looking for? Some companies are highly interactive which means they will bring props and lead dances with the crowd and maybe even sing. Some companies will act as an emcee but will not be overly interactive. Some companies do neither. Find the company whose style matches yours.
Once you have narrowed down the field to 3 or so perspective companies set up an appointment to meet with a company representative or better yet your potential entertainer. At the meeting do they listen to what you want or do they tell you how they do things? How interested are they in discovering your musical tastes and your vision for your wedding? Will they help you plan the reception and the music? Do you get to choose your entertainer or do they assign them? You should ask a lot of questions to find out as much as you can about the company and the entertainer. You can find a good list of questions to ask your perspective wedding entertainment here. Ask for references from past clients. After all is said and done, do you walk out of the meeting with a good feeling about what they can bring to your wedding day?
Weigh your options carefully and choose the entertainment that you think best suits your tastes and budget, will provide an enjoyable atmosphere for your guests and is professional and reliable.
Once you have chosen the entertainment make sure you get a thorough contract that spells out the obligations of both parties so there will not be any misunderstandings further on down the road.
Whether you choose a band or a DJ make sure you do your research and find professional entertainment that matches your style and your wedding day will BE fantastic!
By Mike Dodson of MDM Entertainment
info@mdmentertainment.com
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When planning a wedding many couples focus on the dress, the food, the flowers, the photos and the endless other details yet they often overlook the importance of the entertainment. While all the elements that go into making a perfect wedding day are important, it is the entertainment at the reception that ultimately has the most impact on your and your guest’s enjoyment of the day. Your guests will barely remember what they had for dinner but will remember if they had a great time dancing or socializing or left early because the entertainment was terrible.
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