Official Blog of Millennium Productions

When I got up at 7:00AM on Sunday morning, I will admit that I was not too excited to host Fran and Bill’s Wedding reception that evening. I worked late Saturday night, as I had done Friday as well, and by the time Sunday morning came along, when I had to get up after very little sleep and help set up for a Bridal Show that morning, I was hating life. The only reason I say that is to demonstrate the contrast between how I felt then and how I felt later that night.

I first met Fran and Bill when they came into our office in May to discuss the possibility of booking us for DJ and Video. They were pleasant to talk to, and enthusiastic about their upcoming wedding, if a little oddly paired (I thought at first). Bill was an energetic guy, smiling and excited, with a bit of Southernor in his accent, while Fran was more subdued, though still excited, with a bit of European to her voice and always a happy shimmer in her eyes. If they seemed a strange match at first, that impression dissolved as I got to witness the joy they felt being in each others’ presence, and that joy was contagious, making me smile, and reminding me again why I love my job.

We booked them with some good discounts, which we are always willing to do for a Sunday. I told them later, when we were meeting to discuss the plans for the day-of, that I admired their approach to hiring their vendors. Yes, they picked a day where they could receive discounts, but with those discounts, they hired premium vendors. The ceremony and reception were both held at the Hilton Frontenac. Millennium Music provided DJ and Video services, and they hired Memories Are Forever as their photographer. The Hilton has a great resource in Rachel Topfer, who coordinates the special events.  As with any coordinator, it is important to me that she allows me to do my job, which means that I need to be able to direct the course of events as planned, and communicate with her what needs to be done and when. I’m not saying I act like the boss, but I am the one who is up front, so ultimately I’m the one who says “Let’s do this now.” It’s always great to work with someone who understands that, and works with me to make it happen.

We’ve worked with Memories are Forever quite often, and have learned what they need for things to work correctly. With them, it’s about keeping up constant communication, making sure that they are in place when it’s time to do the special things, like introductions and first dances, and then making sure I’m clear so they can get their shots. Another thing I love about working with them is that that can edit down a slideshow very quickly, and show their work from that day on their laptops, or if the client has ordered an LCD TV from us, I can show it on there. Plus, Kathie is awesome, and fun to work with.

Back to the day-of…

I was tired. I finished at the Bridal show a little after noon, headed to the shop to grab my gear, and then headed to the Hilton. Sound set-up for the ceremony was easy… I just had to set up a mic and sound for the officiant. This also let me give Rick (Millennium Video) a direct feed from the board so he would be able to incorporate it into the final video. Then I just ran around doing whatever I could. Since the cermony and reception were in different buildings, most of this time involved standing outside and directing people to the correct place, which I should be expected to do anyway.

The ceremony was great. It was done under a traditional Jewish chuppa (canopy), and was performed in both Hebrew and English, and incorporating both Jewish and Christian elements. The chuppa was stunning, but Fran was even more so. Having talked to Bill a little before the service, I knew he was nervous and wound up, as most grooms are at that time. He was kind of running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to tell people to do what they already knew they had to do, because he felt like he needed to do something. When he stood up there and saw his soon-to-be wife enter the room, though, all the anxiety melted away, and you could see the love he felt for her, and her for him, like a palpable presence in the room. The great thing about attending the ceremony is that you get to see that moment that the whole day is actually about… the moment that your clients actually get married. It makes the whole thing that much more personal.

After the ceremony, everyone went up to cocktail hour, giving me time to move my gear and finish setting up in the ballroom. When folks came down to be seated for dinner, I was ready to go, and so Rachel and I headed back into the hallway to get the Bridal Party lined up and ready to go. There was just one problem… the women were having a bustling malfunction with the dress.

These things happen all the time, but if you wait too long to do things like introductions, it throws off the timing for the whole evening, and you definitely want dinner to be served on time. Thankfully, Rachel was able to help with the dress, getting it manageable and looking good, with the intention of later bustling. I hung out with the guys and just chatted it up for a bit. When the dress was ready, we lined up and got ready to go.

Skip ahead to the first dance…

Bill is a dancer, as is Fran. They actually met when Bill gave Fran a dance lesson, and the rest was history… to this point. Bill has danced under pressure, in competition and in front of people, but when it came to his first dance, he completely nervous and unsure, which led to the best dressed rehearsal you’ve ever seen. Yes, he messed up… but it was a hilarious moment that just added to the warmth and intimate nature of the evening. They had friends and family around them who laughed with them, not at them. It was actually a wonderful moment when we had to start over, strange as that might sound.

As for the dancing that evening… well, there were actual dancers there, so you can imagine how cool it was to be playing music and have most of the guests on the dance floor doing a Rumba, or Waltz, or Cha-cha. I actually had to change up the music at one point just to get some of the single folks on the floor!

Halfway into the dancing, I yielded the mic to Fran’s friend Rachel, who led everyone in some traditional Israeli dancing for awhile, and that was a treat to watch.

Finally, we got to a point in the evening where a lot of people had gone home, and the dance-floor was dwindling. This isn’t unheard of for a Sunday night, and it was an older crowd, many of whom had to work the next day. Sometimes you just have to end things on a high-note, so I suggested to Fran that we make the next two songs the last two, and she agreed. Gathering most of the remaining guests onto the floor, we played those two songs, and ended the dancing with big smiles and a huge cheer… the perfect end to an incredibly successful evening.

Saying goodbye to Bill and Fran, I truly felt privileged to have been a part of their wedding. Not just because it was fun; most of the weddings that I do are fun. I felt privileged because it was truly a wonderful group of people, and Fran and Bill were themselves such a pleasure to work with and get to know. That day that started out so miserably had transformed into something transcendent, and I left feeling energized, glowing with the joy in which I was able to share that evening.

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“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

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