Kevin Causey, Owner of Fanning Flames Entertainment, offers up some tips to help you set things up so that you can relax and enjoy your big day!
How far in advance should a bride and groom start looking for a DJ?
Booking a DJ for your wedding should happen as soon as you know your date and venue. Getting the right “match” or “fit” is important. DJs vary widely in style, experience, and communication skills. A wedding DJ should keep the focus of the evening on the Bride and Groom, not on the DJ. Making excessive announcements, saying goofy things about guests, etc., may be great for a retirement party, but is probably unnecessary at best, and inappropriate at worst at a wedding. Once booked, you can wait until 2 months prior to your wedding to work through the details.
Do you suggest doing the first dance right after the grand entrance or waiting until after dinner?
The wedding timeline is more than just a way to make sure all of the special events happen. It controls the emotion of the night. A balance between tradition and personal style always works well. Traditionally, the toast follows dinner, or is part of dinner. Likewise, the couple’s first dance is the “opening” of the dance floor for the remainder of the evening. Think about your guests for a moment. Having attended a ceremony, then a cocktail hour, celebrating the wedding party with a Grand Entrance is the perfect way to signal the official start of the reception. While the first dance can happen in that moment, saving the first dance for the moment after the toasts accomplishes two things: the first dance happens with guests at their tables after dinner after paying attention during the toast, and the first dance provides the perfect segue to the father-daughter dance. It’s perfect to see the father of the bride walk to the dance floor and take his daughter’s hand from the groom.
What is the best time for the toast?
Before we stray too late into the night, it’s important to remember that the toasts are not speeches at a frat house, but should reflect the bond between the bride and groom. Consequently, a traditional Best Man and Maid/Matron of Honor toast is sufficient. If a father would like to speak, have them speak after the Maid/Matron of Honor. At the conclusion of the toasts and just before the first dance is the best opportunity for the groom to address the guests, if he wishes. It’s always nice to have either the Father of the Bride or the Groom thank the guests for attending and being a part of the ceremony and celebration.
What do you suggest when the photographer needs to leave early and wants to fake a sparker exit?
Coordination between the DJ, photography, videographer, and planning is really important to the success of the evening. Having a photographer leave early often makes the timing of events like the cake cutting, anniversary dance, etc, awkward. To the guests, a sparkler exit is the end of the night, almost regardless of when it happens. Staging it earlier disrupts the dance floor, and the guests start thinking about leaving. Rarely does the party recover from emptying the room.
Where is the best place for brides and grooms to looks for songs and ideas for their wedding?
If you’re wanting a killer dance floor mix, pick a DJ you can trust instead of googling for “wedding dance songs.” A good wedding DJ will understand your tastes in music (share what you like as dance music, and music in general) and mix that information with what works in a wedding setting. Weddings are not nightclubs. Wedding guests are family, and more like a family reunion with a mix of ages, dance abilities, and music tastes. Wedding guests often only dance at weddings, and their high school prom. You’ll want to stick with songs they recognize instead of relying on a club beat.
Finally, hire a DJ you can trust. DJs will get requests from guests, and have a huge control over the reception and its success. An experienced wedding DJ can handle requests appropriately, weeding out “Before He Cheats” requests without making the bride the “bad guy.”
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