Official Blog of Millennium Productions

Image Courtesy of Mirage Photo

Weddings generally host a wide variety of people. Many different age groups come together, and the DJ and/or Band must play music that will be appealing to all, or most, for most of the evening.

DJs are very good at this (that’s why we do what we do); however, we often have clients who want varying levels of input into the musical selection for the evening. I always encourage this, because it adds a level of personalization that a DJ can’t provide just playing off-the-cuff. That said, unless the client is a DJ themselves, too  much control over the playlist can be a very bad thing.

If you do want to have some input on some, or all, of your playlist, here are some suggestions:

1. Pick songs people can dance to: Hey, I love 90′s alternative. Pearl Jam’s “Alive” is a great track. Unfortunately, it isn’t what you would call “danceable.” Stick to stuff with a steady, fun beat, and people will be more likely to dance.
2. Pick songs people will dance to: For the most part, your guests will tend to dance to very popular tracks. True, you may have a group of friends who will dance to O.A.R.’s “Crazy Game of Poker,” but if you’re playing relatively obscure tracks all night that most of your guests don’t know, they won’t dance. People generally dance to what they know.
3. Make a “Do Not Play” list: There are some DJs who will default to certain songs unless told otherwise. These songs include popular line/group dances (ie, the Chicken/Duck dance, electric slide, Y.M.C.A…. by the way, all of these songs are on my own personal Do Not Play list, unless the client specifically OKs them), as well as certain popular songs like “Celebration”, “We Are Family”, and “Love Shack.” All of these are popular at weddings, and they are also at the top of many “Do not play” lists. It helps the DJ a great deal to know what you really don’t want to hear.
4. Give the DJ some leeway: If you’ve picked a quality DJ, then he will know what works, and how to maintain a good flow throughout the evening while incorporating your requests into his mix. If you have a very rigid playlist or genre requirements, the DJ is kind of boxed in to your choices, and if those choices aren’t working, you’ve given him no outs.
5. Don’t slow it down too much: Slow songs are going to get played, and people will definitely dance to them, but there is such a thing as slowing it down too much. I generally play about 5 slow songs per reception, sometimes maybe another 1 or 2, depending on the mood and age of the crowd. Remember, it’s nice to have a sweet, romantic slow dance, but if you overdo it, you will kill the energy of the dance floor.
6. Know your priorities: Not all people are looking for a lot of dancing at their reception. I once played a reception where my clients specifically said that I can play traditional wedding dance music for 1 hour, but after that they wanted punk rock for the rest of the night, regardless of what anyone else asked for. No requests (other than punk) were to be taken. They knew no one would dance, but dancing was not their priority. I obliged. People were very angry with me (the FOG actually threatened my life, though I didn’t take it all that seriously), but I made them aware that this was the agenda planned by my clients. My clients were extremely pleased with me, and thanked me profusely. The point is that you need to decide if you want people to dance or not. You also need to realize that just because you would dance to a song, that doesn’t mean everyone else will do so. If dancing is a priority, consider playing some of the more obscure stuff during dinner or cocktail hour. If not, Indie it up.

The point of a personalized play list is to make the reception your own, not a cookie cutter program that you’ve heard at every wedding you’ve ever attended. If you have a DJ you trust, then work with him (or her) to figure out what kind of mood you want. If your DJ is good, they should have 5 songs to play to match each 1 song you request.

If you design a play list that you want the DJ to stick to rigidly, just understand that you are taking on the responsibility of entertaining your guests. While the DJ should try to play it in an order that makes sense, ultimately you have decided on the course of music, so be sure that you are going to be happy with it, no matter what.

Special thanks to Mirage Photo for the above images!

ben_kelley Uncategorized dj service, dj services, event planning, reception entertainment, st louis wedding receptions, wedding dj, wedding entertainment, wedding reception

On April 17th, Millennium Productions produced its first relatively big event of the year, providing DJ, Videography, and Design/Decor/Lighting for Tiffany and Ryan’s wedding reception at the Viking Conference center in Sunset Hills.

The design included a Grand Entryway, Head Table Backdrop with Gobo monogram, accent draping in 2 corners of the room, pin-spotting on all centerpieces and cake, and a total of 20 uplights to set it all off.

The experienced Design team was at the venue at 9AM to get it all set up. Our goal is to always be detail-oriented and get everything looking perfect, so the more time we have, the better.

We try to get the venue’s lights out of the picture as much as possible, allowing us to have full control over the lighting in the room. This allows us to achieve the “transformation effect” that our clients are looking for.

Pin-spotting is an important part of the transformation. It provides enough light for the guests to see their dinners and each other, but also allows us to highlight the centerpieces. As you can see, it also produces a kind of “floating” look with the tables, highlighting them individually with darkness in between.

The end result is a completely different looking space. We accentuate the parts that need to pop, and we leave the rest in relative darkness, providing just enough mood lighting to make it comfortable for the guests.

Tom Stuart was the DJ/Host, with assistance from Pat Sullivan. Between the two of them, they created a great party environment, and provided their great expertise in music mixing.

Rick Dilly and Tony Volkman shot the video, following the wedding from ceremony through reception. Always the height of professionalism, they remained inconspicuous throughout the evening, while still capturing the event expertly.

This was a great combined effort among all the Millennium staff, and the end result, as always, made it completely worth the effort!

aj_barbarito Design and Decor, Uncategorized, st louis wedding receptions event design decor, millennium, millennium design, millennium music, millennium productions, st louis weddings, videography, wedding dj, wedding entertainment, wedding lights, wedding reception

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aj_barbarito Uncategorized

As you may know, September and October rival May and June for popular months to have a wedding, at least in St. Louis. Muggy summer days make for some uncomfortably hot wedding receptions, so many in this town opt for a cooler month for their nuptials. Hence, we are incredibly busy around this time of year, but that business provides some great material to share. My next few posts will be about some of these weddings, beginning with Rachel and Jeremy on September 12th.
The reason this wedding sticks out in my mind is that I was personally involved from the time I answered Rachel’s email until a couple of weeks after the wedding, when I got the link to the wedding pictures. I first got the email back in April. Rachel and Jeremy live in California, and were unable to interview DJs themselves. I remember patiently spending about 20 or 30 minutes explaining our service, and then booking her, and then saying “Yes, I can be the DJ if that’s what you want,” and then it was settled. Well, kind of. After that, I had to figure out what kind of custom package would fit their budget, and for that I had to actually talk to Rachel and Jeremy. Well, mostly Rachel.
Rachel, I came to find out, was hearing impaired. This would be my first time working with a client who had an auditory impairment, but it wasn’t really an issue. Rachel was an excited and nervous Bride, like all of my other clients, and in many ways was much easier to communicate with than many other Brides, since she checked her email on a very regular basis and was not afraid to tell me exactly what she wanted or to ask my opinion as a wedding professional. We had one phone call to seal the deal (using her CapTel phone, which assists her in communicating by phone, giving her text along with voice), which I later learned she was nervous about at first (no reason to be… it was like most phone conversations, but with a short delay, like in an overseas call).
Throughout this time, I talked to Rachel, Margy (Rachel’s Mom), and Jan (the event coordinator at the Museum of the Dog) on a weekly or monthly basis to make sure we were all on the same page. I visited the Dog Museum a couple of times to figure out my set-up for both the Ceremony (outside) and Reception (inside), and just to learn the lay of the land, since I hadn’t worked there before. While Rachel and I communicated, she dutifully filled out her planning forms and requests, as well as giving me access to her wedding website, where I was able to learn a little background about my clients. I wish every client would open up like this. It makes my job easier and more fun to know my clients on a more personal level. It just makes everyone more comfortable if they feel like they’re working with a friend.
Fast-forward to the wedding, and all the preparation pays off. I attended the rehearsal, because I was doing sound for the ceremony and wanted to make sure I had all my cues. I was able to set up my rig the day before as well, and I had some sub-woofers that weren’t being used, so I brought those out so Rachel could “feel” the music better. An intimate affair (about 100 people in all), it was also a blast. In lieu of the normal glass clinking to get the couple to kiss (which Rachel wouldn’t be able to hear), we had a “Kissing Tree,” a little tree with slips of paper hanging from it with questions or activities written on them. When a guest picked one off, they had to answer the question correctly or do the activity in order to get the couple to kiss. Hilarity ensued.

Dancing was great, especially for such a small crowd. Great energy all night, and more people dancing than not.

At the end, I got a huge hug (and a nice tip) from Rachel, and I left very happy, because I had seen this through for so long, and it really came together well.

Not every client utilizes my services to this extent, but I like them to know they can. It is very satisfying, to me and to them, when all of this planning can come together to make an incredible event!

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It’s no secret that we began providing design and decor services about a year ago with our sister-company Millennium Design. I figured it was worth providing an update with some images from a recent reception that we provide lighting and drapery options at the MAC.  The photos are brought to you by CMAX Photography – A stellar photography company that any soon-to-be bride should check out.  The bride and groom, Nikki and Kris, were tons of fun to work with and I’m sure they’d say the same about us.

Our dearly-dreadlocked-DJ, Jason Clyde was their host for the evening and when I asked him if there was anything he’d like to reflect on for this blog post, he just smiled and said that “it was a blast” (Inside tip: If Jason, the laid back guy that he is, refers to a reception as being “a blast” it can go without saying that expectations were far surpassed … ).

As for the design, we first washed the entire reception venue in a nice dark pink glow with our energy-efficient and vivid LED up-lights, creating a warm and elegant atmosphere for everyone. We furthered the design by drizzling the guest tables and cake with white pin lights, keeping them in sync with the overall flow to the room. We also pointed a few lights at the beautifully ornate chandelier’s on the ceiling; juxtaposing a gorgeous purple-blue hue to the surrounding pink walls.

As for the head table … well, we’re quite proud. Serving as a focal point of the room we lit our white taipei silk drapery with the same dark pink as the surrounding walls, hung clear plastic beading to create a bit of texture, and framed the entire backdrop in black silk drapery, complete with pin spot lights shining down on each individual place setting from above.

Everything turned out perfect, and working with such a fun couple just furthered such a pleasant experience. Special thanks to CMAX Photography for the beautiful pictures and the MAC for providing us with such a flexible and accomodating staff. Of course none of this could have taken place without our fabulous bride and groom, Nikki and Kris!

ben_kelley Uncategorized event lighting, photography, reception decoration, the MAC, wedding entertainment, wedding lights

“So, how much do you cost?”

This is a question I receive fairly often from prospective clients. Its a reasonable question – especially if its something asked towards the end of a conversation regarding any service. However, if this is the first thing someone asks me, either at a bridal show, or over the phone … I honestly cant help but cringe (at least on the inside). Something about this is wrong.

Yes – Our economy may not be so great. People are looking to cut costs on everything from groceries to gas; but if this is your wedding – isn’t the quality of the service at least something you would want to know a little about? I might even be as brave to suggest that the quality of service is more important than the price. But then again … I work for a DJ company.

I do think the reason why this question is so prominent in our industry is two-fold: For one, some clients might have the idea that all DJ services are the same (hint: they’re not). An old saying goes;“You can compare apples to apples, but you can’t compare a chair to a couch.”

Actually,  I made that statement up.  However, it easily illustrates the point that I’m driving at: Not all DJs are the same. There are so many different things to take into account when looking at a prospective DJ service for your wedding (and I am specifically speaking about weddings here – a DJ for your birthday party is another matter).

Just as in comparing furniture, style is a huge difference between today’s DJ services. One popular style involves an entertainment mindset which focuses on bringing props, doing group dances, wearing wigs, and other things of that sort in addition to playing dance music. When I have a client looking for this type of style, I normally will give them a few companies in St Louis that provide this and send them on their way. This is not the style of service we offer.

Other DJ companies, like Millennium Music, specialize in a more contemporary style and that is what I will jump into briefly below:

With a contemporary style, you’re getting something very different. With this style, the DJ is focused on acting as a host for your reception, and not necessarily as the entertainer. This style means that the bride and groom are the center of the attention – not the DJ. The DJ sees it as his/her role to merely facilitate the evening to the newlywed couple’s liking. This type of DJ’s job involves being on the microphone only for necessary announcements: Bridal party introductions, coordinating between toasts, announcing the cake cutting, announcing the garter/bouquet toss to name a few.

Another responsibility found with a contemporary DJ is to coordinate with all of your vendors at the reception to ensure everyone is on the same page, and constantly letting your guests know whats happening next at all times. After all of this, the DJ also happens to play a seamless flow of music later in the evening (without announcing in a “radio voice” what song has just been played). “Beat-mixing” is a popular phrase heard around our office and it expresses a seamless transition between songs to ensure the energy stays on the dance floor; reducing the pauses normally heard between songs, which is often a cue for guests to leave the dance floor.

The other reason I think the “price question” comes up as the first thing uttered after I say “hello” is that our prospective clients just don’t know what else there is to ask. For most of our clients, this is the first time they’ve actually hired or considered hiring a DJ so they feel this is the question to be asked. Just so you know, there are other important ones to ask (even before the price question). I’ll help our newly engaged couples out there with a list below of some important questions to ask when comparing DJ services (or chairs to couches…brilliant).

Good Questions to Ask A Potential DJ Company

1. In what type of venue’s do you normally perform? On the face of it, this may not seem important, but can give you a good idea of the caliber of DJ you are inquiring about. If they play a lot of bar gigs, then weddings are not their specialty. If, on the other hand, they end up at a lot of the most expensive places in town – You’ve found a good DJ company

2. Can I meet with my DJ after booking? If you can’t – consider that “red flag” number 1.

3. Can I see one of your DJs at a wedding? If the company gives you any answer other than “yes” upon asking this question – you can consider that “red flag” no. 2 and they are hiding something. I’ve heard very clever excuses to this question which usually fall along the lines of “our client’s confidentiality is important” and just so you know – this is a cover-up and this company knows they provide a bad service. Any bride that has already booked a DJ knows what its like when searching for one, and will understand your desire to actually see what you are getting (I’ve only had one bride that wasn’t comfortable with someone stopping by in the several years that I’ve been in this business, and the request above is one that we grant quite often).

4. Any hidden costs? Seems a good question to ask, no? Some DJs charge travel fees, setup fees, taxes … etc. which you may not know about right away.

5. What does your package include? You want to find out things such as how many hours come with the package, if  lighting is included (LED lighting tends to have a classier look), is there a wireless microphone for toasts, do they include an adequate sound system (high-end speakers, amplifier, and mixing board are definite must-haves).

6. Will the DJ take breaks? Hopefully the answer will be “no”…

A few other things to consider:

Check out the Better Business Bureau (https://www.bbb.org/). If the company has lots of complaints – Well … you know what to do.

Ask your vendors. These are the people that see day-to-day the type of people that are out there, and they probably have some decent suggestions for you. I will say that the one exclusion to this rule is a “house DJ” or “preferred DJ” associated with some venues (but not all venues). Usually these “preferred” vendors are people that cut a check to the venue in response to the booking, or have paid to be placed on the “preferred vendors” list. If your venue has one of these lists, just ask and they’ll be honest about the reasons why those particular vendors are preferred.

And with that, I leave you with a hearty congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Feel free to provide your thoughts on this long (sorry), but extremely important post.

Ben Kelley – Millennium Music

ben_kelley Uncategorized dj cost, dj services, event planning, st louis events, wedding entertainment, wedding planning, wedding vendor

It’s been quite a hiatus, but I’m finally able to sit down and write about what’s been going on the past few weeks.

First of all, the boss got married! Kris Yust, the owner of Millenium, got married on May 24th at the St. Louis Botanical gardens, with the reception held at Windows Off Washington in Downtown St. Louis. Already a unique venue, we spent the better part of a week creating a design that mixed asian and contemporary, south beach style influences to create an incredible environment.

We sectioned off the large room to create distinct areas, including a stage with full curtain for the band (The Fabulous Motown Revue), dance-floor area, VIP lounge, vendor area, and 2 dining areas. They were all distinct, but flowed together almost organically.

The difference was in the lighting. We had pin spots on every table, which highlighted the centerpieces and provided enough light for the guests as they dined. We also hit all of the lanterns with colored LED lighting, giving the room a soft glow and great mood. Then, we just turned off all of the house lights. With our own lighting in place, we were able to create the atmosphere that we wanted. That’s the value of controlling the light: you have full control of the entire atmosphere, and therefore you can make a vision complete.

Of course, we also did the DJ and MC work. The band handled most of the dancing time, but Alex was there for cocktails and dinner with some nice stuff (not the typical light jazz and Sinatra, but some fun, more contemporary stuff that got people energized before dancing started), and he was there to play in between sets and at the end of the night, so we could get in more contemporary dance tunes. As always, he did a great job, and kept the party rockin’. I handled the MC work for the night.

This was the perfect example of why it is great to get to know your clients. Of course, it was my boss and friend, but I got a chance to work with his family and in-laws, and that personal touch came through. I was truly a host of that party, and I received a lot of great feedback at the end.

So that was the boss’s party. I’ll talk about the next two huge events we did in my next blogs.
AJ

aj_barbarito Uncategorized Band Dj Combo, band entertainment, decor, design service, lighting service

“DJ AJ” (as he’s referred to on KMOV 4) is off today, so I thought I’d fill in with a little food for thought when it comes to planning your big event.

As with any wedding or other formal event, you will obviously have hired several vendors – each assigned specific roles (photography, entertainment, decor, flowers, transportation … etc) pertaining to your event. It goes without saying that most brides and grooms want their reception to run smoothly with as least hiccups as possible. Lucky for you, this is a relatively easy thing to accomplish … as long as you know the secret.

What is the secret to ensuring my event runs smoothly, you ask? Well I’m glad you did, because I’m prepared to share it with you:

The secret to having a smooth-flowing successful event is constant and clear communication.

Simple huh? Yes it is. Keep this in mind when selecting your vendors for your big day. Not only do you want qualified, professional workers, capable of doing their job (and doing it well). It also cannot be emphasized enough the importance of selecting vendors that are personable – vendors that have a knack for working as a team with all of the professionals you have hired, to ensure a smooth-flowing evening for all.

One of the reasons attributing to our company’s success in the wedding market, is not only from our expertise in playing the role of  “event planner” at a reception (and thus realizing how important constant communication between vendors really is), but also results from our “family tree” of production companies:

Millennium Music – DJ Entertainment

Millennium Video – Wedding Videography

Millennium Live – Band Entertainment Booking

Millennium Design – Event Lighting and Decor

Providing all four of these services under the same roof provides a constant flow of clear and concise communication between our staff of vendors, thus guaranteeing a smooth and successful event for you.

That’s all – that’s the sales pitch. Even if you don’t book Millennium for your event, which is perfectly fine, I’ve seen this small bit of advice over-looked and under-recognized on too many occasions. Its definitely some good food for thought and worth sharing to all of the love-birds out there currently planning their big day, as well as with all of the wedding professionals providing services for someone’s  big day.

Happy Wednesday.

- Ben Kelley

P.S. I caught some slack from Jason, one of our DJ’s about my spelling of “smooth-flowing” in the title of this post. According to him, it should read “smoothly-flowing” as “smoothly” is an adverb. I disagree. Is he right?

ben_kelley Uncategorized event planner, event planning, st louis events, wedding vendor

New to our Millennium  family is our design/decor division, with its brand-new website at www.millenniumdesignstl.com.

Our custom drapery and event lighting services have been very successful, so this addition to our family has been something that we’ve wanted to do for a long time now.

A couple things you’ll find in addition to our popular LED Uplighting and Drapery:

Contemporary-Styled Couches and Furniture

Custom Hi-Top Bar Tables

VIP Lounge Area’s

Grand Entry Designs

Custom-Designed Dance Floor Settings

Chinese Lanterns and Props

And more!

Click on our logo below to check out brand new website as well as the photo’s in our online gallery – we’ll have it continually updated as we receive more photos from the events we’ve already provided design services.

ben_kelley Uncategorized drapery, lighting, millenium design, millennium design, reception decor, st louis events, wedding lights